Sensing Hachimoji DNA Bases with Janus MoSH Monolayer Nanodevice: Insights from Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Non-Equilibrium Green's Function Analysis.

Detection of nucleobases is of great significance in DNA sequencing, which is one of the main goals of the Human Genome Project. The synthesis of Hachimoji DNA, an artificial genetic system with eight nucleotide bases, has induced a transformative shift in genetic research and biosensing. Here, we present a systematic investigation of the adsorption behavior and electronic transport properties of natural and modified DNA bases on a Janus molybdenum sulfur hydride (MoSH) monolayer using density functional theory (DFT) and nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) methods.

Detecting Hachimoji DNA: An Eight-Building-Block Genetic System with MoS and Janus MoSSe Monolayers.

In the pursuit of personalized medicine, the development of efficient, cost-effective, and reliable DNA sequencing technology is crucial. Nanotechnology, particularly the exploration of two-dimensional materials, has opened different avenues for DNA nucleobase detection, owing to their impressive surface-to-volume ratio. This study employs density functional theory with van der Waals corrections to methodically scrutinize the adsorption behavior and electronic band structure properties of a DNA system composed of eight hachimoji nucleotide letters adsorbed on both MoS and MoSSe monolayers.

Syndromic Piere Robbin Sequence- A Rare Presentation in Association with Multiple Heart Defects and Type III Stickler Syndrome.

Pierre Robin Sequence (PRS), a rare congenital disorder, is a triad of micrognathia, glossoptosis, and tongue based airway obstruction (TBSO). It may occur as isolated anomaly (iPRS) or as a part of a syndrome (sPRS), like that seen in association with Stickler Syndrome. Approximately 20% of children with PRS have congenital heart diseases.

Immunoinformatics-aided rational design of a multi-epitope vaccine targeting feline infectious peritonitis virus.

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a grave and frequently lethal ailment instigated by feline coronavirus (FCoV) in wild and domestic feline species. The spike (S) protein of FCoV assumes a critical function in viral ingress and infection, thereby presenting a promising avenue for the development of a vaccine. In this investigation, an immunoinformatics approach was employed to ascertain immunogenic epitopes within the S-protein of FIP and formulate an innovative vaccine candidate.

Biochemical and structural comparisons of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors against feline and human immunodeficiency viruses.

Background: Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) causes an acquired immunodeficiency-like syndrome in cats. FIV is latent. No effective treatment has been developed for treatment the infected cats.

Toward α-1,3/4 fucosyltransferases targeted drug discovery: In silico uncovering of promising natural inhibitors of fucosyltransferase 6.

Sialyl Lewis X (sLe ) antigen is a fucosylated cell-surface glycan that is normally involved in cell-cell interactions. The enhanced expression of sLe on cell surface glycans, which is attributed to the upregulation of fucosyltransferase 6 (FUT6), has been implicated in facilitating metastasis in human colorectal, lung, prostate, and oral cancers. The role that the upregulated FUT6 plays in the progression of tumor to malignancy, with reduced survival rates, makes it a potential target for anticancer drugs.

Secreted Aspartyl Proteinases Targeted Multi-Epitope Vaccine Design for Using Immunoinformatics.

is an opportunistic pathogen associated with oral and invasive fungal infections in immune-compromised individuals. Furthermore, the emergence of antifungal drug resistance could exacerbate its treatment. Hence, in this study a multi-epitope vaccine candidate has been designed using an immunoinformatics approach by targeting secreted aspartyl proteinases (SAP) proteins.

YouTube and science: models for research impact.

Video communication has been rapidly increasing over the past decade, with YouTube providing a medium where users can post, discover, share, and react to videos. There has also been an increase in the number of videos citing research articles, especially since it has become relatively commonplace for academic conferences to require video submissions. However, the relationship between research articles and YouTube videos is not clear, and the purpose of the present paper is to address this issue.

Immunoinformatics-Aided Design of a Peptide Based Multiepitope Vaccine Targeting Glycoproteins and Membrane Proteins against Monkeypox Virus.

Monkeypox is a self-limiting zoonotic viral disease and causes smallpox-like symptoms. The disease has a case fatality ratio of 3-6% and, recently, a multi-country outbreak of the disease has occurred. The currently available vaccines that have provided immunization against monkeypox are classified as live attenuated vaccinia virus-based vaccines, which pose challenges of safety and efficacy in chronic infections.

Effects of Yogic Interventions on Patients Diagnosed With Cardiac Diseases. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: Presently, evidence-based research studies on the efficacy of complimentary therapies like yoga for patients with different cardiac diseases are limited and conflicting. The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on yogic interventions compared with usual care or non-pharmacological treatment in patients diagnosed with cardiac diseases.

Methods: We conducted an electronic search of literature published from 2006 to May 2021 through five databases.

Immunoinformatics Aided Design and Validation of a Cross-Reactive Peptide Based Multi-Epitope Vaccine Targeting Multiple Serotypes of Dengue Virus.

(DENV) is an arboviral disease affecting more than 400 million people annually. Only a single vaccine formulation is available commercially and many others are still under clinical trials. Despite all the efforts in vaccine designing, the improvement in vaccine formulation against DENV is very much needed.

SightBi: Exploring Cross-View Data Relationships with Biclusters.

Multiple-view visualization (MV) has been heavily used in visual analysis tools for sensemaking of data in various domains (e.g., bioinformatics, cybersecurity and text analytics).

Structural Insights in Mammalian Sialyltransferases and Fucosyltransferases: We Have Come a Long Way, but It Is Still a Long Way Down.

Mammalian cell surfaces are modified with complex arrays of glycans that play major roles in health and disease. Abnormal glycosylation is a hallmark of cancer; terminal sialic acid and fucose in particular have high levels in tumor cells, with positive implications for malignancy. Increased sialylation and fucosylation are due to the upregulation of a set of sialyltransferases (STs) and fucosyltransferases (FUTs), which are potential drug targets in cancer.

D936Y and Other Mutations in the Fusion Core of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Heptad Repeat 1: Frequency, Geographical Distribution, and Structural Effect.

The crown of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is constituted by its spike (S) glycoprotein. S protein mediates the SARS-CoV-2 entry into the host cells. The "fusion core" of the heptad repeat 1 (HR1) on S plays a crucial role in the virus infectivity, as it is part of a key membrane fusion architecture.

Replacing thymine with a strongly pairing fifth Base: A combined quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics study.

The non-natural ethynylmethylpyridone C-nucleoside (W), a thymidine (T) analogue that can be incorporated in oligonucleotides by automated synthesis, has recently been reported to form a high fidelity base pair with adenosine (A) and to be well accommodated in B-DNA duplexes. The enhanced binding affinity for A of W, as compared to T, makes it an ideal modification for biotechnological applications, such as efficient probe hybridization for the parallel detection of multiple DNA strands. In order to complement the experimental study and rationalize the impact of the non-natural W nucleoside on the structure, stability and dynamics of DNA structures, we performed quantum mechanics (QM) calculations along with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

Short term outcomes of three dimensional versus two-dimensional laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Objective: To compare the short-term outcomes of three dimensional (3D) versus two dimensional (2D) laparoscopic procedures used for cholecystectomy.

Methods: This study was conducted at minimally invasive surgery center of Liaquat University of Medical Health and Sciences (LUMHS) Jamshoro Pakistan, between 15 May 2017 to 16 December 2017 after taking informed consent. All patients were diagnosed cases of cholelithiasis without any complications.

Quality of Care for Huntington's Disease in the United States: Findings from a National Survey of Patients and Caregivers.

Background: Little is known about the quality of care for people living with Huntington's disease (HD) in the United States.

Objective: To document the current HD care experience and identify gaps in care provision in the United States.

Methods: Web-based surveys for persons self-identifying as being affected by HD (PAHD, which included individuals with, or at risk for HD) or as caregivers/family members, were developed and refined with targeted input from focus groups comprised of caregivers and family members.

Fouling-Resistant and Self-Cleaning Aliphatic Polyketone Membrane for Sustainable Oil-Water Emulsion Separation.

The cost-effective treatment of emulsified oily wastewater discharged by many industries and human societies is a great challenge. Herein, based on an aliphatic polyketone (PK) polymer with a good membrane formation ability and an intrinsic intermediate hydrophilicity, a new class of reduced PK (rPK) membranes combining an all hydrophilic and electrically neutral surface chemistry comprising ketone and hydroxyl groups, and a fibril-like morphology featuring re-entrant structure, was facilely prepared by phase separation and following fast surface reduction. The synergetic cooperation of surface chemistry and surface geometry endowed the prepared membranes with excellent superhydrophilicity, underwater superoleophobicity, and underoil superhydrophilicity, in addition to antiprotein-adhesion property.

Simulation of nitrogen transformation in pressurized oxy-fuel combustion of pulverized coal.

Chemical kinetic modeling was applied to simulate N transformation in the pressurized oxy-fuel combustion process of pulverized coal. Modeling accuracy was validated by experimental data at different operation pressures. The key reaction paths from fuel-N to different N products were revealed by analyzing the rate of production.

Near-White Light Emission from Lead(II) Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Reaction of bpy (bpy = 4,4'-bipyridine) with Pb(OAc)·3HO in DMF (DMF = dimethylformamide) afforded a metal-organic framework (MOF), [Pb(μ-bpy)(μ-OCCH)(μ-OCCH)]·HO (1). Reaction of bpy with Pb(OCCF) in a methanol and chloroform mixture furnished another MOF, [Pb(μ-bpy)(μ-OCCF)]·/CHCl (2). However, the reaction of bpy with Pb(OAc)·3HO in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid in a similar reaction condition yielded a hydrogen-bonded zwitter-ionic complex of Pb(II), [Pb(bpy-H)(OCCF)] (3).

Dual Superlyophobic Aliphatic Polyketone Membranes for Highly Efficient Emulsified Oil-Water Separation: Performance and Mechanism.

Efficient treatment of difficult emulsified oil-water wastes is a global challenge. Membranes exhibiting unusual dual superlyophobicity (combined underwater superoleophobicity and underoil superhydrophobicity) are intriguing to realize high-efficiency separation of both oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions. For the first time, a robust polymeric membrane demonstrating dual superlyophobicity to common apolar oils was facilely fabricated via a simple one-step phase separation process using an aliphatic polyketone (PK) polymer, thanks to a conjunction of intermediate hydrophilicity and re-entrant fibril-like texture upon the prepared PK membrane.

Enhanced Out-of-Plane Electrical Transport in n-Type SnSe Thermoelectrics Induced by Resonant States and Charge Delocalization.

Doping effects of various elements in the boron, carbon, and pnictogen groups on the electronic structure and electrical transport properties of SnSe were studied from first principles. It is identified that Sb and Bi induce significant resonant states near the conduction band minimum, and increase the delocalization of charge density in the out-of-plane direction. Our Boltzmann transport calculations further demonstrate that these doping effects on the electronic structure are related to the simultaneously improved Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity.

Adsorption of Bovine Serum Albumin on Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Surfaces in the Presence of Ions: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

Adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) surfaces in an aqueous environment was investigated in the presence and absence of excess ions using molecular dynamics simulations. The adsorption process involved diffusion of protein to the surface and dehydration of surface-protein interactions, followed by adsorption and denaturation. Although adsorption of BSA on PVDF surface was observed in the absence of excess ions, denaturation of BSA was not observed during the simulation (1 μs).

Visual outcome after phacoemulsification with lens implant in diabetic and non-diabetic patients; A comparative study.

Objective: To compare the visual outcomes of phacoemulsification surgery with intraocular lens (IOL) in persons with and without diabetes at end of follow-up.

Methods: This was a comparative, cross sectional, observational study with Non-probability, purposive sampling. After approval from "Research Ethical Committee of Isra Post-graduate Institute of Ophthalmology Karachi, 92 patients with cataract in one eye were selected.

Single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy with conventional instruments and ports: Initial experience at tertiary care public sector Hospital.

Objective: To find out safety and feasibility of single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SLIC) using conventional instruments.

Methods: This study was conducted at surgical department of LUMHS Jamshoro Pakistan from Jan: 2014 to Dec: 2015. All cases of symptomatic cholelithiasis that consented for laparoscopic surgery were included.