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Background: The status of cancer care in Bihar is in elementary stages, with limited knowledge of epidemiology and insufficient comprehensive cancer care centers. State Cancer Institute (SCI) of Bihar is actively working to address these gaps by continuously upgrading its facilities and services. Objectives: The present article aims to define the problem and conduct a situational analysis for strengthening cancer care services in Bihar through the expansion and integration of services at SCI, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna. Materials and Methods: A problem statement was initially developed following a comprehensive review of the literature from January 2023 to September 2023, with an updated review conducted in August 2024. Full-text articles containing the keywords “cancer,” “incidence,” and “Bihar” were searched on PubMed and manually screened for relevance based on titles and abstracts. Additional information was collected through Google searches of public domain websites and newspaper portals, and relevant articles were also identified through a manual review of references. Furthermore, a situational analysis was conducted using SWOT analysis and power-interest matrix to identify and evaluate the stakeholders. Results: Accurate cancer incidence data for Bihar are lacking. Almost half of the estimated new cancer cases seem to be registered within the state, while the rest remain unaccounted. Presently, there are only eight comprehensive cancer centers operational in the state. The SWOT analysis highlighted opportunities for SCI based on inherent strengths, while limited manpower and inadequate collaborations were identified as critical weaknesses. Key stakeholders were identified as the crucial players in mitigating threats and supporting positive policy and financial frameworks. Conclusion: Properly addressing the needs of stakeholders and fully utilizing available opportunities are essential for strengthening healthcare services in the state. The SCI could play a vital role in the process. The article also provides background on devising strategies to address the current cancer care needs of the state.

Background: India is a vast and diverse country with existing variations in the frequency and distribution of cancers across its various parts. In regions lacking population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) in a vast country like India, hospital-based cancer registry (HBCR) data become an important source of information on the trends and patterns of a region. To determine the numerical trends of cases of the top ten cancer sites reporting to HBCR of a tertiary care cancer center in Bihar from 2014 to 2021. Materials and Methods: The details of all histopathologically confirmed cancer cases registered in the HBCR department of radiation oncology, State Cancer Institute, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India between January 2014 and December 2021 were included in this retrospective observational study. All these cases were grouped site-wise and listed in descending order of the total number of cases reported in each group. Cross-tabulation with age and sex distribution was done. The frequency distribution of the top ten leading cancers for every consecutive calendar year was plotted in line diagrams for time trend analysis. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). was used for analysis. Annual percent change (APC) was determined for the number of cases of all ten cancer sites using joinpoint regression analysis (Joinpoint Regression Software, Version 4.0.4—May 2013; Statistical Methodology and Applications Branch, Surveillance Research Program of the US National Cancer Institute; Bethesda, MD, USA). Results: Out of 32,057 total cancer cases registered between Jan 2014 and Dec 2021, 21,848 patients (68.2%) cases constituted the top ten cancers. The top ten cancers among both sexes were cancer gallbladder (n = 4204, 13.1%), head and neck (n = 3395, 10.6%), breast (n = 3392, 10.6%), lung (n = 2069, 6.5%), cervix (n = 2039, 6.4%), hematolymphoid (n = 1930, 6.0%), liver (n = 1572, 4.9%), stomach (n = 1116, 3.5%), ovary (n = 1103, 3.4%), and colon-rectum (n = 1028, 3.2%). Except for cervical and hematolymphoid cancers, the rest all showed a rising trend over consecutive years. Conclusion: Cancer of the gallbladder continues to be among the most common cancers in the region. Focused research in all aspects of this deadly disease is needed. Strengthening of prevention and screening programs for common cancers and upliftment of the existing infrastructure for diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the region are necessitated.

Abstract Late blight is a serious disease of potato worldwide. Our study aimed to unveil genes involved in late blight resistance in potato by RNA-seq analysis after artificial inoculation under controlled conditions. In this study, two potato somatic hybrids (P7 and Crd6) and three varieties such as Kufri Girdhari, Kufri Jyoti and Kufri Bahar (control) were used. Transcriptiome analysis revealed statistically significant (p

Abstract Primary CNS Vasculitis (PCNSV) is a rare, diverse, and polymorphic CNS blood vessel inflammatory condition. Due to its rarity, clinical variability, heterogeneous imaging results, and lack of definitive laboratory markers, PCNSV diagnosis is challenging. This retrospective cohort analysis identified patients with histological diagnosis of PCNSV. Demographic data, clinical presentation, neuroimaging studies, and histopathologic findings were recorded. We enrolled 56 patients with a positive biopsy of CNS vasculitis. Most patients had cerebral hemisphere or brainstem symptoms. Most brain MRI lesions were bilateral, diffuse discrete to confluent white matter lesions. Frontal lobe lesions predominated, followed by inferior cerebellar lesions. Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) hemorrhages in 96.4% (54/56) of patients, either solitary microhemorrhages or a combination of micro and macrohemorrhages. Contrast-enhanced T1-WIs revealed parenchymal enhancement in 96.3% (52/54 patients). The most prevalent pattern of enhancement observed was dot-linear (87%), followed by nodular (61.1%), perivascular (25.9%), and patchy (16.7%). Venulitis was found in 19 of 20 individuals in cerebral DSA. Hemorrhages in SWI and dot-linear enhancement pattern should be incorporated as MINOR diagnostic criteria to diagnose PCNSV accurately within an appropriate clinical context. Microhemorrhages in SWI and venulitis in DSA, should be regarded as a potential marker for PCNSV.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic, necessitating the development of new medicines. In this investigation, we identified potential natural flavonoids and compared their inhibitory activity against spike glycoprotein, which is a target of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV. The target site for the interaction of new inhibitors for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 has 82% sequence identity and the remaining 18% dissimilarities in RBD S1-subunit, S2-subunit, and 2.5% others. Molecular docking was employed to analyse the various binding processes used by each ligand in a library of 85 natural flavonoids that act as anti-viral medications and FDA authorised treatments for COVID-19. In the binding pocket of the target active site, remdesivir has less binding interaction than pectolinarin, according to the docking analysis. Pectolinarin is a natural flavonoid isolated from Cirsiumsetidensas that has anti-cancer, vasorelaxant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, and anti-oxidant properties. The S-glycoprotein RBD region (330–583) is inhibited by kaempferol, rhoifolin, and herbacetin, but the S2 subunit (686–1270) is inhibited by pectolinarin, morin, and remdesivir. MD simulation analysis of S-glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 with pectolinarin complex at 100ns based on high dock-score. Finally, ADMET analysis was used to validate the proposed compounds with the highest binding energy.

Abstract Primary CNS Vasculitis (PCNSV) is a rare inflammatory disorder affecting the blood vessels of the central nervous system. Patients present with a combination of headaches, seizures, and focal neurological deficits. There is usually a diagnostic delay. Treatment is based on observational studies and expert opinion. Our objective was to identify clinical, laboratory, neuroimaging, pathologic or management-related associations with 2 year outcome in patients with primary CNS vasculitis. We conducted a cohort study at a single tertiary care referral centre of prospectively (2018-2019) and retrospectively (2010-2018) identified individuals with primary CNS vasculitis (diagnosis was proven by either brain biopsy or cerebral digital subtraction angiography). Clinical, imaging and histopathologic findings, treatment, and functional outcomes were recorded. Univariate and stepwise multiple logistic regression were applied. P-value

Cancer, which is the uncontrolled growth of cells, is the second leading cause of death after heart disease. Targeting drugs, especially to specific genes and proteins involved in growth and survival of cancer cells, is the prime need of research world-wide. Indole moiety, which is a combination of aromatic-heterocyclic compounds, is a constructive scaffold for the development of novel leads. Owing to its bioavailability, high unique chemical properties and significant pharmacological behaviours, indole is considered as the most inquisitive scaffold for anticancer drug research. This is illustrated by the fact that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved several indole-based anticancer agents such as panobinostat, alectinib, sunitinib, osimertinib, anlotinib and nintedanib for clinical use. Furthermore, hundreds of studies on the synthesis and activity of the indole ring have been published in the last three years. Taking into account the facts stated above, we have presented the most recent advances in medicinal chemistry of indole derivatives, encompassing hot articles published between 2018 and 2021 in anticancer drug research. The recent advances made towards the synthesis of promising indole-based anticancer compounds that may act via various targets such as topoisomerase, tubulin, apoptosis, aromatase, kinases, etc., have been discussed. This review also summarizes some of the recent efficient green chemical synthesis for indole rings using various catalysts for the period during 2018–2021. The review also covers the synthesis, structure‒activity relationship, and mechanism by which these leads have demonstrated improved and promising anticancer activity. Indole molecules under clinical and preclinical stages are classified into groups based on their cancer targets and presented in tabular form, along with their mechanism of action. The goal of this review article is to point the way for medicinal chemists to design and develop effective indole-based anticancer agents.

The root is an important plant organ, which uptakes nutrients and water from the soil, and provides anchorage for the plant. Abiotic stresses like heat, drought, nutrients, salinity, and cold are the major problems of potato cultivation. Substantial research advances have been achieved in cereals and model plants on root system architecture (RSA), and so root ideotype (e.g., maize) have been developed for efficient nutrient capture to enhance nutrient use efficiency along with genes regulating root architecture in plants. However, limited work is available on potatoes, with a few illustrations on root morphology in drought and nitrogen stress. The role of root architecture in potatoes has been investigated to some extent under heat, drought, and nitrogen stresses. Hence, this mini-review aims to update knowledge and prospects of strengthening RSA research by applying multi-disciplinary physiological, biochemical, and molecular approaches to abiotic stress tolerance to potatoes with lessons learned from model plants, cereals, and other plants.

India is the second largest producer of potatoes in the world. Seed is the single most important input in potato cultivation. High seed rate (2.5–3.0 tons/ha), low rate of multiplication, progressive viral degeneration, storage, and transportation are major issues of potato seed production in the country. Potato seed alone accounts for 40%-50% of the total potato production cost, and huge quantities of potentially edible food is put back into the soil as potato seed. The delayed penetration of new improved potato/seed varieties into farmers’ fields due to the slow multiplication rate and frequent seed replacement because of degeneration are associated issues. To circumvent these issues, continuous efforts are being made by potato researchers to develop innovative technologies for quick multiplication of initial healthy breeder’s seed of the released varieties in sufficient quantities to meet the demand in our country. A paradigm shift in potato seed production methods has taken place globally since the early 1900s. Major potato producers of the world have shifted from conventional to hi-tech seed production systems to improve the seed quality and enhance seed multiplication rate. New innovations can overcome many of the problems associated with potato seed production, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Recent advances in potato seed production systems in India and challenges ahead for seed production are described here.

Potato is one of the most important food crops in the world. Late blight, viruses, soil and tuber-borne diseases, insect-pests mainly aphids, whiteflies, and potato tuber moths are the major biotic stresses affecting potato production. Potato is an irrigated and highly fertilizer-responsive crop, and therefore, heat, drought, and nutrient stresses are the key abiotic stresses. The genus Solanum is a reservoir of genetic diversity, however, a little fraction of total diversity has been utilized in potato breeding. The conventional breeding has contributed significantly to the development of potato varieties. In recent years, a tremendous progress has been achieved in the sequencing technologies from short-reads to long-reads sequence data, genomes of Solanum species (i.e., pan-genomics), bioinformatics and multi-omics platforms such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, ionomics, and phenomics. As such, genome editing has been extensively explored as a next-generation breeding tool. With the available high-throughput genotyping facilities and tetraploid allele calling softwares, genomic selection would be a reality in potato in the near future. This mini-review covers an update on germplasm, breeding, and genomics in potato improvement for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.

Background: Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees (Acanthaceae) is a herbaceous plant used in traditional medicines for the treatment of various ailments. Diterpene lactones are the main phytoconstituents and are responsible for the plant's bitter taste and therapeutic activity. Pure andrographolide (AD) and crude extracts have all been shown to be accountable for various pharmacological activities, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, antidiabetic and antibacterial agents. This review covers recent studies of the exploitation of A. Paniculata with a specific focus on the plant's pharmacological and clinical studies alongwith their therapeutic drug targets and novel drug delivery system. Method: Information for the current review article is collected from various electronic scientific databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Scifinder, Google Scholar, books and reports. All the composed information is classified into different sections according to the objective of the paper. To fetch the useful articles various keywords, namely 'Andrographis paniculata’, ‘King of Bitters’, ‘Andrographolide’ ‘Clinical study’, Molecular mechanism’, ‘Anticancer’, 'Anti-inflammatory', 'Antidiabetic', 'Neuroprotective', ‘Pharmacokinetics’, ‘Novel Drug Delivery System’ were used for search. Results: Of all the 180 studies, twenty one primarily focused on introduction, twenty-seven studies presented a brief introduction of different diseases, ninety studies highlighted the pharmacological activities and therapeutic targets of plant extract and its pure bioactive compounds, twenty five investigations demonstrated the pharmacokinetic parameters of AD and its novel drug delivery systems and seventeen studies investigated clinical studies of the plant. Conclusion: Different recent research and review papers have been studied to gain insights into the therapeutic activities and clinical studies of A. paniculata. Following the extensive literature survey, we collected notable information on the plant. For rapid glance studies, experimental and research findings are compiled into tabular form for quick understanding. Possible directions for future research are also outlined briefly, encouraging the researchers for advance investigations on various mechanistic targets of this plant.

The extrathoracic oral airway is not only a major mechanical barrier for pharmaceutical aerosols to reach the lung but also a major source of variability in lung deposition. Using computational fluid dynamics, deposition of 1–30 µm particles was predicted in 11 CT-based models of the oral airways of adults. Simulations were performed for mouth breathing during both inspiration and expiration at two steady-state flow rates representative of resting/nebulizer use (18 L/min) and of dry powder inhaler (DPI) use (45 L/min). Consistent with previous in vitro studies, there was a large intersubject variability in oral deposition. For an optimal size distribution of 1–5 µm for pharmaceutical aerosols, our data suggest that >75% of the inhaled aerosol is delivered to the intrathoracic lungs in most subjects when using a nebulizer but only in about half the subjects when using a DPI. There was no significant difference in oral deposition efficiency between inspiration and expiration, unlike subregional deposition, which shows significantly different patterns between the two breathing phases. These results highlight the need for incorporating a morphological variation of the upper airway in predictive models of aerosol deposition for accurate predictions of particle dosimetry in the intrathoracic region of the lung.

The potato originated in southern Peru and north-western Bolivia (South America). However, native accessions have also been cultivated in India for many years. Late blight, caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans, is the most devastating potato disease, while potato cyst nematode (Globodera spp.) (PCN) is another economically significant quarantine-requiring pest in India. In this study, we have generated a new Indian native collection of 94 potato accessions collected from different parts India. These accessions were screened against late blight and potato cyst nematode resistance by using gene-based molecular markers and phenotypic screening methods. Marker assisted selection using R1 gene-specific marker CosA210 revealed a late blight resistance gene in 11 accessions. PCN resistance bands were found in 3 accessions with marker TG689141, 5 accessions with marker 57R452, and 1 accession having Gro1-4-1602 marker for G. rostochiensis (Ro1,4), while 64 accessions amplified marker HC276 indicating G. pallida (Pa2,3) resistance gene (GpaVvrn QTL). On the other hand, phenotypic screening against late blight resistance under natural epiphytic conditions (hot-spot) revealed three accessions with high resistance, while others were resistant (1 accession), moderately resistant (5 accessions), susceptible (29 accessions), and highly susceptible (56 accessions). For G. rostochiensis (golden cyst nematode) and G. pallida (white cyst nematode) resistance, accessions were grouped into highly resistant (3, 3), resistant (0, 2), moderately resistant (6, 29), susceptible (32, 30), and highly susceptible (53, 30), respectively, for the two PCN species. Collectively, we identified promising accessions with high resistance to late blight (JG-1, Kanpuria Safed, and Rangpuria), and also highly resistant to both Globodera species (Garlentic, Jeevan Jyoti, and JG-1). Our findings suggested that these accessions would be useful for late blight and PCN resistance breeding, as well as future molecular studies in potatoes.

With increasing population, degrading soil health, limited arable land area, and high cost of nitrogen (N) fertilizers, improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of potato is an inevitable approach to save the environment and achieve sufficient tuber yields with less N fertilizer supply. Recently, we have developed an aeroponics system to study NUE in potato using genomics, physiology, and breeding approaches. This study aims on precision phenotyping of plants of two distinct potato varieties (Kufri Gaurav, N efficient; Kufri Jyoti, N inefficient) in the novel aeroponics system. Plants were grown in aeroponics under controlled conditions with low N (0.75 mmol L−1 NO3−) and high N (7.5 mmol L−1 NO3−) levels. Plant biomass, root traits, total chlorophyll content, and plant N were increased with increasing N supply, whereas higher NUE parameters namely NUE, agronomic NUE (AgNUE), N uptake efficiency (NUpE), harvest index (HI), and N harvest index (NHI) were observed at low N. An NUE efficient cv. Kufri Gaurav showed higher tuber dry weight, fresh tuber yield, tuber number per plant, early start of tuber harvesting, root traits, stolon traits, NUE parameters, and higher amino acid (aspartic acid and asparagine) content at low N supply. Higher expression of nitrate reductase (NR), nitrite reductase (NIR), and asparagine synthetase (AS) genes was observed in the leaf tissues of Kufri Gaurav at high N. Thus, aeroponics-based precision phenotyping enables identification of NUE efficient genotypes based on key traits and genes involved in improving NUE in potato. Further, this study suggests that the potential of aeroponics can be utilized to investigate N biology in potato under different N regimes.

Abstract With an aim of enhancing drought tolerance using a marker‐assisted backcrossing (MABC) approach, we introgressed the “QTL‐hotspot” region from ICC 4958 accession that harbors quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for several drought‐tolerance related traits into three elite Indian chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars: Pusa 372, Pusa 362, and DCP 92‐3. Of eight simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in the QTL‐hotspot region, two to three polymorphic markers were used for foreground selection with respective cross‐combinations. A total of 47, 53, and 46 SSRs were used for background selection in case of introgression lines (ILs) developed in genetic backgrounds of Pusa 372, Pusa 362, and DCP 92‐3, respectively. In total, 61 ILs (20 BC3F3 in Pusa 372; 20 BC2F3 in Pusa 362, and 21 BC3F3 in DCP 92‐3), with >90% recurrent parent genome recovery were developed. Six improved lines in different genetic backgrounds (e.g. BGM 10216 in Pusa 372; BG 3097 and BG 4005 in Pusa 362; IPC(L4‐14), IPC(L4‐16), and IPC(L19‐1) in DCP 92‐3) showed better performance than their respective recurrent parents. BGM 10216, with 16% yield gain over Pusa 372, has been released as Pusa Chickpea 10216 by the Central Sub‐Committees on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties of Agricultural Crops, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, for commercial cultivation in India. In summary, this study reports introgression of the QTL‐hotspot for enhancing yield under rainfed conditions, development of several introgression lines, and release of Pusa Chickpea 10216 developed through molecular breeding in India.

A new, facile, cost-effective and environment-friendly protocol is reported for the synthesis of 1-amidoalkyl-2-naphthols exploring tannic acid as a novel, cheap and biodegradable catalyst. β-naphthol is condensed with substituted aromatic aldehydes and various amides using catalytic amount of tannic acid in the absence of solvent under thermal (hot plate and oil bath) and microwave irradiation techniques. This green protocol offers many advantages such as short reaction time, use of environment-friendly and cheap catalyst and good to excellent yields.

Macrophages use an extracellular, hydrolytic compartment formed by local actin polymerization to digest aggregated LDL (agLDL). Catabolism of agLDL promotes foam cell formation and creates an environment rich in LDL catabolites, including cholesterol and ceramide. Increased ceramide levels are present in lesional LDL, but the effect of ceramide on macrophage proatherogenic processes remains unknown. Here, we show that macrophages accumulate ceramide in atherosclerotic lesions. Using macrophages from sphingosine kinase 2 KO (SK2KO) mice to mimic ceramide-rich conditions of atherosclerotic lesions, we show that SK2KO macrophages display impaired actin polymerization and foam cell formation in response to contact with agLDL. C16-ceramide treatment impaired wild-type but not SK2KO macrophage actin polymerization, confirming that this effect is due to increased ceramide levels. We demonstrate that knockdown of RhoA or inhibition of Rho kinase restores agLDL-induced actin polymerization in SK2KO macrophages. Activation of RhoA in macrophages was sufficient to impair actin polymerization and foam cell formation in response to agLDL. Finally, we establish that during catabolism, macrophages take up ceramide from agLDL, and inhibition of ceramide generation modulates actin polymerization. These findings highlight a critical regulatory pathway by which ceramide impairs actin polymerization through increased RhoA/Rho kinase signaling and regulates foam cell formation.

The aim of the present work is to investigate the utility of redox chemical delivery prodrug approach for the targeted and sustained release of an alkylating anticancer agent in the brain. The N-methyl-1,4-dihydronicotinate ester of an alkylating nitrogen mustard NM-CDS (4) was synthesized in three step reactions. Structures of all the synthesized compounds were confirmed by UV, IR, (1H&13C) NMR and CHN elemental studies. In vitro chemical oxidation studies with silver nitrate of NM-CDS (4) indicated that it can be readily converted into its corresponding quaternary salt (3) with half life of 8 min. In vitro biological oxidation studies showed facile oxidation in biological media and rate of oxidation followed pseudo first-order kinetics with reasonable half-lives of 32.5 min in rat blood, 24.2 min in human blood and 19.4 min in brain homogenate. The in vivo studies on Sprague–Dawley rats were performed. The NM-CDS (4) at a dose of 40 mg/kg, was injected into rats. At selected time intervals, blood samples and the brains were collected and analyzed by UV spectrophotometer. The results demonstrated that NM-CDS (4) was able to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB) at detectable concentration, oxidized to its active quaternary salt (Q-salt) (3) and sustained there for some period of time. The in silico ADME descriptors required for CNS activity were determined by computational, online (Molinspiration) and QikProp 3.2 software (Schrodinger, USA) that further indicated that NM-CDS (4) has a good potential to cross the BBB and show CNS antitumor activity.

An oscillating active integrated antenna (AIA) with a switchable pattern among sum or difference is reported here. The AIA design consists of a passive feedback network and an active device. A two‐port, two‐element patch array coupled electromagnetically through T‐shaped microstrip lines is integrated into the feedback path of the oscillator circuit. This two‐port network acts as a radiator and frequency‐selective network for the oscillator circuit. The proposed AIA can switch in two different radiation pattern states by using p‐i‐n diodes. In the difference pattern, oscillating AIA has a measured null depth of −19.86 dB from the peak. The measured phase noise for both patterns is better than −105.1 dBc/Hz at a 1‐MHz offset from the oscillation frequencies. The dc‐to‐RF efficiencies for both pattern states are better than 20%. The proposed design is suitable to cover the space in a more efficient manner by generating the pattern among broadside or conical.

Globalization of the economy, e-business, and introduction of new technologies pose new challenges to all organizations especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In this scenario, successful implementation of supply chain management (SCM) can give SMEs an edge over their competitors. However, SMEs in India and other developing countries face problems in SCM implementation due to lack of resources and direction. Against this backdrop, this paper identified 13 critical success factors (CSFs) for implementation of SCM in SMEs and studied their impact on performance of Indian SMEs. Top management commitment, long–term vision, focus on core strengths, devoted resources for supply chain, and development of effective SCM strategy emerged as the most pertinent CSFs. To measure improvement in performance, the authors considered different measures related to customer service and satisfaction, innovation and growth, financial performance, and internal business. Results are analysed by testing research propositions using standard statistical tools.

Nitrogen mustard (mustine) containing an established anticancer moiety (N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)amino is the one of the most active and widely used alkylating anticancer agents but it is too polar to cross the blood–brain barrier. The present study evaluates the utility of the dihydropyridine↔pyridinium salt redox system for the specific delivery and sustained release of bis-(2-chloroethyl)amine as anticancer moiety to the brain as an initial effort in a search for agents that may prove effective as CNS antitumor agent. The cytotoxic moiety bis-(2-chloroethyl)amine was converted into the corresponding 1-methyl-3-[bis-(2′-chloroethyl)amino]carbamoyl-1,4 dihydropyridine (CDS-mustard) (4), in three steps. Structures of all the synthesized compounds were characterized by UV, IR and 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopic studies. In vitro chemical oxidation studies with silver nitrate of CDS-mustard indicated that it can be readily converted into its corresponding salt (3). In vitro kinetic studies of CDS-mustard showed that its rate of oxidation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with reasonable half-lives in biological media. The study of some other physicochemical parameter calculated by online software also indicates that it can be a potential CNS antitumor agent.

A series of novel 2-amino-5-chlorobenzophenone derivatives (3a–3g) were prepared by the reaction of 2-(chloroacetamido)-5-chlorobenzophenone and different aniline derivatives by both conventional and microwave methods and structures were confirmed on the basis of their TLC, IR, 1H NMR and CHN elemental studies. Out of the two methods, microwave methods was found to give better yield. All the synthesized compounds were subjected to physicochemical parameters determination for BBB penetration through online software. The logP values of most of our test compounds indicate that test compounds have the potential to be CNS active. The experimentally determined and calculated values of logP are very much similar to values of logP calculated by the online software chemsilico and are in the range required for good CNS activity. The values of other physicochemical parameters like molecular weight, nON value, nOHNH value, n-violations and the number of rotatable bonds of all the test compounds also lie between the ranges that are required for good BBB penetration. The compounds were screened for the skeletal muscle relaxant activity and from the investigation, it is quite apparent that all the 2-amino-5-chlorobenzophenone derivatives (3a–3g) possess significant differences between control group and treated group, P

Objective: Aerva lanata (Linn) Juss ex Schult, family Amaranthaceae, is a common wayside weed. The herb is accepted by the Ayurvedic Formulary of India. This study was undertaken to establish morphoanatomic and physiochemical standards of A. lanata. Methods: Leaf constants and high-performance thin layer chromatography fingerprint profiles of A. lanata were performed. Results and conclusion: The physico–chemical, morphologic, and histologic parameters presented in this paper may be proposed as standards to establish the authenticity of A. lanata and help differentiate it from other species such as Aerva tomentosa.

The study was designed to isolate and characterize Pseudomonas spp. from sugarcane rhizosphere, and to evaluate their plant- growth- promoting (PGP) traits and nitrogenase activity. A biological nitrogen-fixing microbe has great potential to replace chemical fertilizers and be used as a targeted biofertilizer in a plant. A total of 100 isolates from sugarcane rhizosphere, belonging to different species, were isolated; from these, 30 isolates were selected on the basis of preliminary screening, for in vitro antagonistic activities against sugarcane pathogens and for various PGP traits, as well as nitrogenase activity. The production of IAA varied from 312.07 to 13.12 μg mL−1 in tryptophan supplemented medium, with higher production in AN15 and lower in CN20 strain. The estimation of ACC deaminase activity, strains CY4 and BA2 produced maximum and minimum activity of 77.0 and 15.13 μmoL mg−1 h−1. For nitrogenase activity among the studied strains, CoA6 fixed higher and AY1 fixed lower in amounts (108.30 and 6.16 μmoL C2H2 h−1 mL−1). All the strains were identified on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and the phylogenetic diversity of the strains was analyzed. The results identified all strains as being similar to Pseudomonas spp. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of nifH and antibiotic genes was suggestive that the amplified strains had the capability to fix nitrogen and possessed biocontrol activities. Genotypic comparisons of the strains were determined by BOX, ERIC, and REP PCR profile analysis. Out of all the screened isolates, CY4 (Pseudomonas koreensis) and CN11 (Pseudomonas entomophila) showed the most prominent PGP traits, as well as nitrogenase activity. Therefore, only these two strains were selected for further studies; Biolog profiling; colonization through green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged bacteria; and nifH gene expression using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. The Biolog phenotypic profiling, which comprised utilization of C and N sources, and tolerance to osmolytes and pH, revealed the metabolic versatility of the selected strains. The colonization ability of the selected strains was evaluated by genetically tagging them with a constitutively expressing GFP-pPROBE-pTetr-OT plasmid. qRT-PCR results showed that both strains had the ability to express the nifH gene at 90 and 120 days, as compared to a control, in both sugarcane varieties GT11 and GXB9. Therefore, our isolated strains, P. koreensis and P. entomophila may be used as inoculums or in biofertilizer production for enhancing growth and nutrients, as well as for improving nitrogen levels, in sugarcane and other crops. The present study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first report on the diversity of Pseudomonas spp. associated with sugarcane in Guangxi, China.

The combination of two pharmacological entities in a single compound has been utilized as a promising drug design strategy for site-specificity. So two nitrogen mustard agents were synthesized by conjugating mustard with the benzodiazepine nucleus in the hope to obtain central nervous system (CNS) antitumor agents. The benzodiazepine part is aimed to serve as a CNS active carrier enabling the alkylating moiety to cross the BBB by altering its physicochemical properties. Structures of all the synthesized compounds were confirmed by IR, NMR (1H & 13C), mass spectral and elemental studies. The benzodiazepine-mustard conjugates are oily at room temperature and quite stable when stored in refrigerator for 2 months. Both compounds when evaluated for NBP alkylating activity against chlorambucil, proved to be active alkylating agents. The compounds were markedly active when subjected to in vitro biological evaluation using an MTT colorimetric assay against four human cancer cell lines (A-549, COLO 205, U-87 MG and IMR-32). The physicochemical ADME studies were also analyzed using Qikprop 2.5 tools of Schodinger software which further indicates that both compounds can be potential candidates for the treatment of brain tumor.