Depression, anxiety, and quality of life among kidney donors before and after the kidney donation: A prospective study from a tertiary care center in India.

Background: Kidney donation is a significant procedure that can profoundly impact the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of renal donors. However, there is a lack of sufficient evidence regarding the specific effects of donation on the mental health and quality of life (QOL) of living kidney donors.

Aim: To evaluate and compare the levels of depression, anxiety, and QOL among living kidney donors before and after the donation procedure.

Glial Biologist's Guide to Mass Spectrometry-Based Lipidomics: A Tutorial From Sample Preparation to Data Analysis.

Neurological diseases are associated with disruptions in the brain lipidome that are becoming central to disease pathogenesis. Traditionally perceived as static structural support in membranes, lipids are now known to be actively involved in cellular signaling, energy metabolism, and other cellular activities involving membrane curvature, fluidity, fusion or fission. Glia are critical in the development, health, and function of the brain, and glial regulation plays a major role in disease.

Lipids: Emerging Players of Microglial Biology.

Lipids are small molecule immunomodulators that play critical roles in maintaining cellular health and function. Microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, regulate lipid metabolism both in the extracellular environment and within intracellular compartments through various mechanisms. For instance, glycerophospholipids and fatty acids interact with protein receptors on the microglial surface, such as the Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells 2, influencing cellular functions like phagocytosis and migration.

Community structure of tropics emerging from spatio-temporal variations in the Intertropical Convergence Zone dynamics.

The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is a narrow tropical belt of deep convective clouds, intense precipitation, and monsoon circulations encircling the Earth. Complex interactions between the ITCZ and local geophysical dynamics result in high climate variability, making weather forecasting and prediction of extreme rainfall or drought events challenging. We unravel the complex spatio-temporal dynamics of the ITCZ and the resulting teleconnection patterns via a novel tropical climate classification achieved using complex network analysis and community detection.

An aging-sensitive compensatory secretory phospholipase that confers neuroprotection and cognitive resilience.

Breakdown of lipid homeostasis is thought to contribute to pathological aging, the largest risk factor for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Cognitive reserve theory posits a role for compensatory mechanisms in the aging brain in preserving neuronal circuit functions, staving off cognitive decline, and mitigating risk for AD. However, the identities of such mechanisms have remained elusive.

Recent Developments in Machine Learning for Mass Spectrometry.

Statistical analysis and modeling of mass spectrometry (MS) data have a long and rich history with several modern MS-based applications using statistical and chemometric methods. Recently, machine learning (ML) has experienced a renaissance due to advents in computational hardware and the development of new algorithms for artificial neural networks (ANN) and deep learning architectures. Moreover, recent successes of new ANN and deep learning architectures in several areas of science, engineering, and society have further strengthened the ML field.

Senescent glia link mitochondrial dysfunction and lipid accumulation.

Senescence is a cellular state linked to ageing and age-onset disease across many mammalian species. Acutely, senescent cells promote wound healing and prevent tumour formation; but they are also pro-inflammatory, thus chronically exacerbate tissue decline. Whereas senescent cells are active targets for anti-ageing therapy, why these cells form in vivo, how they affect tissue ageing and the effect of their elimination remain unclear.

Modeling Molecular Mechanisms of Pirfenidone Interaction with Kinases.

Scar formation is a process that occurs due to increased collagen deposition and uncontrolled inflammation. Previous studies have demonstrated that Pirfenidone (Pf), an FDA approved anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic drug can reduce inflammation as well as regulate activation of LPS-stimulated neutrophils. However, the molecular level mechanism of Pf's action is not well understood.

Comprehensive Lipidomic Automation Workflow using Large Language Models.

Lipidomics generates large data that makes manual annotation and interpretation challenging. Lipid chemical and structural diversity with structural isomers further complicates annotation. Although, several commercial and open-source software for targeted lipid identification exists, it lacks automated method generation workflows and integration with statistical and bioinformatics tools.

Lesion-remote astrocytes govern microglia-mediated white matter repair.

Spared regions of the damaged central nervous system undergo dynamic remodeling and exhibit a remarkable potential for therapeutic exploitation. Here, lesion-remote astrocytes (LRAs), which interact with viable neurons, glia and neural circuitry, undergo reactive transformations whose molecular and functional properties are poorly understood. Using multiple transcriptional profiling methods, we interrogated LRAs from spared regions of mouse spinal cord following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Automated Bioanalytical Workflow for Ligand Binding-Based Pharmacokinetic Assay Development.

The growth of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) continues to accelerate due to their success as treatments for many diseases. As new therapeutics are developed, it is increasingly important to have robust bioanalytical methods to measure the pharmacokinetics (PK) of circulating therapeutic mAbs in serum. Ligand-binding assays such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) with anti-idiotypic antibodies (anti-IDs) targeting the variable regions of the therapeutic antibody are sensitive and specific bioanalytical methods to measure levels of therapeutic antibodies in a biological matrix.

Pilot Testing of a Lightweight, Pulmonary Assist System in an Ambulatory Sheep Model of Destination Therapy Respiratory Support.

A new, lightweight (2.3 kg), ambulatory pulmonary assist system (PAS) underwent preliminary evaluation in ambulatory sheep. The PAS was purposefully designed for long-term extracorporeal respiratory support for chronic lung disease and utilizes a novel, small (0.

Variability in phenylalanine side chain conformations facilitates broad substrate tolerance of fatty acid binding in cockroach milk proteins.

Diploptera punctata, also known as the Pacific beetle cockroach, is a viviparous cockroach that gives birth to live offspring and secretes a highly concentrated mixture of glycosylated proteins as a source of nourishment for developing embryos. These proteins are lipocalins that bind to lipids and crystallize in the gut of the embryo. A structure of milk crystals harvested from the embryos showed that the milk-derived crystals were heterogeneous and made of three proteins (called Lili-Mips).

Amyloid β Induces Lipid Droplet-Mediated Microglial Dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease.

Several microglia-expressed genes have emerged as top risk variants for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Impaired microglial phagocytosis is one of the main proposed outcomes by which these AD-risk genes may contribute to neurodegeneration, but the mechanisms translating genetic association to cellular dysfunction remain unknown. Here we show that microglia form lipid droplets (LDs) upon exposure to amyloid-beta (Aβ), and that their LD load increases with proximity to amyloid plaques in brains from human patients and the AD mouse model 5xFAD.

Deciphering the Potential of Sulphur-Oxidizing Bacteria for Sulphate Production Correlating with pH Change.

Sulphur, available in the form of sulphate, is one of the essential nutrients that is required by plants. Bacteria capable of oxidizing reduced forms of sulphur to sulphate play an important role in sulphur nutrition for plants. The present study was conducted to isolate, screen, and characterize sulphur-oxidizing bacteria from different soil samples collected from mustard rhizosphere and fly ash mixed soil.

A rare presentation of esotropia in high myopia in a young adult: a case report.

Esotropia in myopia is an uncommon occurrence. Most common cause of esotropia in high myopic elderly is Heavy Eye Syndrome. An uncommon cause in young adults is Acute Acquired Comitant Esotropia often associated with excessive indulgence in near work.

Identification of Monomethyl Branched-Chain Lipids by a Combination of Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Charge-Switching Chemistries.

While various mass spectrometric approaches have been applied to lipid analysis, unraveling the extensive structural diversity of lipids remains a significant challenge. Notably, these approaches often fail to differentiate between isomeric lipids─a challenge that is particularly acute for branched-chain fatty acids (FAs) that often share similar (or identical) mass spectra to their straight-chain isomers. Here, we utilize charge-switching strategies that combine ligated magnesium dications with deprotonated fatty acid anions.

Proteinopathies: Deciphering Physiology and Mechanisms to Develop Effective Therapies for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are a cluster of diseases marked by progressive neuronal loss, axonal transport blockage, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and aggregation of misfolded proteins. NDs are more prevalent beyond the age of 50, and their symptoms often include motor and cognitive impairment. Even though various proteins are involved in different NDs, the mechanisms of protein misfolding and aggregation are very similar.

Detection of a weaker subgroup of A in ABO blood group system.

Testing to detect ABO incompatibility between a donor and potential transfusion recipient is the foundation on which all other pretransfusion testing is based. Sometimes, weak agglutination reactions may be obtained with reagent antibodies due to weak expression of A and B antigens on red blood cell (RBC) surface which may cause a discrepancy in blood group typing. Here, we report a patient showing discrepancy between RBCs (forward) and serum (reverse) typing.

Nutrient Sensing via Gut in .

Nutrient-sensing mechanisms in animals' sense available nutrients to generate a physiological regulatory response involving absorption, digestion, and regulation of food intake and to maintain glucose and energy homeostasis. During nutrient sensing via the gastrointestinal tract, nutrients interact with receptors on the enteroendocrine cells in the gut, which in return respond by secreting various hormones. Sensing of nutrients by the gut plays a critical role in transmitting food-related signals to the brain and other tissues informing the composition of ingested food to digestive processes.

Accurate Prediction of Inhibitor Binding to HIV-1 Protease Using CANDOCK.

The human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) protease is an important target for treating HIV infection. Our goal was to benchmark a novel molecular docking protocol and determine its effectiveness as a therapeutic repurposing tool by predicting inhibitor potency to this target. To accomplish this, we predicted the relative binding scores of various inhibitors of the protease using CANDOCK, a hierarchical fragment-based docking protocol with a knowledge-based scoring function.

Efficacy of Digitally Supported and Real-Time Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose-Driven Counseling in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Real-World, Retrospective Study in North India.

Purpose: Poor glycemic control is prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in India. This study aims to understand the effectiveness of a smartphone-connected glucometer, real-time feedback, and contextualized counseling on glycemic control and hypoglycemic episodes in T2DM patients.

Methods: This retrospective, multicenter study reviewed the medical records of T2DM patients belonging to several cities of north India, who were digitally engaged with a smartphone-connected glucometer and who had received at least one counseling session between September 2019 and July 2020.