Publications by authors named "Aswathy Nair"

Article Synopsis
  • - This study evaluated the integration of AI software for analyzing chest X-rays (CXRs) in visa screening across 33 UAE centers over 18 months, aiming to streamline the reporting process for infectious diseases like tuberculosis and COVID-19.
  • - Analysis of over 1.3 million CXRs showed the AI had a 99.92% Negative Predictive Value (NPV) and an agreement rate of 72.90% with radiologists, effectively distinguishing normal from abnormal scans.
  • - Survey results indicated that 88.2% of radiologists felt AI reduced turnaround times and 82% believed it enhanced their diagnostic accuracy, suggesting promising practical applications in radiology.
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Neutrophils play a vital role in the innate immunity by perform effector functions through phagocytosis, degranulation, and forming extracellular traps. However, over-functioning of neutrophils has been associated with sterile inflammation such as Type 2 Diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer and autoimmune disorders. Neutrophils exhibiting phenotypical and functional heterogeneity in both homeostatic and pathological conditions suggests distinct signaling pathways are activated in disease-specific stimuli and alter neutrophil functions.

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Introduction: Osteoporosis is a geriatric metabolic ailment distinguished by low bone mineral density (BMD) and strength with enhanced micro-architectural retrogression of the extracellular matrix, further increasing bone fragility risk. Osteoporotic fractures and associated complications become common in women and men after 55 and 65 years, respectively. The loss in BMD markedly enhances the risk of fracture, non-skeletal injury, and subsequent pain, adversely affecting the quality of life.

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Unlabelled: Osteoporosis is a common metabolic old age disorder characterised by low bone mass content (BMC) and mineral density (BMD) with micro-architectural deterioration of the extracellular matrix, further increasing bone fragility risk. Several traditional remedies, including plant extracts and herbal formulations, are used worldwide by local healers to improve the overall bone health and metabolism as an excellent osteoregenerative agent.  is an underexplored medicinal plant used by tribal peoples of Western Ghats, India, to treat bone fractures and associated inflammation.

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Kariavattom Campus Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) is an old age disorder associated with estrogen deficiency, which reduces bone mass and makes bones more prone to fracture. The present study was proposed to evaluate the invivo osteogenic efficiency of Pterospermum rubiginosum methanolic bark extract (PRME) in the PMO model. Molecular docking studies on transcription factor NFATC1 showed excellent interactions with phytochemical ligands with the lowest binding energies.

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Background: Pterospermum rubiginosum has been traditionally used by the tribal inhabitants of Southern India for treating bone fractures and as a local anti-inflammatory agent; however, experimental evidence to support this traditional usage is lacking. The present study aimed to investigate the phytochemical characterization, in silico and in vitro anti-inflammatory evaluation, followed by in vivo toxicological screening of P. rubiginosum methanolic bark extract (PRME).

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Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a mitochondrial hereditary disease in which visual loss affects complex 1 activity of the electron transport chain of mitochondria. It first manifests as painless dulling or blurry in one or even both eyes, and as it develops, sharpness and color perception are lost. In addition to primary mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations, there are also other environmental and epigenetic factors involved in the pathogenesis of LHON.

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is caused due to degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) which leads to the depletion of dopamine in the body. The lack of dopamine is mainly due to aggregation of misfolded α-synuclein which causes motor impairment in PD. Dopamine is also required for normal retinal function and the light-dark vision cycle.

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In this work, a disposable sensor array was designed based on the chemi-resistive behavior of the conducting polymers to detect three volatile organic compounds (VOCs), i.e., acetone, ethanol, and methanol in air and breath.

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A stem cell is a particular group of cells that has the extraordinary potential to convert within the body into particular cell types. They are used to regenerate tissues and cells in the body that have been damaged or destroyed by the disease. Stem cells come in three different varieties: adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

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Article Synopsis
  • Metabolic and inflammatory pathways are closely linked, with both becoming disrupted in Type 2 diabetes (T2D), leading to an environment that encourages chronic inflammation and immune dysfunction.
  • T2D-related changes, like high blood sugar and elevated lipids, significantly impact neutrophils, which are key immune cells responsible for fighting infections, leaving individuals more susceptible to recurrent infections.
  • The review highlights how altered metabolism in neutrophils affects their functionality, contributing to poor wound healing and tissue regeneration in T2D, while also exploring potential therapeutic approaches to manage these complications.
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Taylor-Couette flow is a canonical flow to study Taylor-Görtler (TG) instability or centrifugal instability and the associated vortices. TG instability has been traditionally associated with flow over curved surfaces or geometries. In the computational study, we confirm the presence of TG-like near-wall vortical structures in two lid-driven flow systems, the Vogel-Escudier (VE) and the lid-driven cavity (LDC) flows.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pterospermum rubiginosum, a plant used by tribal healers in India, shows potential for treating inflammation and pain, particularly in healing fractured bones, highlighting the need for deeper understanding of its medicinal properties.
  • The study aims to analyze the plant's components, conduct toxicity tests, and evaluate its anti-inflammatory effects, particularly using a macrophage cell model induced with lipopolysaccharide (LPS).
  • Results indicate the presence of several bioactive compounds (like vanillic acid) and demonstrate promising anti-inflammatory effects, with significant interactions noted in molecular docking studies.
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Neutrophils display functional heterogeneity upon responding diversely to physiological and pathological stimulations. During type 2 diabetes (T2D), hyperglycemia constitutively activates neutrophils, leading to reduced response to infections and on the other hand, elevated metabolic intermediates such as homocysteine induce bidirectional activation of platelets and neutrophils leading to thrombosis. Hence, in the context of T2D-associated complications, we examined the influence of high glucose, homocysteine, and LPS representing effector molecules of hyperglycemia, thrombosis, and infection, respectively, on human neutrophil activation to identify distinct signaling pathways by quantitative phosphoproteomics approach.

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Unlabelled: Drug resistant malaria represents a challenging health problem in developing countries like India. The failure of drug artemisinin, which is the cornerstone of malaria therapy will rapidly compromise the treatment and prognosis of malaria. Resistance should be suspected if inspite of full treatment with Artesunate Combination Therapy and with no history of vomiting or diarrhoea, there is no clinical or parasitological response in the patient after 72 hours.

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Unlabelled: Worldwide, diabetic foot lesions are a major medical, social and economic problem and are the leading cause of hospitalization for patients with diabetes. The organisms causing the ulcers vary from different geographical regions and initiation of empiric antibiotics depends on the prevalence of the local pathogens and their sensitivity pattern, With this background the present study was carried out to evaluate the bacterial diversity and their culture sensitivity patterns in diabetic foot ulcers.

Material: Medical records of 65 cases of diabetes mellitus with diabetic foot ulcer admitted to hospital during the period from January 2019 to December 2020 were retrieved from the Medical Records Department.

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Background: Optic neuropathy has become a new typical syndromic multi-system disease that leads to optic atrophy. This review discusses potential treatments and advances of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a sporadic genetic disorder. LHON is caused due to slight mutations in mitochondria leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, causing vision loss.

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For centuries, traditional medicines of Ayurveda have been in use to manage infectious and non-infectious diseases. The key embodiment of traditional medicines is the holistic system of approach in the management of human diseases. SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection is an ongoing pandemic, which has emerged as the major health threat worldwide and is causing significant stress, morbidity and mortality.

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Ocular cells like, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a highly specialized pigmented monolayer of post-mitotic cells, which is located in the posterior segment of the eye between neuro sensory retina and vascular choroid. It functions as a selective barrier and nourishes retinal visual cells. As a result of high-level oxygen consumption of retinal cells, RPE cells are vulnerable to chronic oxidative stress and an increased level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated from mitochondria.

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Recurrent infections are one of the common morbidities in Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) subjects. Bidirectional activation of innate immune cells such as neutrophils and glucose metabolism in T2D conditions leads to a pro-inflammatory milieu and reduced neutrophil function, which can be a potential cause for recurrent infections. In pathological conditions of sterile inflammation associated T2D, neutrophils form constitutive extracellular traps (NETs) due to hyperglycemia and respond poorly to infections.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been prevalently studied in plants, animals, and viruses. However, recent studies show evidences of miRNA-like RNAs (milRNAs) in fungi as well. It is known that after successful infection, pathogens hijack the host machinery and use it for their own growth and multiplication.

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Visual disorder is one of the non-motor symptoms found in Parkinson's disease (PD). It can be easily identified in the early stages even before the spread of pathological conditions to the brain parts. Studies have revealed that loss of dopamine (DA) cells in retinal layers is a prime cause for both retinal disturbance and pathological conditions of PD.

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Symbiotic association of plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi brings about changes in levels of the phytohormone jasmonate (JA) in root and shoot tissues of a plant. The enhanced JA levels not only play a role in controlling the extent of AM colonization but are also involved in the expression of mycorrhizal-induced resistance (MIR) against pathogens. We describe a method used to study the levels of a volatile jasmonate derivative, methyl jasmonate (MeJA), in tomato plants colonized by AM fungi and in response to subsequent attack by the foliar pathogen Alternaria alternata.

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Protein A resins are often reused for multiple cycles to improve process economy during mAb purification. Significant reduction in binding capacity and product recovery are typically observed due to the presence of unwanted materials (foulants) deposited on the resin upon reuse. In this paper, we have used a wide spectrum of qualitative and quantitative analytical tools (particle size analysis, HPLC, fluorescence, SEM, MS, and FTIR) to compare the strengths and shortcomings of different analytical tools in terms of their capability to detect the fouling of the resin and relate it to chromatographic cycle performance.

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Comparison of the expression of 13 genes involved in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis was performed in a wild type tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv 76R) and its reduced mycorrhizal colonization mutant rmc in response to colonization with Glomus fasiculatum. Four defense-related genes were induced to a similar extent in the mutant and wild type AM colonized plants, indicating a systemic response to AM colonization. Genes related to nutrient exchange between the symbiont partners showed higher expression in the AM roots of wild type plants than the mutant plants, which correlated with their arbuscular frequency.

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