Modulations of human resting brain connectivity by kisspeptin enhance sexual and emotional functions.

Background: Resting brain connectivity is a crucial component of human behavior demonstrated by disruptions in psychosexual and emotional disorders. Kisspeptin, a recently identified critical reproductive hormone, can alter activity in certain brain structures but its effects on resting brain connectivity and networks in humans remain elusive.

Methods: We determined the effects of kisspeptin on resting brain connectivity (using functional neuroimaging) and behavior (using psychometric analyses) in healthy men, in a randomized double-blinded 2-way placebo-controlled study.

Molecular docking analysis of phytoconstituent from Momordica charantia with Guanylate Cyclase catalytic domain.

Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) is a type of lyase enzyme with profoundly increasing importance in treatments of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. Modulation of sGC activity demonstrated beneficial effects against Parkinson's disease by reducing glutamate excitotoxicity. It is of interest to evaluate the pharmacological activity of Momordica charantia phytoconstituent (DGalacturonic acid) and ODQ with catalytic domain of sGC enzyme, using Autodock version 4.

Visualization of Calcium Ion Loss from Rotavirus during Cell Entry.

Bound calcium ions stabilize many nonenveloped virions. Loss of Ca from these particles appears to be a regulated part of entry or uncoating. The outer layer of an infectious rotavirus triple-layered particle (TLP) comprises a membrane-interacting protein (VP4) anchored by a Ca-stabilized protein (VP7).

Corticotrophin-ACTH in Comparison to Prednisolone in West Syndrome - A Randomized Study.

Objective: To compare the outcomes of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and Prednisolone therapy in children with West syndrome.

Methods: The study was done at a tertiary health centre for children. The pediatric neurologist at the centre enrolled children into the study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Role of IL-6/RORC/IL-22 axis in driving Th17 pathway mediated immunopathogenesis of schizophrenia.

The immuno-inflammatory origin of schizophrenia in a subset of patients is viewed as a key element of an overarching etiological construct. Despite substantial research, the immune components exerting major effect are yet to be fully clarified. Disrupted T cell networks have consistently been linked to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

Novel Glycopolymer Eradicates Antibiotic- and CCCP-Induced Persister Cells in .

Antibiotic treatments often fail to completely eradicate a bacterial infection, leaving behind an antibiotic-tolerant subpopulation of intact bacterial cells called persisters. Persisters are considered a major cause for treatment failure and are thought to greatly contribute to the recalcitrance of chronic infections. infections are commonly associated with elevated levels of drug-tolerant persister cells, posing a serious threat to human health.

High-definition transcranial direct current simulation (HD-tDCS) for persistent auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia.

Conventional transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has been reported to alleviate persistent auditory hallucinations (AH) in schizophrenia as an add-on intervention. High-Definition tDCS (HD-tDCS), an optimized form of tDCS, has the potential for more focalized neuromodulation. In this study, add-on HD-tDCS (5 days twice daily session with 2-mA cathodal current on left temporo-parietal junction) using 4 × 1 ring montage significantly reduced persistent AH (t = 3.

Online Theta Frequency Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation for Cognitive Remediation in Schizophrenia: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that uses low-intensity alternating current, has been postulated to be a potential therapeutic option in treating the cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Transcranial alternating current stimulation synchronizes the neural oscillations to the applied stimulation frequency in the stimulated cortical regions. In this report, we have reviewed the literature pertinent to the clinical application of tACS in psychiatric disorders; in addition, we have described the clinical use of online theta tACS in a schizophrenia patient with cognitive deficits.

Impact of antipsychotic treatment on methylation status of Interleukin-6 [IL-6] gene in Schizophrenia.

Immunopathogenesis of schizophrenia has emerged as one of the predominant research paradigms in recent times. Based on the altered serum levels as well as gene expression, IL-6 has been considered as a peripheral biomarker of schizophrenia. However, the precise mechanism underlying the altered expression of IL6 in schizophrenia is inadequately known.

The effects of kisspeptin on β-cell function, serum metabolites and appetite in humans.

Aims: To investigate the effect of kisspeptin on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and appetite in humans.

Materials And Methods: In 15 healthy men (age: 25.2 ± 1.

Early initiation of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in postrenal transplant period: A study from a state-run tertiary care center.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) comprise a drug class, which are potent antihypertensives with renoprotective effects but are grossly underutilized in renal transplant recipients. These drugs have been reported to cause elevated potassium and creatinine levels in some renal transplant patients. There have been no reports of prospective studies on use of ACEi in renal transplant patients in the early post-transplant period.

The key informant strategy to determine the prevalence and causes of functional low vision among children in South India.

Purpose: To report the prevalence and causes of functional low vision (FLV) in school-age children in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India and to report our experience using the key informant (KI) method in this setting.

Methods: Children suspected of having low vision were identified by KIs or Aravind Eye Hospital personnel in Coimbatore District. All identified children underwent a cycloplegic refraction and full eye exam.

Baeyer-Villiger Monooxygenase-Mediated Synthesis of Esomeprazole As an Alternative for Kagan Sulfoxidation.

A wild-type Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase was engineered to overcome numerous liabilities in order to mediate a commercial oxidation of pyrmetazole to esomeprazole, using air as the terminal oxidant in an almost exclusively aqueous reaction matrix. The developed enzyme and process compares favorably to the incumbent Kagan inspired chemocatalytic oxidation, as esomeprazole was isolated in 87% yield, in >99% purity, with an enantiomeric excess of >99%.

Construction of population-specific Indian MRI brain template: Morphometric comparison with Chinese and Caucasian templates.

Objective: Spatial normalization of brain MR images is highly dependent on the choice of target brain template. Morphological differences caused by factors like genetic and environmental exposures, generates a necessity to construct population specific brain templates. Brain image analysis performed using brain templates from Caucasian population may not be appropriate for non-Caucasian population.

Hippocampus volume alterations and the clinical correlates in medication naïve obsessive compulsive disorder.

Background: Converging evidence suggests the role of hippocampus in the pathophysiology of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The role of hippocampus, which might have a cardinal role in the neurobiology of OCD through its mediating effect on various cognitive and affective processes, needs further investigation. This study is a region-of-interest analysis of hippocampal volume and its clinical correlates in a medication-naïve sample with low comorbidity rate.

Discovery biology of neuropsychiatric syndromes (DBNS): a center for integrating clinical medicine and basic science.

Background: There is emerging evidence that there are shared genetic, environmental and developmental risk factors in psychiatry, that cut across traditional diagnostic boundaries. With this background, the Discovery biology of neuropsychiatric syndromes (DBNS) proposes to recruit patients from five different syndromes (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, Alzheimer's dementia and substance use disorders), identify those with multiple affected relatives, and invite these families to participate in this study. The families will be assessed: 1) To compare neuro-endophenotype measures between patients, first degree relatives (FDR) and healthy controls.

Exploring the Potentiality of Novel Rhizospheric Bacterial Strains against the Rice Blast Fungus .

Rice blast caused by is a major disease. In the present study, we aimed to identify and evaluate the novel bacterial isolates from rice rhizosphere for biocontrol of pathogen. Sixty bacterial strains from the rice plant's rhizosphere were tested for their biocontrol activity against under and .

Gene polymorphisms and response to transcranial direct current stimulation for auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia.

Objective: Recent observations demonstrate a significant ameliorative effect of add-on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) in schizophrenia. Of the many SNPs, NRG1 rs35753505 and catechol-o-methyl transferase (COMT) rs4680 polymorphisms have shown to have a strong association with neuroplasticity effect in schizophrenia.

Methods: Schizophrenia patients (n=32) with treatment resistant auditory hallucinations were administered with an add-on tDCS.

Hypothalamic Response to Kisspeptin-54 and Pituitary Response to Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Are Preserved in Healthy Older Men.

Background: Male testosterone levels decline by 1% per year from the age of 40 years. Whilst a primary testicular deficit occurs, hypothalamic or pituitary dysregulation may also coexist. This study aimed to compare the hypothalamic response to kisspeptin-54 and the pituitary response to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) of older men with those of young men.

Assessing microscope image focus quality with deep learning.

Background: Large image datasets acquired on automated microscopes typically have some fraction of low quality, out-of-focus images, despite the use of hardware autofocus systems. Identification of these images using automated image analysis with high accuracy is important for obtaining a clean, unbiased image dataset. Complicating this task is the fact that image focus quality is only well-defined in foreground regions of images, and as a result, most previous approaches only enable a computation of the relative difference in quality between two or more images, rather than an absolute measure of quality.

A curious case of central odontogenic fibroma: A novel perspective.

We appraise a case of central odontogenic fibroma (COF) with unusual histologic features of entrapped neural elements and mast cells. The presence of mast cells attributed to the release of stem cell factor, the principal growth and activating factor of mast cells. A putative role for C-kit and mast cells in the pathogenesis of COF is described.

Cortical Abnormalities Associated With Pediatric and Adult Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Findings From the ENIGMA Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Working Group.

Objective: Brain imaging studies of structural abnormalities in OCD have yielded inconsistent results, partly because of limited statistical power, clinical heterogeneity, and methodological differences. The authors conducted meta- and mega-analyses comprising the largest study of cortical morphometry in OCD ever undertaken.

Method: T-weighted MRI scans of 1,905 OCD patients and 1,760 healthy controls from 27 sites worldwide were processed locally using FreeSurfer to assess cortical thickness and surface area.

In Vitro activity of novel glycopolymer against clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

The incidence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is a serious threat to public health. Progress in developing new therapeutics is being outpaced by antibiotic resistance development, and alternative agents that rapidly permeabilize bacteria hold tremendous potential for treating MDR infections. A new class of glycopolymers includes polycationic poly-N (acetyl, arginyl) glucosamine (PAAG) is under development as an alternative to traditional antibiotic strategies to treat MRSA infections.