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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by impairments in social reciprocity and communication and restricted, repetitive patt erns of behaviour. The DSM-5 states that "autism spectrum disorder is diagnosed four times more often in males than in females. The majority of children with autism also have a learning disability (mental retardation) and have average intelligence. With this background, this study was carried out with the objectives to assess category of Autism among children across gender. Methods: A standardized scale "Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism" used to assess category of autism among children. Total 100 children from diff erent NGOs working for special children were selected for the study. In the present study descriptive statistics like frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to analyse. The data and relational statistics like f-test were used to analyse the data. It was found that more than half (55.0%) of the respondents had mild autism, where, 51.1% were boys and 5.0%were girls while (43.0%) respondents had moderate autism in which 42.2% were boys and 5.0% were girls. Very few respondents (2.0%) belonged to sever autism category and all were boys. Results of hypothesis testing revealed that as the p>.05 thus, the null hypothesis was accepted stating that there exists no signifi cant diff erence in category of autism across gender. The present study showed that Autism is much more prevalent in male than female but category of autism is not gender oriented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first 6-8 years of a child's life, known as the early childhood stage. Early childhood stage is important as a foundation for the inculcation of social and personal habits and values. "Social Development is equality of social opportunities." The focus of this paper is on early development of social skill in children with autism. Social reciprocity deficits are a core feature of the autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by impairments in social and communication development, accompanied by stereotyped patt erns of behavior and interest. Children with autism display significant social deficits that negativelyimpact daily functioning and may lead to serious mental health problems. By elementary school, they have significant social relational problems; the majority experience great difficulty initiating and maintaining friendships with same-aged peers. Social skills are important for preparing young people to mature and succeed in their adult roles within the family, workplace, and community. Social skills allow people to succeed not only in their social lives, but also in their academic, personal, and future professional activities. Young children acquire social knowledgeand skills in play. It is within play that they learn to coordinate interpersonal skills such as turn-taking and reciprocity and learn the strategies necessary for collaborative and symbolic pretend play. Through social play, children learn and practice social skills such as asking to enter into peer or play groups and inviting others to play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Egress of Plasmodium falciparum merozoites from host erythrocytes is a critical step in multiplication of blood-stage parasites. A cascade of proteolytic events plays a major role in degradation of membranes leading to egress of merozoites. However, the signals that regulate the temporal activation and/or secretion of proteases upon maturation of merozoites in intra-erythrocytic schizonts remain unclear. Here, we have tested the role of intracellular Ca2+ in regulation of egress of P. falciparum merozoites from schizonts. A sharp rise in intracellular Ca2+ just before egress, observed by time-lapse video microscopy, suggested a role for intracellular Ca2+ in this process. Chelation of intracellular Ca2+ with chelators such as BAPTA- AM or inhibition of Ca2+ release from intracellular stores with a phospholipase C ( PLC) inhibitor blocks merozoite egress. Interestingly, chelation of intracellular Ca2+ in schizonts was also found to block the discharge of a key protease PfSUB1 (subtilisin-like protease 1) from exonemes of P. falciparum merozoites to parasitophorous vacuole ( PV). This leads to inhibition of processing of PfSERA5 (serine repeat antigen 5) and a block in parasitophorous vacuolar membrane ( PVM) rupture and merozoite egress. A complete understanding of the steps regulating egress of P. falciparum merozoites may provide novel targets for development of drugs that block egress and limit parasite growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motility and phagocytosis are the two important processes that are intricately linked to survival and virulence potential of the protist parasite Entamoeba histolytica. These processes primarily rely on actin‐dependent pathways, and regulation of these pathways is critical for understanding the pathology of E. histolytica. Generally, phosphoinositides dynamics have not been explored in amoebic actin dynamics and particularly during phagocytosis in E. histolytica. We have explored the roles of PtdIns(4,5)P2 as well as the enzyme that produces this metabolite, EhPIPKI during phagocytosis. Immunofluorescence and live cell images showed enrichment of EhPIPKI in different stages of phagocytosis from initiation till the cups progressed towards closure. However, the enzyme was absent after phagosomes are pinched off from the membrane. Overexpression of a dominant negative mutant revealed a reduction in the formation of phagocytic cups and inhibition in the rate of engulfment of erythrocytes. Moreover, EhPIPKI binds directly to F and G‐actin unlike PIPKs from other organisms. PtdIns(4,5)P2, the product of the enzyme, also followed a similar distribution pattern during phagocytosis as determined by a GFP‐tagged PH‐domain from PLCδ, which specifically binds PtdIns(4,5)P2 in trophozoites. In summary, EhPIPKI regulates initiation of phagocytosis by regulating actin dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GTPases are molecular switches, which regulate a variety of cellular processes such as cell polarity, gene transcription, microtubule dynamics, cell-cycle etc. In this paper, we characterize a Ca 2+ -binding protein from Entamoeba histolytica (EhCaBP6) as a novel GTPase. We locate the active site for GTP hydrolysis within the C-terminal domain of EhCaBP6, although it requires full length protein for its complete range of activity. Using NMR studies, we observe that GTP binding induces conformational change in EhCaBP6. The identification of this novel and unusual Ca 2+ -dependent GTPase is important to elucidate the unconventional cell cycle of E. histolytica., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

Natural products offer an abundant source of diverse novel scaffolds that inspires development of next generation anti-malarials. With this vision, a library of scaffolds inspired by natural biologically active alkaloids was synthesized from chiral bicyclic lactams with steps/scaffold ratio of 1.7:1. On evaluation of library of scaffolds for their growth inhibitory effect against malaria parasite we found one scaffold with IC 50 in low micro molar range. It inhibited parasite growth via disruption of Na + homeostasis. P-type ATPase, PfATP4 is responsible for maintaining parasite Na + homeostasis and is a good target for anti-malarials. Molecular docking with our scaffold showed that it fits well in the binding pocket of PfATP4. Moreover, inhibition of Na + -dependent ATPase activity by our potent scaffold suggests that it targets parasite by inhibiting PfATP4, leading to ionic imbalance. However how ionic imbalance attributes to parasite's death is unclear. We show that ionic imbalance caused by scaffold 7 induces autophagy that leads to onset of apoptosis in the parasite evident by the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and DNA degradation. Our study provides a novel strategy for drug discovery and an insight into the molecular mechanism of ionic imbalance mediated death in malaria parasite.

Motility and phagocytosis are the two important processes that are intricately linked to survival and virulence potential of the protist parasite Entamoeba histolytica. These processes primarily rely on actin-dependent pathways, and regulation of these pathways is critical for understanding the pathology of E. histolytica. Generally, phosphoinositides dynamics have not been explored in amoebic actin dynamics and particularly during phagocytosis in E. histolytica. We have explored the roles of PtdIns(4,5)P 2 as well as the enzyme that produces this metabolite, EhPIPKI during phagocytosis. Immunofluorescence and live cell images showed enrichment of EhPIPKI in different stages of phagocytosis from initiation till the cups progressed towards closure. However, the enzyme was absent after phagosomes are pinched off from the membrane. Overexpression of a dominant negative mutant revealed a reduction in the formation of phagocytic cups and inhibition in the rate of engulfment of erythrocytes. Moreover, EhPIPKI binds directly to F and G-actin unlike PIPKs from other organisms. PtdIns(4,5)P 2 , the product of the enzyme, also followed a similar distribution pattern during phagocytosis as determined by a GFP-tagged PH-domain from PLCδ, which specifically binds PtdIns(4,5)P 2 in trophozoites. In summary, EhPIPKI regulates initiation of phagocytosis by regulating actin dynamics., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Carotenoids represent a diverse group of pigments derived from the common isoprenoid precursors and fulfill a variety of critical functions in plants and animals. Phytoene synthase (PSY), a transferase enzyme that catalyzes the first specific step in carotenoid biosynthesis plays a central role in the regulation of a number of essential functions mediated via carotenoids. PSYs have been deeply investigated in plants, bacteria and algae however in apicomplexans it is poorly studied. In an effort to characterize PSY in apicomplexans especially the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum), a detailed bioinformatics analysis is undertaken. We have analysed the Phylogenetic relationship of PSY also referred to as octaprenyl pyrophosphate synthase (OPPS) in P. falciparum with other taxonomic groups. Further, we in silico characterized the secondary and tertiary structures of P. falciparum PSY/OPPS and compared the tertiary structures with crystal structure of Thermotoga maritima (T. maritima) OPPS. Our results evidenced the resemblance of P. falciparum PSY with the active site of T. maritima OPPS. Interestingly, the comparative structural analysis revealed an unconserved unique loop in P. falciparum OPPS/PSY. Such structural insights might contribute novel accessory functions to the protein thus, offering potential drug targets.

Malaria, a leading parasitic killer, is caused by Plasmodium spp. The pathology of the disease starts when Plasmodium merozoites infect erythrocytes to form rings, that matures through a large trophozoite form and develop into schizonts containing multiple merozoites. The number of intra-erythrocytic merozoites is a key-determining factor for multiplication rate of the parasite. Counting of intraerythrocytic merozoites by classical 2-D microscopy method is error prone due to insufficient representation of merozoite in one optical plane of a schizont. Here, we report an alternative 3-D microscopy based automated method for counting of intraerythrocytic merozoites in entire volume of schizont. This method offers a considerable amount of advantages in terms of both, ease and accuracy.

Here we described a natural product inspired modular DOS strategy for the synthesis of a library of hybrid systems that are structurally and stereochemically disparate. The main scaffold is a pyrroloisoquinoline motif, that is synthesized from tandem Pictet-Spengler lactamization. The structural diversity is generated via "privileged scaffolds" that are attached at the appropriate site of the motif. Screening of the library compounds for their antiplasmodial activity against chloroquine sensitive 3D7 cells indicated few compounds with moderate activity (20-50 μM). A systematic comparison of structural intricacy between the library members and a natural product dataset obtained from ZINC(®) revealed comparable complexity., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Egress of Plasmodium falciparum merozoites from host erythrocytes is a critical step in multiplication of blood-stage parasites. A cascade of proteolytic events plays a major role in degradation of membranes leading to egress of merozoites. However, the signals that regulate the temporal activation and/or secretion of proteases upon maturation of merozoites in intra-erythrocytic schizonts remain unclear. Here, we have tested the role of intracellular Ca(2+) in regulation of egress of P. falciparum merozoites from schizonts. A sharp rise in intracellular Ca(2+) just before egress, observed by time-lapse video microscopy, suggested a role for intracellular Ca(2+) in this process. Chelation of intracellular Ca(2+) with chelators such as BAPTA-AM or inhibition of Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores with a phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor blocks merozoite egress. Interestingly, chelation of intracellular Ca(2+) in schizonts was also found to block the discharge of a key protease PfSUB1 (subtilisin-like protease 1) from exonemes of P. falciparum merozoites to parasitophorous vacuole (PV). This leads to inhibition of processing of PfSERA5 (serine repeat antigen 5) and a block in parasitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM) rupture and merozoite egress. A complete understanding of the steps regulating egress of P. falciparum merozoites may provide novel targets for development of drugs that block egress and limit parasite growth., (© 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Joubert syndrome is a very rare disorder characterised by respiratory irregularities, saccadic eye movements, hypotonia, ataxia, developmental retardation with abnormalities of cerebellum and brainstem. Epilepsy is rarely associated with this syndrome. Herein such a case with associated epilepsy is presented. Here in this case, a male child of 4 years was presented with delayed milestones and generalised tonic-clonic seizure. Pregnancy and prenatal period was uneventful. There was history of one of his siblings having the disorders of respiratory irregularities, saccadic eye movements, ataxia, hypotonia, etc (same as the child) and died at 3 1/2 years of age. MRI brain showed features of Joubert syndrome.

The present study was performed to evaluate the accuracy of CT-guided FNAC among 35 patients with intrathoracic mass lesions. It was done using 19 gauge coaxial needles. Patients were in the age group 7-77 years (mean 47.3 years, median 50 years). Maximum number of patients (60%) were in 41-70 years age group. There were 29 males (82.86%) and 6 females (17.14%).Total number of biopsies done were 40 in 35 patients; one attempt in 31 patients (88.57%), two attempts in 3 patients (8.57%) and three in 1 patient (2.86%). Only 2 patients (5.7%) had pneumothorax as a complication of FNAC. A correct diagnosis could be made in 31 patients amounting to an accuracy of 88.57%. Accuracy with respect to the number of biopsies was 77.5% (31/40). There were 28/35 patients (80%) with malignancies, and only 3/35 with benign inflammatory lesions. Average depth of the lesion ranged from 20-80 mm (mean 48mm). Average diameter of the lesions in this study ranged from 7 mm-8 cm (mean 4.7cm). Diagnostic accuracy for 7/35 small lesions < 1.5 cm was 85.7%, for 15/35 medium sized lesions (> or =1.5 cm - <3 cm) was 93.33% and for 13/35 large lesions (> or = 3 cm) was 84.6%. CT-guided FNAC is accurate, safe and minimally invasive procedure for diagnosis of intrathoracic mass lesions.

Objective: To assess the role of multidetector spiral CT in patients with blunt chest trauma., Methods: Forty-two patients (38 males and four females), age range from 6 to 80 years, of blunt chest trauma were evaluated with multidetector computed tomogram (MDCT) after initial radiographs and the results were tabulated., Results: The most common mode of injury was motor vehicle accidents (64%). On computed tomography (CT), major injuries were haemothorax (83.33%), consolidation (66.6%), rib fractures (61.90%), pneumothorax (54.76%), diaphragmatic injury (30.95%), lung contusions (28.57%), spinal injury (16.66%), lacerations (9.52%), tracheo-bronchial injury (4.76%), mediastinal haematoma (4.76%), thoracic-aortic injury (4.76%) and oesophageal injury (2.38%). Operative intervention was performed in 11 (26.19%) patients. Of these, diaphragmatic rent repair was done in seven patients (63.63%), exploratory laparotomy alone was done in two (18.18%) and resection and anastomosis and polytetrafluoroethylene graft in one patient each. Three patients each with chest wall injury, thoracic vascular injury and diaphragmatic injury died; while only one patient with lung injury died., Conclusion: Multidetector computed tomogram is the modality of choice for rapid assessment of emergency chest trauma patients.

To evaluate spectrum of diseases causing compressive myelopathy and accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosing these conditions, a total of 69 clinically diagnosed cases of compressive myelopathy were evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging and results were tabulated. Caries spine was the commonest condition (24.6%) followed by metastasis spine (17.4%), ossified posterior longitudinal ligament (7.8%), primary bone tumours, nerve sheath tumours, intramedullary tumours and rare conditions like epidural abscess, spontaneous epidural haematoma, subdural haematoma, epidural lipomatosis, etc. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for diagnosing caries by magnetic resonance imaging was found to be 94%, 98% and 97% while that of metastasis spine was 91%, 98% and 97% respectively. Magnetic resonance imaging is the modality of choice for diagnosing compressive myelopathy.