Study of pattern of lipid profile amongst type II diabetic patients of two major tribal populations of Tripura.

Background: Diabetic population are at an increased risk of developing dyslipidemia and other cardiovascular complications. The study was performed to evaluate the lipid profile parameter in the diabetic population among the ethnic tribal community of Tripura and calculate the risk of cardiovascular events. The tribal community was chosen as the study population because their lifestyle, food habits, culture and housing practices are different from people living on the plains.

A clinicoepidemiological study of serologically diagnosed acute febrile illness in a teaching hospital, Kolkata.

Introduction: Similar presenting manifestations in early phase and lack of awareness of aetiology of acute febrile illness (AFI) are major challenges in management of AFI.

Material And Methods: This was a retrospective observational cross-sectional study conducted in the Department of Microbiology, NRS Medical College, from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 in serologically diagnosed febrile patients attending the outpatient department or admitted. Clinical and epidemiological data and laboratory parameters were recorded in a pretested structured questionnaire study tool, and collected data were analysed on MS-Excel sheets with various charts and tables.

Differential Proteomic Profiling at Different Phases of Dengue Infection: An Intricate Insight from Proteins to Pathogenesis.

Dengue fever is a rapidly emerging tropical disease and an important cause of morbidity in its severe form worldwide. A wide spectrum of the pathophysiology is associated with the transition of dengue fever to severe dengue, which is driven by the host immune response and might reflect in patients' proteome profile. This study aims to analyze the plasma from different phases of dengue-infected patients at two time points.

Distinguishing Physiological Ureter Uptake From an Involved Lymph Node in Staging Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Scans: Implications for Radiation Planning.

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) imaging has become a mainstay diagnostic tool in staging unfavorable primary prostate cancer (PC) and identifying sites of recurrence in previously treated PC. One of the biggest pitfalls of PSMA imaging is rapid radionucleotide excretion in the urine via the​ kidneys, ureters, and bladder.​ The positron-emission tomography (PET) images obtained show increased radiotracer activity in these structures, which can occlude or even mimic true malignant disease.

In-silico prediction of dislodgeable foliar residues and regulatory implications for plant protection products.

Background: When experimentally determined dislodgeable foliar residue (DFR) values are not available, regulatory agencies use conservative default DFR values as a first-tier approach to assess post-application dermal exposures to plant protection products (PPPs). These default values are based on a limited set of field studies, are very conservative, and potentially overestimate exposures from DFRs.

Objective: Use Random Forest to develop classification and regression-type ensemble models to predict DFR values after last application (DFR0) by considering experimentally-based variability due to differences in physical and chemical properties of PPPs, agronomic practices, crop type, and climatic conditions.

Computational inhibition of S100A8 (calgranulin A) as a potential non-invasive biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic joint pain and inflammation, loss of mobility, which affects the quality of life. The etiology of RA is unknown, and there is no isolated cause for the development of this illness. Synovial inflammation, autoantibody generation and bone degradation leading to deformity are classic characteristics of RA.

Changing pattern of circulating dengue serotypes in the endemic region: An alarming risk to the healthcare system during the pandemic.

Background: The pandemic of COVID-19 has created an unprecedented burden on the healthcare system and medical communities resulting in new public health challenges. On the other hand, in tropical countries, another concern arises due to the similar spectrum of clinical manifestations between COVID-19 and dengue fever. Thus, the neglected tropical disease 'Dengue' writhed with more inattention.

An assessment of mangrove vegetation changes in reference to cyclone impacted climatic alterations at land-ocean interface of Indian Sundarbans with application of remote sensing-based analytical tools.

Mangrove ecoregions of the Indian Sundarbans (IS) are highly productive ecosystems in the Bengal delta of the Indian subcontinent. These mangroves are crucial in reducing the negative consequences of extreme environmental events like excessive wave movements and periodic storm surges, in addition to serving as an important habitat for a variety of distinct flora and animals. The Bay of Bengal has been increasingly affected by climatic changes like increase in sea surface temperature (SST), salinization, and sediment loads, a decrease in freshwater intake, and sea level rise.

Modulation of Pore Opening of Eukaryotic Sodium Channels by π-Helices in S6.

Voltage-gated sodium channels are heterotetrameric sodium selective ion channels that play a central role in electrical signaling in excitable cells. With recent advances in structural biology, structures of eukaryotic sodium channels have been captured in several distinct conformations corresponding to different functional states. The secondary structure of the pore lining S6 helices of subunits DI, DII, and DIV has been captured with both short π-helix stretches and in fully α-helical conformations.

Modulation of Biophysical Cues in Nature Inspired Patterning of Porous Silk Fibroin Scaffold for Replenishable Controlled Drug Delivery.

While a sticking plasteris enough for healing of most of the minor cuts they may get routinely, critical situations like surgical, gunshot, accidental or diabetic wounds;lacarations and other cutaneous deep cuts may require implants and simultaneous medications for healing. From the biophysical standpoint, an internal force-based physical surface stimulusis crucial for cellular sensing during wound repair. In this paper, the authors report the fabrication of a porous, biomimmetically patterned silk fibroin scaffold loaded with ampicillin, which exhibits controlled release of the drug along with possible replenishment of the same.

An α-π transition in S6 shapes the conformational cycle of the bacterial sodium channel NavAb.

Voltage-gated sodium channels play an important role in electrical signaling in excitable cells. In response to changes in membrane potential, they cycle between nonconducting and conducting conformations. With recent advances in structural biology, structures of sodium channels have been captured in several distinct conformations, which are thought to represent different functional states.

Mannosylated Gold Nanoclusters Incorporated with a Repurposed Antihistamine Drug Promethazine for Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Applications.

Drug repurposing presents a workable strategy in tackling antibiotic resistance. Many known drugs have been repurposed for their applications against different targets. Antihistamines that are usually used to treat allergy symptoms can be combined with nanoscale materials to enhance their efficiency.

Study of streptococcal antibody (anti-streptolysin O) among healthy children in Bangladesh.

Objectives: The standard reference value of anti-streptolysin O (ASO) titre for diagnosing acute rheumatic fever (RF) in children is yet to be determined in Bangladesh. We aimed to measure the upper limit of the normal (ULN) of ASO titre among healthy children to determine the cut-off value for the diagnosis of RF in Bangladesh.

Methods: A total of 400 healthy children aged 5-15 years with no history of fever, sore throat and impetigo during the last 8 weeks of the study were enrolled.

Subtype-specific responses of hKv7.4 and hKv7.5 channels to polyunsaturated fatty acids reveal an unconventional modulatory site and mechanism.

The K7.4 and K7.5 subtypes of voltage-gated potassium channels play a role in important physiological processes such as sound amplification in the cochlea and adjusting vascular smooth muscle tone.

Seroprevalence and Dynamics of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody among healthcare workers following ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination.

Health care workers (HCWs) are in a higher risk of acquiring the disease owing to their regular contact with the patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the seroprevalence among HCWs pre- and post-vaccination. The serological assessment of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody was conducted in pre- and post-vaccination of first or both doses of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine and followed up to 8 months for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and antibody titre.

Improved Mesenchymal Stem Cell Proliferation, Differentiation, Epithelial Transition, and Restrained Senescence on Hierarchically Patterned Porous Honey Silk Fibroin Scaffolds.

We report a significant improvement of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells' (ADMSCs) biocompatibility and proliferation on hierarchically patterned porous honey-incorporated silk fibroin scaffolds fabricated using a combination of soft lithography and freeze-drying techniques. Parametric variations show enhanced surface roughness, swelling, and degradation rate with good pore interconnectivity, porosity, and mechanical strength for soft-lithographically fabricated biomimetic microdome arrays on the 2% honey silk fibroin scaffold (PHSF2) as compared to its other variants, which eventually made PHSF2 more comparable to the native environment required for stem cell adhesion and proliferation. PHSF2 also exhibits sustained honey release with remarkable antibacterial efficacy against methicillin-resistant (MRSA).

An open state of a voltage-gated sodium channel involving a π-helix and conserved pore-facing asparagine.

Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels play critical roles in propagating action potentials and otherwise manipulating ionic gradients in excitable cells. These channels open in response to membrane depolarization, selectively permeating sodium ions until rapidly inactivating. Structural characterization of the gating cycle in this channel family has proved challenging, particularly due to the transient nature of the open state.

Molecular characterization of extended spectrum beta lactamases in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp from a tertiary care hospital of South Eastern Assam.

Molecular characterization of ESBLs in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp from a tertiary care hospital of South Eastern Assam was done by detection of bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla and bla by Multiplex PCR. One hundred isolates yielded 44 bands of ESBL genes. CTX-M was most frequently isolated gene (36/44).

Fixed dose combination of capecitabine and cyclophosphamide in metastatic breast cancer: Results from THE ENCLOSE phase 2/3 randomized multicenter study.

Aim: To evaluate pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of fixed-dose combination (FDC) of oral capecitabine + cyclophosphamide in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients progressing after anthracycline and/or taxane chemotherapy.

Methods: In this prospective, adaptive, phase-2/3, open-label study (CTRI/2014/12/005234), patients were randomized (1:1:1) to three FDC doses (doses/day: D1, capecitabine + cyclophosphamide 1400 mg + 60 mg; D2, 1800 mg + 80 mg; D3, 2200 mg + 100 mg) for 14 days, in 21-day cycles. In Part-I, multiple-dose pharmacokinetics and optimal dose(s) were evaluated with futility analysis.

Lung Cancer Screening Eligibility and Use: A Population Health Perspective of One Community.

Low-dose chest CT (LDCT) is the only effective screening test for lung cancer. Annual lung cancer screening (LCS) is recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) for individuals at high risk for primary lung neoplasm. We retrospectively identified patients receiving LCS from January 2016 through March 2018 whose residential addresses were within our health center's county.