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Background: In addition to Ranson’s criteria, computed tomography severity index (CTSI), and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, the presence of local or systemic complications can predict severe acute pancreatitis (AP). However, proper evaluation by these one-time scores is available after 48 h following admission. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to correlate AP severity and related consequences with serum levels of lipase, C-reactive protein (CRP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Methods: A prospective analysis was performed on 60 patients with AP who were admitted to the surgical unit. Data on patients’ clinical and radiological evaluations, serum levels of CRP, LDH, and lipase, as well as hematological tests, were gathered and examined. Results: The most common cause of AP, gallstone pancreatitis, affected adults between the ages of 30 and 55, with a female predominance (56.67%). According to the Chi-square test, there was a significant correlation between the Ranson’s score and the CTSI. Similar to this, a very high test of significance for serum CRP levels (>150 mg/l) was seen with both Ranson’s score and the CTSI. Only 15% of patients had severe AP, whereas 85% of cases had mild AP. The majority of the patients (93.4%) recovered with supportive medical care, four (6.7%) needed surgery (necrosectomy/drainage), and one (1.6%) died. Conclusion: The serum CRP level is a good predictor of severe AP. It can be used as an early severity indicator along with the CTSI.

Background: Supraclavicular brachial plexus block (BPB) is being utilized extensively for upper limb surgeries. To improve block quality, several adjuvants have been used successfully. Fentanyl and dexmedetomidine has been evaluated as adjuvants for such block done using ropivacaine. However, block qualities have been modified to a variable extent with use of such adjuvants. Aims and Objectives: Hence, the study was designed to compare fentanyl and dexmedetomidine as adjuvants during ropivacaine-induced supraclavicular BPB. Materials and Methods: Sixty adults undergoing upper limb surgeries were randomly divided in to two groups to receive either fentanyl or dexmedetomidine as adjuvants to ropivacaine for supraclavicular BPB. The onset of sensory block was the primary outcome measure. Duration of sensory bloc, motor block characteristics, and adverse events were also evaluated. Results: Considerably faster onset of sensory and motor blockade was found with the use of fentanyl as adjuvant over dexmedetomidine (sensory, 8.2±1.19 vs. 12.07±0.96, P

Background: The left ventricular (LV) function is an important prognostic determinant of cardiopulmonary pathologies in adult. Clinical application of cardiac strain by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography to measure LV function requires knowledge of the range of normal values. Reference values and associated variations of the deformation measures need to be “firmly established before routine clinical adoption” of LV strain measurements can be implemented in Indian population. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to establish normal values of LV strain parameters in normal Indian population. Materials and Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, single-center, hospital-based study. The study period October 2021–October 2022 in Nil Ratan Sircir Medical College, Kolkata. Cardiologically healthy adult subjects (sample size 250) both male and female, aged 18–45 years who were healthcare professionals of this medical college and hospital were included in the study. Routine history taking and investigations were done. Echodoppler was done with special emphasis on LV strain parameters. Results: Distribution of mean LV circumferential strain (LVCS) with age in years was statistically not significant (P=0.8068). The mean value in male and female were −18.9574(±0.9049) and −19.0257(±0.8908) respectively. In the current study, LVCS did not vary in statistically significant a way among different age groups too. The mean values in male and female were −22.5887(±1.8065) and −22.3312(±1.9007) respectively. Conclusion: This current study failed to show significant differences in LV strain parameters between age groups or male and female in Eastern India Population.

The popliteal cyst (PC) is an abnormal dilation of the gastrocnemio-semimembranosus bursa, which is located in the popliteal fossa. It may manifest as an acute and dramatic condition or a chronically persistent or relapsing swelling. Inadvertent diagnoses of cysts in children are common. The available treatments include arthroscopic and open surgical excision, as well as nonsurgical or less invasive methods. Children with PCs rarely have accompanying intra-articular pathology, in contrast to adults; hence, open surgical removal over arthroscopy is favored. Here, we highlight 10 cases of PCs as well as share our experiences regarding diagnosis and surgical outcomes.

Abstract The k-Nearest Neighbors (kNN) method, established in 1951, has since evolved into a pivotal tool in data mining, recommendation systems, and Internet of Things (IoT), among other areas. This paper presents a comprehensive review and performance analysis of modifications made to enhance the exact kNN techniques, particularly focusing on kNN Search and kNN Join for high-dimensional data. We delve deep into 31 kNN search methods and 12 kNN join methods, providing a methodological overview and analytical insight into each, emphasizing their strengths, limitations, and applicability. An important feature of our study is the provision of the source code for each of the kNN methods discussed, fostering ease of experimentation and comparative analysis for readers. Motivated by the rising significance of kNN in high-dimensional spaces and a recognized gap in comprehensive surveys on exact kNN techniques, our work seeks to bridge this gap. Additionally, we outline existing challenges and present potential directions for future research in the domain of kNN techniques, offering a holistic guide that amalgamates, compares, and dissects existing methodologies in a coherent manner. Graphical Abstract

The term ‘ectopic testis’ (ET) denotes the testis that the testis has settled outside its normal course of descent. The most frequent ectopic site is the superficial inguinal pouch. Other sites include the perineum, femoral canal, contralateral hemiscrotum and anterior abdominal wall. The inguinal approach or laparoscopy-assisted orchiopexy is used in the majority of patients. Transseptal or extra-peritoneal transposition is occasionally taken up for crossed testicular ectopia. We report successful surgical techniques for treating crossed testicular ectopia in six cases with various forms of ET.

Chronic kidney diseases (CKDs) are a significant public health issue with potential for severe complications such as hypertension, anemia, and renal failure. Timely diagnosis is crucial for effective management. Leveraging machine learning within healthcare offers promising advancements in predictive diagnostics. In this paper, we developed a machine learning-based kidney diseases prediction (ML‐CKDP) model with dual objectives: to enhance dataset preprocessing for CKD classification and to develop a web-based application for CKD prediction. The proposed model involves a comprehensive data preprocessing protocol, converting categorical variables to numerical values, imputing missing data, and normalizing via Min-Max scaling. Feature selection is executed using a variety of techniques including Correlation, Chi-Square, Variance Threshold, Recursive Feature Elimination, Sequential Forward Selection, Lasso Regression, and Ridge Regression to refine the datasets. The model employs seven classifiers: Random Forest (RF), AdaBoost (AdaB), Gradient Boosting (GB), XgBoost (XgB), Naive Bayes (NB), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Decision Tree (DT), to predict CKDs. The effectiveness of the models is assessed by measuring their accuracy, analyzing confusion matrix statistics, and calculating the Area Under the Curve (AUC) specifically for the classification of positive cases. Random Forest (RF) and AdaBoost (AdaB) achieve a 100% accuracy rate, evident across various validation methods including data splits of 70:30, 80:20, and K-Fold set to 10 and 15. RF and AdaB consistently reach perfect AUC scores of 100% across multiple datasets, under different splitting ratios. Moreover, Naive Bayes (NB) stands out for its efficiency, recording the lowest training and testing times across all datasets and split ratios. Additionally, we present a real-time web-based application to operationalize the model, enhancing accessibility for healthcare practitioners and stakeholders.Web app link: https://rajib-research-kedney-diseases-prediction.onrender.com/

Staphylococcus aureus, a prevalent component of the human microbiota, is associated with skin infections to life-threatening diseases, presenting challenges in treatment options and necessitating the development of effective treatments. This study integrated computational and in vitro approaches to identify promising phytocompounds with therapeutic potential. Staphopain B emerged as a target protein for its role in immune evasion, exhibiting stability during molecular dynamic simulation (MDS) with a root mean square deviation value of 2.376 Å. Screening 115 phytocompounds with antibacterial properties from the PubChem database identified 12 with drug-like properties, nine of which showed superior binding affinity to Staphopain B compared to a commercial antibiotic, doxycycline (−7.8 kcal mol−1). Notably, epoxyazadiradione and nimbolide displayed higher estimated free energy of binding scores (−7.91 and −7.93 kcal mol−1, respectively), indicating strong protein–ligand interactions. The root mean square fluctuation values for epoxyazadiradione and nimbolide were 1.097 and 1.034 Å, respectively, which was confirmed through MDS. Crude ethanolic extracts (100% and 70%) of neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves demonstrated narrow inhibition against the bacteria in comparison to doxycycline in the disc-diffusion assay. This study underscores the potential of phytocompounds as therapeutic agents against S. aureus; however, further in vitro experiments and testing of the phytocompounds in vivo are required.

The term “paraduodenal hernia (PDH)” refers to a herniation of the entire/partial small bowel into a sac derived from folds of peritoneum and fossae normally found at the terminal or 4th portion of the duodenum. It is rare, having variable presentation, and the severity of symptoms/signs is directly proportional to the degree of obstruction. We present three cases of paraduodenal hernias presenting in emergency with signs of with acute intestinal obstruction. Here we attempt to re-evaluate the representative features of PDHs, and to highlight the perioperative complications and management strategies that surgeons need to be aware of.

Abstract Biclustering of biologically meaningful binary information is essential in many applications related to drug discovery, like protein–protein interactions and gene expressions. However, for robust performance in recently emerging large health datasets, it is important for new biclustering algorithms to be scalable and fast. We present a rapid unsupervised biclustering (RUBic) algorithm that achieves this objective with a novel encoding and search strategy. RUBic significantly reduces the computational overhead on both synthetic and experimental datasets shows significant computational benefits, with respect to several state-of-the-art biclustering algorithms. In 100 synthetic binary datasets, our method took $$\sim 71.1$$ ∼ 71.1 s to extract 494,872 biclusters. In the human PPI database of size $$4085\times 4085$$ 4085 × 4085 , our method generates 1840 biclusters in $$\sim 48.6$$ ∼ 48.6 s. On a central nervous system embryonic tumor gene expression dataset of size 712,940, our algorithm takes 101 min to produce 747,069 biclusters, while the recent competing algorithms take significantly more time to produce the same result. RUBic is also evaluated on five different gene expression datasets and shows significant speed-up in execution time with respect to existing approaches to extract significant KEGG-enriched bi-clustering. RUBic can operate on two modes, base and flex, where base mode generates maximal biclusters and flex mode generates less number of clusters and faster based on their biological significance with respect to KEGG pathways. The code is available at ( https://github.com/CMATERJU-BIOINFO/RUBic ) for academic use only.

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a commonly performed surgery and stable intraoperative hemodynamic status is desirable during pneumoperitonium. Clonidine and dexmedetomidine (alpha-2 adrenergic agonist) were used in this study to attenuate the stress response of pneumoperitoneum because alpha-2 adrenergic agonists help in the attenuation of neuroendocrine and hemodynamic responses to surgery and anesthesia, due to its sympatholytic action. Aims and Objectives: The aims and objectives of the study are to conduct a comparative evaluation of clonidine and dexmedetomidine as pre-anesthetic medication for the attenuation of hemodynamic changes during laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgeries. Materials and Methods: Eighty patients of either sex, aged 20–50 years, complying to the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-II, scheduled for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia were divided into two equal groups to receive either clonidine 1 mg/kg (Group-C, n=40) or dexmedetomidine 1 mg/kg (Group-D, n=40), both injected through intravenous route as 15 mL volume with normal saline. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, and SpO2 were measured before and after giving the study drugs, before and immediately after pneumoperitoneum, and then, at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 min of pneumoperitoneum. Results: Statistically significant difference was observed in heart rate in the dexmedetomidine group constantly since giving study drug, immediately after the creation of pneumoperitoneum, and then, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 min after pneumoperitoneum. Systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressures were found to be significantly lower in Group D (except after administering study drug), immediately after creating pneumoperitoneum, and 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 min after pneumoperitoneum. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine as pre-medication is more efficacious in attenuating hemodynamic stress responses in laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgeries compared to clonidine as pre-medication.

Introduction: A patient with compromised respiratory system due to some diseases, may have disturbed sleep to a great extent. It has been proved in various community based epidemiologic studies. Though most of such studies available had concentrated on single respiratory disease like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or Asthma in the community. But such studies are hardly available for patients attending a respiratory clinic, where all respiratory ailments were evaluated with concurrent sleep problems. The present study is one such. Methods: Total 163 patients were screened and among them 100 were selected as the study group. The patients were enquired with a standard questionnaire provided to them. In addition, they were given separate questionnaire as STOP BANG, Insomnia Severity Index Score, RLS questionnaire. Those persons with STOP BANG > 5, were also advised for a polysomnography (PSG), if not already done. Descriptive statistical analysis has been carried out in the present study. Results: The present study is a cross-sectional depiction of relationships between various respiratory diseases and sleep problems. As per this study, most patients were asthmatic and commonest sleep problem was OSA. A subgroup analysis was done to determine the significance of difference of various parameters between the three groups of asthmatic patients, patients having COPD and the “Other” group. Discussion: Subjective sleep problems were significantly more in Asthma group than COPD group (P < 0.0362). The mean STOP BANG was more in COPD group than the Asthma group (P < 0.0301). Though OSA was the commonest sleep problem between the three groups, but the prevalence was not statistically significant between them. More patients in the COPD group had insomnia, but it was not statistically significantly more than in Asthma group. Sleeping pill use was significantly more in COPD group than the Asthma group (P < 0.0039). Conclusion: Sleep problems are common in patients with respiratory diseases and OSA is the most common problem according to the present study. Asthma patients had more subjective sleep problems. Sleeping pill use was more common in COPD patients instead of having less subjective sleep complaints than asthma patients.

Multicystic dysplastic kidney (MCDK) is a congenital somatic maldevelopment in which the renal cortex is replaced by numerous cysts of varying sizes with insinuating dysplastic parenchyma in between. In 76% of cases, it is unilateral occurring on the left kidney. The condition could be diagnosed by ultrasound during pregnancy or after delivery. According to various studies, it follows a benign course and can be managed conservatively. Here, we present a series of five cases of unilateral MCDK that required surgical management due to either parent's psychosocial constraints or incidental discovery during surgery.

Latent tuberculosis (LTB) is now termed as tuberculosis infection (TBI). Prevention of active TB disease by treatment of tuberculosis infection is a critical component of the National Strategic Plan 2017-25 for TB Elimination in India by 2025. Programmatic Management of Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy (PMTPT) is a public health document while treatment of tuberculosis infection is essentially a clinical approach. Here we have attempted to address the gray areas answering from clinical viewpoint.

Female infants frequently develop ovarian cysts (OCs), which vary in onset, development, and prognosis. When the placenta tissue secretes excessive human chorionic gonadotrophin for a variety of reasons, the fetus develops an OC. Because estrogen levels fall after childbirth, the majority of OCs may also naturally involute. Hence, treating infants with OCs may involve close observation. However, even in previously asymptomatic OCs, torsion, intracystic bleeding, or ovarian necrosis could manifest suddenly in the neonatal or infantile period. Here, we report nine such cases of OCs and share our experiences with diagnosis and treatment.

Objective: Preventive measures and appropriate rehabilitation are important in reducing the social burden of blindness. This study was to evaluate the etiologies, proportions, and level of rehabilitation for patients with blindness. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study with 1000 visually impaired patients was conducted. The data regarding age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), etiologies, curable or incurable blindness (IB), treatments, awareness, and state of rehabilitation were collected and reviewed. Results: The ratio of curable to IB was 0.82:1. The proportion of blindness rises after 40, even while the proportion of curable blindness (CB) increases after 60. The male–female ratios were 1.25:1 and 1:1.66 in the cases of CB and IB, respectively. On the other hand, the male–female ratio for childhood blindness was 1.66:1. Cataracts (78.22%) were the most common cause of CB, whereas diabetic retinopathy (24%), corneal opacity (17.5%), and trauma (12.4%) were causes of IB. Patients with illiteracy, low SES, and female gender were more likely to develop IB. There were low enrollment rates at the blind school and poor rehabilitation, mainly because of a lack of knowledge. Conclusion: Diabetic retinopathy, corneal opacity, and trauma are the major causes of IB. IB and poor rehabilitation were more profound in women and were associated with illiteracy, low SES, and a lack of awareness.

Recent research has uncovered a promising approach to addressing the growing global health concern of obesity and related disorders. The inhibition of inositol hexakisphosphate kinase 1 (IP6K1) has emerged as a potential therapeutic strategy. This study employs multiple ligand-based in silico modeling techniques to investigate the structural requirements for benzisoxazole derivatives as IP6K1 inhibitors. Firstly, we developed linear 2D Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship (2D-QSAR) models to ensure both their mechanistic interpretability and predictive accuracy. Then, ligand-based pharmacophore modeling was performed to identify the essential features responsible for the compounds’ high activity. To gain insights into the 3D requirements for enhanced potency against the IP6K1 enzyme, we employed multiple alignment techniques to set up 3D-QSAR models. Given the absence of an available X-ray crystal structure for IP6K1, a reliable homology model for the enzyme was developed and structurally validated in order to perform structure-based analyses on the selected dataset compounds. Finally, molecular dynamic simulations, using the docked poses of these compounds, provided further insights. Our findings consistently supported the mechanistic interpretations derived from both ligand-based and structure-based analyses. This study offers valuable guidance on the design of novel IP6K1 inhibitors. Importantly, our work exclusively relies on non-commercial software packages, ensuring accessibility for reproducing the reported models.

Background and Objectives: Premedication with oral clonidine or gabapentin reduces the perioperative pain and decreases the requirement of analgesics. Our study aims at comparing the efficacy of oral clonidine and oral gabapentin for postoperative analgesia duration in surgeries done under spinal anesthesia. Materials and Methods: A prospective, double-blinded study was conducted in randomly selected 100 patients undergoing spinal anesthesia for any surgery (excluding cesarean section). Group C received 100 μg oral clonidine and Group G received 600 mg oral gabapentin, 1 h before spinal anesthesia. Blood pressure, heart rate, and Spo2 were recorded at 0, 15, 30, and 60 min interval. Visual analog scale (VAS) was documented for pain assessment at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 h from the time of onset of spinal anesthesia. The number of rescue analgesic doses required in 24 h postoperatively was noted. The data regarding the patient's demography, changes in the hemodynamics, VAS score, and requirement of rescue analgesia were analyzed. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the hemodynamic changes with either group. The mean VAS score in the first postoperative hour was significantly higher for Group C than Group G (P < 0.0001). The mean requirement of rescue analgesic doses per patient was 3.00 ± 0.35 and 1.84 ± 0.58 in Groups C and G, respectively (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Oral gabapentin is more effective than oral clonidine as a premedication in patients undergoing spinal anesthesia belonging to American Society of Anesthesiologists I and II.

Introduction: Echocardiography has been an integral part of neonatal care since the 1990s and the application of this technology is increasing ever since. It is already known that differences in weight, age, and race significantly affect the normal heart dimensions. Therefore, establishing the normative values for cardiac dimensions among Indian healthy newborn infants is of paramount importance. In this study, we report the normal reference values of echocardiographic chamber dimensions of newborn infants from Eastern India. Methodology: One hundred healthy newborn infants were included in this cross-sectional, observational, single hospital-based pilot study. A single experienced cardiologist performed the transthoracic echocardiographic studies on the participants in supine position in their respective bassinets. No sedation was used. The parameters were distributed according to body weight and in percentiles. Results: Participants were categorized according to their body weight into three groups: 2–2.4 kg, 2.5–2.9 kg, and 3–3.5 kg. Each group comprises 7, 50, and 43 newborns, respectively. The left ventricular end-diastolic dimension and left ventricular end-systolic dimension showed incremental trends across body weight. Conclusion: This study shows the difference of cardiac dimensions in Indian newborn infants from Western data. This is the first study presenting the normative reference ranges and percentiles of echocardiographic parameters in Indian newborn infants which needs confirmation with larger multicenter studies.

The parameatal cyst (PMC) is a benign lesion that occurs primarily in male children, generally present after birth, but may also occur in girls and adults. Although expectant management, needle puncture, decapping, and marsupialization are described as different modalities of treatment, all are associated with recurrences. We present nine pediatric cases with PMC, their clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome along with a review of the literature.

Background: Pacifying newborns by nonpharmacological methods during painful procedures is a frequent and difficult problem in routine practice. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine the analgesic effects of oral sucrose solution in comparison to placebo (sterile water) in neonates. Materials and Methods: A prospective, double-blinded study of 100 neonates who were divided into two groups after simple randomization, to give either 30% sucrose solution (group A) or sterile water (group B) during an intravenous catheterization. Assessment of pain by the Douleur Aigue Nouveau-ne scale (DAN) and changes in the heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), or arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) during peripheral vein catheterization were analyzed. Results: The mean change of HR, RR, and SpO2 was more in group B compared to group A. The mean DAN scores were 2.24 ± 2.026 and 6.92 ± 2.538 in group A and group B, respectively. None of these results were statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: There was a less prominent change in HR, RR, and SpO2 with response to noxious stimuli with oral sucrose administration in newborns when compared to placebo.

DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that plays a crucial role in various biological processes, including gene expression regulation, cell differentiation, and the development of diseases such as cancer. Identifying DNA methylation patterns is essential for understanding its functional implications. Traditional experimental methods for detecting DNA methylation are costly, time-consuming, and inefficient for analyzing large-scale sequencing data. In this research, we explore the application of machine learning techniques to accurately identify DNA methylation sites. Our research aims to develop a Particle Swarm Optimization-Assisted Multilayer Ensemble Model (PSO-MEM) with several significant contributions. These include extracting semantic features from genetic sequences, optimizing feature dimensions to reduce classification errors, developing a multilayer dynamic approach that transfers learned information between layers during classification, and incorporating ensemble techniques for improved prediction and optimal results. To evaluate the performance of our proposed model, we compare it with existing models using eight publicly available datasets. The results demonstrate the efficacy of our approach, with AUC values of 91.99%, 92.80%, 90.28%, 91.03%, 93.09%, 90.79%, 90.68%, and 91.88% for the C. elegans, D. melanogaster, A. thaliana, E. coli, G. subterraneus, G. pickeringi, F. vesca, and R. chinensis datasets, respectively. The results highlight the potential of machine learning techniques for efficient and reliable identification of DNA methylation sites in large-scale genomic data, facilitating advancements in understanding epigenetic modifications and their functional implications.

Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is an opportunistic bacterium that has developed multidrug resistance (MDR) to most of today’s antibiotics, posing a significant risk to human health. Considering the fact that developing novel drugs is a time-consuming and expensive procedure, this research focuses on utilizing computational resources for repurposing antibacterial agents for A. baumannii. We targeted shikimate kinase, an essential enzyme in A. baumannii, that plays a significant role in the metabolic process. The basis for generating new therapeutic compounds is to inhibit the shikimate kinase and thereby targeting the shikimate pathway. Herein, 1941 drug-like compounds were investigated in different in silico techniques for assessing drug-likeness properties, ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) profiling, binding affinity, and conformation analysis utilizing Autodock-vina and SwissDock. CHEMBL1237, CHEMBL1237119, CHEMBL2018096, and CHEMBL39167178 were determined as potential drug candidates for suppressing shikimate kinase protein. Molecular Dynamics Simulation (MDS) results for root mean square deviation, root mean square fluctuation, hydrogen bond, and gyration radius confirm the drug candidates’ molecular stability with the target protein. According to this study, CHEMBL1237 (Lisinopril) could be the most suitable candidate for A. baumannii. Our investigation suggests that the inhibitors of shikimate kinase could represent promising treatment options for A. baumannii. However, further in vitro and in vivo studies are necessary to validate the therapeutic potential of the suggested drug candidates.

Tapering electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures is a common method in designing microstrip filters with different periodic structures. A novel technique for tapering EBG structures with the amplitude coefficients obtained from the sine function has been illustrated. This method deduces mellifluous coefficients that improves the performance with reasonable stopband width, preferable insertion loss level, and much-minimized passband ripples compared to similar designs with other tapering methods (e.g., binomial distribution, Chebyshev distribution, and conventional cosine tapering). It also offers tandem use of tapered EBG structures, leading to the novel meandered transmission line tandem design that significantly reduces the length of the filter; more than 40% is possible, compared to the uniform and conventional tapered designs. Size reduction on such a large scale will benefit the designers with the limited space issues.

Human soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), a dual-functioning homodimeric enzyme with hydrolase and phosphatase activities, is known for its pivotal role in the hydrolysis of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids. Inhibitors targeting sEH have shown promising potential in the treatment of various life-threatening diseases. In this study, we employed a range of in silico modeling approaches to investigate a diverse dataset of structurally distinct sEH inhibitors. Our primary aim was to develop predictive and validated models while gaining insights into the structural requirements necessary for achieving higher inhibitory potential. To accomplish this, we initially calculated molecular descriptors using nine different descriptor-calculating tools, coupled with stochastic and non-stochastic feature selection strategies, to identify the most statistically significant linear 2D-QSAR model. The resulting model highlighted the critical roles played by topological characteristics, 2D pharmacophore features, and specific physicochemical properties in enhancing inhibitory potential. In addition to conventional 2D-QSAR modeling, we implemented the Transformer-CNN methodology to develop QSAR models, enabling us to obtain structural interpretations based on the Layer-wise Relevance Propagation (LRP) algorithm. Moreover, a comprehensive 3D-QSAR analysis provided additional insights into the structural requirements of these compounds as potent sEH inhibitors. To validate the findings from the QSAR modeling studies, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using selected compounds from the dataset. The simulation results offered crucial insights into receptor–ligand interactions, supporting the predictions obtained from the QSAR models. Collectively, our work serves as an essential guideline for the rational design of novel sEH inhibitors with enhanced therapeutic potential. Importantly, all the in silico studies were performed using open-access tools to ensure reproducibility and accessibility.

Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide. Chemotherapeutic drugs have become a popular choice as anticancer agents. Despite the therapeutic benefits of chemotherapeutic drugs, patients often experience side effects and drug resistance. Biopolymers could be used to overcome some of the limitations of chemotherapeutic drugs, as well as be used either as anticancer agents or drug delivery vehicles. Chitosan is a biocompatible polymer derived from chitin. Chitosan, chitosan derivatives, or chitosan nanoparticles have shown their promise as an anticancer agent. Additionally, functionally modified chitosan can be used to deliver nucleic acids, chemotherapeutic drugs, and anticancer agents. More importantly, chitosan-based drug delivery systems improved the efficacy, potency, cytotoxicity, or biocompatibility of these anticancer agents. In this review, we will investigate the properties of chitosan and chemically tuned chitosan derivatives, and their application in cancer therapy.

RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is a potential therapeutic target for the discovery of novel antiviral agents for the treatment of life-threatening infections caused by newly emerged strains of the influenza virus. Being one of the most conserved enzymes among RNA viruses, RdRp and its inhibitors require further investigations to design novel antiviral agents. In this work, we systematically investigated the structural requirements for antiviral properties of some recently reported aryl benzoyl hydrazide derivatives through a range of in silico tools such as 2D-quantitative structure-activity relationship (2D-QSAR), 3D-QSAR, structure-based pharmacophore modeling, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. The 2D-QSAR models developed in the current work achieved high statistical reliability and simultaneously afforded in-depth mechanistic interpretability towards structural requirements. The structure-based pharmacophore model developed with the docked conformation of one of the most potent compounds with the RdRp protein of H5N1 influenza strain was utilized for developing a 3D-QSAR model with satisfactory statistical quality validating both the docking and the pharmacophore modeling methodologies performed in this work. However, it is the atom-based alignment of the compounds that afforded the most statistically reliable 3D-QSAR model, the results of which provided mechanistic interpretations consistent with the 2D-QSAR results. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations performed with the apoprotein as well as the docked complex of RdRp revealed the dynamic stability of the ligand at the proposed binding site of the receptor. At the same time, it also supported the mechanistic interpretations drawn from 2D-, 3D-QSAR and pharmacophore modeling. The present study, performed mostly with open-source tools and webservers, returns important guidelines for research aimed at the future design and development of novel anti-viral agents against various RNA viruses like influenza virus, human immunodeficiency virus-1, hepatitis C virus, corona virus, and so forth.

Protein function prediction is gradually emerging as an essential field in biological and computational studies. Though the latter has clinched a significant footprint, it has been observed that the application of computational information gathered from multiple sources has more significant influence than the one derived from a single source. Considering this fact, a methodology, PFP-GO, is proposed where heterogeneous sources like Protein Sequence, Protein Domain, and Protein-Protein Interaction Network have been processed separately for ranking each individual functional GO term. Based on this ranking, GO terms are propagated to the target proteins. While Protein sequence enriches the sequence-based information, Protein Domain and Protein-Protein Interaction Networks embed structural/functional and topological based information, respectively, during the phase of GO ranking. Performance analysis of PFP-GO is also based on Precision, Recall, and F-Score. The same was found to perform reasonably better when compared to the other existing state-of-art. PFP-GO has achieved an overall Precision, Recall, and F-Score of 0.67, 0.58, and 0.62, respectively. Furthermore, we check some of the top-ranked GO terms predicted by PFP-GO through multilayer network propagation that affect the 3D structure of the genome. The complete source code of PFP-GO is freely available at https://sites.google.com/view/pfp-go/.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes that play a role in chromatin remodeling and epigenetics. They belong to a specific category of enzymes that eliminate the acetyl part of the histones’ -N-acetyl lysine, causing the histones to be wrapped compactly around DNA. Numerous biological processes rely on HDACs, including cell proliferation and differentiation, angiogenesis, metastasis, gene regulation, and transcription. Epigenetic changes, specifically increased expression and activity of HDACs, are commonly detected in cancer. As a result, HDACi could be used to develop anticancer drugs. Although preclinical outcomes with HDACs as monotherapy have been promising clinical trials have had mixed results and limited success. In both preclinical and clinical trials, however, combination therapy with different anticancer medicines has proved to have synergistic effects. Furthermore, these combinations improved efficacy, decreased tumor resistance to therapy, and decreased toxicity. In the present review, the detailed modes of action, classification of HDACs, and their correlation with different cancers like prostate, breast, and ovarian cancer were discussed. Further, the different cell signaling pathways and the structure-activity relationship and pharmaco-toxicological properties of the HDACi, and their synergistic effects with other anticancer drugs observed in recent preclinical and clinical studies used in combination therapy were discussed for prostate, breast, and ovarian cancer treatment.

ABSTRACT: Background: Trayodashang guggulu (TG) is a compound Ayurvedic formulation used in Indian traditional system of medicine for the treatment of various inflammatory conditions like arthritis and associated pain.Purpose:To study the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of trayodashang guggulu.Methods: Trayodashang guggulu (TG) was standardized as per standard procedures and TLC profile was carried as per Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India and LC-MS analysis was done to identify its bioactive constituents. Trayodashang guggulu was suspended in water and administered orally at 270 and 540 mg/kg dose for evaluating pain and inflammation in rats. Analgesic activity was assessed by Eddy's hot plate, tail immersion and formalin-induced pain models while anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by carrageenan and formalin-induced inflammation models. Further, the mechanism of anti-inflammatory action is predicted through various in silico methods like molecular docking and dynamics studies using AutodockVina and AMBER, respectively.Results: TG was found compliant as per pharmacopoeial standards. TG (270 and 540 mg/kg, orally) did not cause significant reduction in pain in centrally acting pain models i.e. Eddy's hot plate and tail immersion tests as like Pentazocin (10 mg/kg). In formalin-induced pain model, TG (270 and 540 mg/kg, orally) significantly decreased both flinching and licking pain responses in early and late phase while indomethacin (10 mg/kg) only affected late phase flinching and licking. Further, TG showed significant time-dependent reduction in formalin and carrageenan-induced inflammation as compared to vehicle control. Indomethacin (10 mg/kg), standard drug also showed significant reduction in pain and inflammation. LC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 17 phytoconstituents in TG. Further, in silico studies revealed that some of the identified phytochemicals may have inhibitory activity against COX-2 enzyme and the synergistic effects due to multi components may be responsible for the anti-inflammatory properties of TG.Conclusion: In conclusion, trayodashang guggulu inhibited the inflammatory pain as well as showed anti-inflammatory activity in rats. The effect may be attributed to the presence of anti-inflammatory phytoconstituents through the inhibition of anti-inflammatory enzymes like COX-2. The study further validates its traditional use in various painful inflammatory conditions.

Animal (dog, cat, and rodent) bite injuries in neonates are common in developing countries, especially when the mother leaves the baby at the side of the field in which she is working. A wide spectrum of rat-bite injuries is described in the literature. Disease following the bite of a rat has been known for many years and has been described as rat-bite fever. We report a case of a 17-day-old female neonate who presented with a severe rat-bite injury to the face, with consequent problems in management.

Abstract Quantitative structure activity relationships (QSAR) modelling is a well-known computational tool, often used in a wide variety of applications. Yet one of the major drawbacks of conventional QSAR modelling is that models are set up based on a limited number of experimental and/or theoretical conditions. To overcome this, the so-called multitasking or multitarget QSAR (mt-QSAR) approaches have emerged as new computational tools able to integrate diverse chemical and biological data into a single model equation, thus extending and improving the reliability of this type of modelling. We have developed QSAR-Co-X, an open source python–based toolkit (available to download at https://github.com/ncordeirfcup/QSAR-Co-X ) for supporting mt-QSAR modelling following the Box-Jenkins moving average approach. The new toolkit embodies several functionalities for dataset selection and curation plus computation of descriptors, for setting up linear and non-linear models, as well as for a comprehensive results analysis. The workflow within this toolkit is guided by a cohort of multiple statistical parameters and graphical outputs onwards assessing both the predictivity and the robustness of the derived mt-QSAR models. To monitor and demonstrate the functionalities of the designed toolkit, four case-studies pertaining to previously reported datasets are examined here. We believe that this new toolkit, along with our previously launched QSAR-Co code, will significantly contribute to make mt-QSAR modelling widely and routinely applicable.

The present study has been aimed at evaluating the antiobesity, antihyperglycemic, and antidepressive potentials of Asparagus racemosus starter-based rice fermented foods. High-throughput NGS technology has revealed a number of bacterial genera in the prepared fermented rice, such as Lactobacillus (29.44%), Brevundimonas (16.21%), Stenotrophomonas (6.18%), Pseudomonas (3.11%), Bacillus (2.88%), and others (

Introduction Survival gaps in acute heart failure (AHF) continue to expand globally. Multinational heart failure (HF) registries have highlighted variations between countries. Whether discrepancies in HF practice and outcomes occur across different health systems (ie, private, public or universal healthcare) within a city or between countries remain unclear. Insight into organisational care is also scarce. With increasing public scrutiny of health inequalities, a study to address these limitations is timely.Method KOLCOV-HF study prospectively compared patients with AHF in public (Nil Ratan Sircar Hospital (NRS)) versus private (Apollo Gleneagles Hospital (AGH)) hospitals of Kolkata, India, and one with universal health coverage in a socioeconomically comparable city of Coventry, England (University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (UHCW)). Data variables were adapted from UK’s National HF Audit programme, collected over 24 months. Predictors of in-hospital mortality and length of hospitalisation were assessed for each centre.Results Among 1652 patients, in-hospital mortality was highest in government-funded NRS (11.9%) while 3 miles north, AGH had significantly lower mortality (7.5%, p=0.034), similar to UHCW (8%). This could be attributed to distinct HF phenotypes and differences in clinical and organisational care. As expected, low blood pressure was associated with a significantly greater risk of death in patients served by public hospitals UHCW and NRS.Conclusion Marked differences in HF characteristics, management and outcomes exist intra-regionally, and between low–middle versus high-income countries across private, public and universal healthcare systems. Physicians and policymakers should take caution when applying country-level data locally when developing strategies to address local evidence-practice gaps in HF.

Abstract Background At present, the entire world is in a war against COVID-19 pandemic which has gradually led us toward a more compromised “new normal” life. SARS-CoV-2, the pathogenic microorganism liable for the recent COVID-19 outbreak, is extremely contagious in nature resulting in an unusual number of infections and death globally. The lack of clinically proven therapeutic intervention for COVID-19 has dragged the world’s healthcare system into the biggest challenge. Therefore, development of an efficient treatment scheme is now in great demand. Screening of different biologically active plant-based natural compounds could be a useful strategy for combating this pandemic. In the present research, a collection of 43 flavonoids of 7 different classes with previously recorded antiviral activity was evaluated via computational and bioinformatics tools for their impeding capacity against SARS-CoV-2. In silico drug likeness, pharmacophore and Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity (ADMET) profile analysis of the finest ligands were carried out using DataWarrior, DruLiTo and admetSAR programs, respectively. Molecular docking was executed by AutoDock Vina, while molecular dynamics simulation of the target protein–ligand bound complexes was done using nanoscalable molecular dynamics and visual molecular dynamics software package. Finally, the molecular target analysis of the selected ligands within Homo sapiens was conducted with SwissTargetPredcition web server. Results Out of the forty-three flavonoids, luteolin and abyssinone II were found to develop successful docked complex within the binding sites of target proteins in terms of lowest binding free energy and inhibition constant. The root mean square deviation and root mean square fluctuation values of the docked complex displayed stable interaction and efficient binding between the ligands and target proteins. Both of the flavonoids were found to be safe for human use and possessed good drug likeness properties and target accuracy. Conclusions Conclusively, the current study proposes that luteolin and abyssinone II might act as potential therapeutic candidates for SARS-CoV-2 infection. In vivo and in vitro experiments, however, should be taken under consideration to determine the efficiency and to demonstrate the mechanism of action.

Objective: Various studies have shown racial differences in adult cardiac chamber measurements by echocardiography. There is lack of any large scale data from India regarding the echocardiographic chamber measurements in cardiologically healthy individuals. In this study we present the normal reference values of echocardiographic chamber dimensions in young eastern Indian adults and compare it with the data in present guidelines and recent studies involving Indian subjects. Methods: This study was performed on 1377 healthy adults aged 18–35 years. Standard transthoracic echocardiographies were performed to obtain basic measurements. All measurements were indexed to body surface area. Results: The mean maximal aortic valve cusp separation (ACS) and indexed ACS were significantly more in females (p = 0.002, p = 0.03). Mean left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (LVEF) and LV fractional shortening were marginally higher in females. Upper normal reference limit of LV end diastolic dimension (LVEdD) is slightly more for males. Comparing to ASE data, LVEdD, LV end systolic dimension, LV end diastolic volume, indexed LV end systolic volume, left atrial anteroposterior dimension, aortic root dimension and right ventricle outflow diameter were significantly lower in study population while LVEF was significantly higher (p