Publications by authors named "Chawla B"

Plaque brachytherapy has been used in the management of small to medium-sized choroidal melanomas for the past few decades. As the inferior oblique muscle lies in close relation to the macula, the placement procedure of plaques often involves sacrificing the inferior oblique muscle, especially in cases of macular or perimacular choroidal melanomas. In this study, we have described a simple maneuver to preserve the inferior oblique muscle.

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Chromatin is the complex of DNA and associated proteins found in the nuclei of living organisms. How it is organized is a major research field as it has implications for replication, repair, and gene expression. This review summarizes the current state of the chromatin organization field, with a special focus on chromatin motor complexes cohesin and condensin.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study discusses AZD3152, a monoclonal antibody created to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 and enhance effectiveness against new variants that can resist other treatments.
  • AZD3152 targets a specific part of the virus's spike protein, blocking its ability to bind to human cells and effectively neutralizes various variants, including Omicron, but struggles against certain XBB subvariants.
  • In animal trials, AZD3152 helped protect hamsters from severe symptoms and lung issues, and initial human trials suggest it is safe and may offer long-lasting protection against certain strains of COVID-19.
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Unlabelled: Most COVID-19 vaccine trials have focused on recipient protection, not protection of their contacts, a critical need. As a subunit intranasal COVID-19 vaccine reduced nasopharyngeal virus more than did an intramuscular (IM) vaccine, we hypothesized that this vaccine might reduce onward transmission to others. We vaccinated hamsters with either the IM-administrated Moderna mRNA vaccine twice or one dose of mRNA IM followed by adjuvanted subunit intranasal vaccine.

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In response to the 2022 outbreak of mpox driven by unprecedented human-to-human monkeypox virus (MPXV) transmission, we designed BNT166, aiming to create a highly immunogenic, safe, accessible, and scalable next-generation vaccine against MPXV and related orthopoxviruses. To address the multiple viral forms and increase the breadth of immune response, two candidate multivalent mRNA vaccines were evaluated pre-clinically: a quadrivalent vaccine (BNT166a; encoding the MPXV antigens A35, B6, M1, H3) and a trivalent vaccine (BNT166c; without H3). Both candidates induced robust T cell responses and IgG antibodies in mice, including neutralizing antibodies to both MPXV and vaccinia virus.

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Article Synopsis
  • DNA-based vaccines, such as PlaCCine, show promise as a safe and stable immunization method, using a synthetic DNA delivery system that is not reliant on viruses or devices.
  • The efficacy of the vaccines was demonstrated in mice, with significant improvements in spike-specific humoral and cellular immune responses following intramuscular injections of variants pVAC15, pVAC16, and pVAC17, maintaining these responses for up to 14 months.
  • In studies involving K18 hACE2 transgenic mice, these DNA vaccines resulted in over a 90% reduction in lung viral loads and improved clinical outcomes, suggesting their potential for further development against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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Background: Plaque brachytherapy is commonly used in the management of choroidal melanomas. The surgical steps usually involve creating a conjunctival peritomy, fixing the recti muscles, with or without disinserting them based on the location of the lesion, and placing the plaque. The inferior oblique muscle is attached close to the macula, and in cases of perimacular or peripapillary lesions, the muscle needs to be sacrificed.

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Purpose: To describe the clinical presentation and treatment outcomes of children who received a diagnosis of retinoblastoma in 2017 throughout Asia.

Design: Multinational, prospective study including treatment-naïve patients in Asia who received a diagnosis of retinoblastoma in 2017 and were followed up thereafter.

Participants: A total of 2112 patients (2797 eyes) from 96 retinoblastoma treatment centers in 33 Asian countries.

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Background: Retinoblastoma (RB) is initiated by mutation in both alleles of gene. However, few cases may occur even in the absence of mutation suggesting the role of genes other than .

Methodology: The current study was planned to utilize targeted exome sequencing in Indian RB patients affected with unilateral non-familial RB.

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Objectives: Proton pump inhibitors, such as omeprazole and pantoprazole, are frequently prescribed for the treatment of acid reflux. However, those medications have been shown to affect a variety of physiologic processes, including bone homeostasis and the gastrointestinal microbiome. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between proton pump inhibitors and attachment levels around teeth and dental implants.

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Dosage compensation involves chromosome-wide gene regulatory mechanisms which impact higher order chromatin structure and are crucial for organismal health. Using a genetic approach, we identified Argonaute genes which promote dosage compensation in Caenorhabditis elegans. Dosage compensation in C.

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Article Synopsis
  • Breast cancer is the leading cancer affecting women in India, with low awareness causing late-stage diagnoses and higher mortality rates.
  • A systematic review analyzed the awareness, attitudes, and practices related to breast cancer screening among Indian women, finding that most women had some knowledge but low screening practices.
  • It concluded that educational programs are essential to improve awareness and encourage regular screening for early detection and treatment of breast cancer among all demographics in India.
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Purpose: To report the association of procollagen-lysine 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 2 (PLOD2) mutations with bilateral primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) in monozygotic twins and with nondominant juvenile-onset primary open-angle glaucoma (JOAG).

Methods: We utilized family-based whole-exome sequencing to detect disease-causing mutations in a pair of monozygotic twins with de-novo PCG and compared its existence in 50 nonfamilial cases of JOAG and 30 healthy controls. To validate the identified mutations, direct Sanger sequencing was performed.

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Objectives: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly prescribed for the management of acid-related gastrointestinal disorders. PPIs modulate osteoclast function, reduce gastric acid secretion, and are associated with the establishment of a more diverse gastrointestinal microbiota. Periodontitis is characterized by microbe-associated host-mediated inflammation that results in loss of periodontal attachment.

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  • - In 2018, cervical cancer caused 311,000 deaths globally, with India reporting nearly 97,000 new cases each year, highlighting a significant health concern among women.
  • - A study aimed to analyze health professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding cervical cancer screening in India, reviewing 22 articles with data from over 6,800 participants.
  • - Results showed health professionals had good knowledge (75.15%) and positive attitudes (85.47%) toward screening but exhibited low practice rates (12.70%), indicating a gap between awareness and actual implementation.
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Background: Involving medical undergraduate students in patients' health education will not only help in improving students' learning as well as professional and communication skills but also plays an important role in achieving better health outcome of patients. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of students led educational intervention regarding tuberculosis (TB) on their learning and on the patients' knowledge and attitude towards the disease.

Materials And Methods: One hundred medical undergraduates were included in the study.

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  • Cervical Cancer is a significant health issue in India, with 96,922 new cases diagnosed annually and a high mortality rate, particularly in low and middle-income countries.
  • A study reviewed 19 articles to assess women's knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding Cervical Cancer and its screening, including data from 7,688 women aged 12-65.
  • Results showed only 40.22% of women had adequate knowledge about Cervical Cancer, with only 20.31% aware of screening practices, highlighting the need for improved education and communication strategies.
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Introduction: The Quality of life is a broad-ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person's physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, personal beliefs, and their relationship to salient features of their environment. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many quarantine and isolation measures and lockdown of the nation for the foreseeable future. Although these initiatives are necessary to prevent the spread of coronavirus they may be causing adverse mental health effects.

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Background: Rohingya diaspora or Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs), took shelter in the refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh due to armed conflict in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. In such humanitarian crises, delivering sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services is critical for better health outcomes of this most-at-risk population where more than half are adolescent girls and women. This is a reflective paper on challenges and related mitigation strategies to conduct SRH research among FDMNs.

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The mechanisms that guide the clonally stable random mono-allelic expression of autosomal genes remain enigmatic. We show that (1) mono-allelically expressed (MAE) genes are assorted and insulated from bi-allelically expressed (BAE) genes through CTCF-mediated chromatin loops; (2) the cell-type-specific dynamics of mono-allelic expression coincides with the gain and loss of chromatin insulator sites; (3) dosage of MAE genes is more sensitive to the loss of chromatin insulation than that of BAE genes; and (4) inactive alleles of MAE genes are significantly more insulated than active alleles and are de-repressed upon CTCF depletion. This alludes to a topology wherein the inactive alleles of MAE genes are insulated from the spatial interference of transcriptional states from the neighboring bi-allelic domains via CTCF-mediated loops.

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Purpose: To determine the significance of both massive choroidal invasion and optic nerve invasion (retrolaminar [(RL]+cut end [CE]) as a criterion for classifying high metastatic potential retinoblastoma and their relationship with other known histopathological high-risk features.

Methods: A retrospective review of 650 eyes diagnosed as retinoblastoma over a 10-year period. In our study, there is male predominance and a higher percentage of the poorly differentiated tumors.

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