Clinical diagnosis of viral hepatitis: Current status and future strategies.

Viral hepatitis (VH) is a significant public health issue with tremendous potential to aggravate into chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Recent decade has witnessed remarkable uprising in the drug development and effective treatment of VH. An upsurge is seen in identification of antiviral therapies with low rates of viral resistance, the improvement of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) vaccination and the development of direct-acting antivirals for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).

Intracranial Interdural and Extradural Cerebellar Convexity Dermoid Cyst: A Case Report of Rare Tumor at the Rarest Location.

Intracranial dermoid cysts are rare dysembryonic tumors of benign nature. These are uncommon in adults. If present, they are usually located in the midline or along the lines of embryonic fusion.

Recent Advances in Nanomechanical Measurements and Their Application for Pharmaceutical Crystals.

Mechanical behavior of pharmaceutical crystals directly impacts the formulation development and manufacturing of drug products. The understanding of crystal structure-mechanical behavior of pharmaceutical and molecular crystals has recently gained substantial attention among pharmaceutical and materials scientists with the advent of advanced nanomechanical testing instruments like nanoindentation. For the past few decades, instrumented nanoindentation was a popular technique for measuring the mechanical properties of thin films and small-length scale materials.

Countrywide monitoring of absorbed dose rate in air due to outdoor natural gamma radiation in India.

The Indian Environmental Radiation Monitoring Network continuously monitors, throughout India, the absorbed dose rate in air due to outdoor natural gamma radiation, by using Geiger-Mueller detector-based standalone environmental radiation monitors. The network consists of 546 monitors spread across 91 monitoring locations distributed all over the country. In this paper, the countrywide long-term monitoring results are summarised.

The repertoire of mutational signatures in tobacco- and non-tobacco-induced oral cancer.

The use of tobacco products is one of the established contributors toward the development and spread of oral cancer. Additionally, recent research has indicated oral microbiome, infections with Human papilloma virus (HPV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Candida as significant contributing factors to this disease along with lifestyle habits. Deregulation of cellular pathways envisaging metabolism, transcription, translation, and epigenetics caused by these risk factors either individually or in unison is manifold, resulting in the increased risk of oral cancer.

Generation of map on natural environmental background absorbed dose rate in India.

A systematic mapping of natural absorbed dose rate was carried out to assess the existing exposure situation in India. The mammoth nationwide survey covered the entire terrestrial region of the country comprising of 45127 sampling grids (grid size 36 km) with more than 100,000 data points. The data was processed using Geographic Information System.

Genic-intergenic polymorphisms of CYP1A genes and their clinical impact.

The humancytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) subfamily genes, CYP1A1 and CYP1A2, encoding monooxygenases are critically involved in biotransformation of key endogenous substrates (estradiol, arachidonic acid, cholesterol) and exogenous compounds (smoke constituents, carcinogens, caffeine, therapeutic drugs). This suggests their significant involvement in multiple biological pathways with a primary role of maintaining endogenous homeostasis and xenobiotic detoxification. Large interindividual variability exist in CYP1A gene expression and/or catalytic activity of the enzyme, which is primarily due to the existence of polymorphic alleles which encode them.

CO capture from ambient air crystallization with tetraalkylammonium hydroxides.

Aqueous solutions of a series of short carbon chain tetra(-alkyl)ammonium hydroxides, [N][OH] with = 2: -ethyl, 3: -propyl, 4: -butyl, have been serendipitously found to be potential candidates for direct air carbon capture (DAC) when being used as reagents in more complicated reactions. Aqueous solutions of [N][OH], [N][OH], or [N][OH] with UOSO·3HO and 1,4-diamidoximylbenzene, and [N][OH] with cytosine (HCyt) directly absorb CO from the atmosphere upon mild heating in the open atmosphere crystallizing in complexes reaching up to 2 : 1 CO/[N]OH ratio. [N][HCO]·3HO (1), [N][H(HCO)]·5HO (2), [N][HCO]·0.

Assessing Long Non-coding RNAs in Tobacco-associated Oral Cancer.

Cancer is one of the compelling and pegged diseases battled by clinicians and researchers worldwide. Among different types of cancer, oral cancer holds the sixth position globally. With an escalating prevalence in Asian countries, India, China, and Pakistan constitute a large proportion of total incidents of oral cancer patients in terms of new cases or deaths.

Insights into Structural Modifications of Valproic Acid and Their Pharmacological Profile.

Valproic acid (VPA) is a well-established anticonvulsant drug discovered serendipitously and marketed for the treatment of epilepsy, migraine, bipolar disorder and neuropathic pain. Apart from this, VPA has potential therapeutic applications in other central nervous system (CNS) disorders and in various cancer types. Since the discovery of its anticonvulsant activity, substantial efforts have been made to develop structural analogues and derivatives in an attempt to increase potency and decrease adverse side effects, the most significant being teratogenicity and hepatotoxicity.

Probing time dependent phase transformation in a flexible metal-organic framework with nanoindentation.

Phase transformation in a flexible metal-organic framework, {[Zn(1,4-NDC)(1,2-BPE)]·xSolvent}, which loses guest molecules rapidly at room temperature, leading to several phase transitions, is examined using the nanoindentation technique. Nanoindentation results revealed that the time dependent transformation of an open to a closed phase happens gradually, through multiple intermediate phases, with the mechanical properties (elastic modulus and hardness) increasing as the transformation progresses from an open to a closed phase.

Multidrug efflux transporter ABCG2: expression and regulation.

The adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette efflux transporter G2 (ABCG2) was originally discovered in a multidrug-resistant breast cancer cell line. Studies in the past have expanded the understanding of its role in physiology, disease pathology and drug resistance. With a widely distributed expression across different cell types, ABCG2 plays a central role in ATP-dependent efflux of a vast range of endogenous and exogenous molecules, thereby maintaining cellular homeostasis and providing tissue protection against xenobiotic insults.

Protocol for sampling and analysis of food and agricultural produces consequent to a nuclear accident in India.

Nuclear accidents, despite having an extremely low probability of occurrence, could cause uncontrolled release of radioactive elements (fission and activation products) into the environment, and may ultimately lead to contamination of food products. Such a scenario requires extraordinary measures for control of food, which might be contaminated to a level not suitable for human consumption. Agricultural products (which include grain crops, vegetable, fruits, dairy, meat, eggs and poultry) pass through a series of local, district and state level markets to finally reach consumers.

Catalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Aryl-Methyl Organophosphorus Compounds.

A catalytic enantioselective protocol for the synthesis of aryl-methyl organophosphorus compounds is reported. Utilizing a chiral phosphoric acid as a catalyst, a wide range of indole derivatives reacted with phosphorylated quinomethanes in high yield with excellent enantioselectivity. This is the first report on the application of phosphorylated quinomethanes in asymmetric synthesis.

Crystallographic evidence of Watson-Crick connectivity in the base pair of anionic adenine with thymine.

Utilizing an ionic liquid strategy, we report crystal structures of salts of free anionic nucleobases and base pairs previously studied only computationally and in the gas phase. Reaction of tetrabutylammonium ([N]) or tetrabutylphosphonium ([P]) hydroxide with adenine (HAd) and thymine (HThy) led to hydrated salts of deprotonated adenine, [N][Ad]·2HO, and thymine, [P][Thy]·2HO, as well as the double salt cocrystal, [P][Ad][Thy]·3HO·2HThy. The cocrystal includes the anionic [Ad(HThy)] base pair which is a stable formation in the solid state that has previously not even been suggested.

Thermoluminescence Studies of β and γ-Irradiated Geological Materials for Environment Monitoring.

In the present report, thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) of quartz and limestone samples irradiated with β and γ-rays has been investigated. Herein the formation of trap depths and calculation of kinetic parameters of β and γ - irradiated quartz and limestone samples were studied through thermoluminescence (TL) glow curve analyses. The quartz and limestone samples were collected from various sites of Chhattisgarh (Patharia and Dalli-Rajhara mines).

Forcing Dicyanamide Coordination to f-Elements by Dissolution in Dicyanamide-Based Ionic Liquids.

A robust general route to lanthanide dicyanamide (DCA) complexes has been developed where f-element salts are dissolved in DCA-based ionic liquids (ILs) directly or formed , forcing coordination of these normally weakly coordinating soft N-donor anions, even in an ambient, non-moisture-excluding environment. A series of lanthanide complexes [Cmim][Ln(DCA)(HO)] (Cmim = 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium; Ln = La, Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy, and Yb) and [Cmim][La(OH)(μ-DCA)][La(OH)(μ-DCA)(μ-DCA)](Cl) were crystallized under a variety of conditions using this methodology and structurally characterized using single crystal X-ray diffraction. Although not all examples were isostructural, the dominant feature across the series was the presence of [Ln(DCA)(HO)] anionic nodes with all terminal DCA ligands accepting hydrogen bonds from the coordinated water molecules forming a 3D metal organic framework.

Are ionic liquids and liquid coordination complexes really different? - Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity of AlCl/base catalysts.

Lewis acid/base catalysts of AlCl3/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (O-NMP) and AlCl3/1-methylimidazole (N-Mim) were prepared and found to have higher catalytic activity in the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of benzene than the known super acidic ionic liquid chloroaluminate [HN222][Al2Cl7] ([HN222]+ = triethylammonium). Crystals structures were obtained for AlCl3(N-Mim), [AlCl2(O-NMP)2][AlCl4], and [Al(O-NMP)6][AlCl4]3·(C6H6)3 supporting the assignments of neutral and charged catalytic species.

Crystallographic and Energetic Insights into Reduced Dissolution and Physical Stability of a Drug-Surfactant Salt: The Case of Norfloxacin Lauryl Sulfate.

A commonly used pharmaceutical surfactant, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), has been reported to reduce the dissolution rate of drugs due to the formation of a less soluble drug-lauryl sulfate salt. In this study, we provide direct crystallographic evidence of the formation of salt between SLS and norfloxacin (NOR), [NORH][LS]·1.5 HO.

Wettability Reversal of Hydrophobic Pigment Particles Comprising Nanoscale Organosilane Shells: Concentrated Aqueous Dispersions and Corrosion-Resistant Waterborne Coatings.

We demonstrate the synthesis of polysiloxane-modified inorganic-oxide nanoparticles comprising a TiO-based pigment (Ti-Pure R-706), which undergo drastic wettability reversal from a hydrophilic wet state to a hydrophobic state upon drying. Furthermore, the dry hydrophobic pigment particles can be reversibly converted back to a hydrophilic form by the application of high shear aqueous milling. Our synthetic approach involves first condensing the cross-linking monomer CHSi(OH) onto the surface of Ti-Pure R-706 at pH 9.

Comparison of concomitant therapy versus standard triple-drug therapy for eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection: A prospective open-label randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Resistance to commonly used antibiotics against Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is increasing rapidly leading to lower success of traditional triple therapy to eradicate H. pylori infection.

Solubility Studies of Cyclosporine Using Ionic Liquids.

Six ionic liquids (ILs) were selected based on their chemical and physical properties to study the solubility of cyclosporine A. Of these, cyclosporine exhibited higher room temperature solubility in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Cmim][OAc]) than in acetone, an effective molecular solvent used to solubilize and purify cyclosporine. The solubility of cyclosporine in the ILs dramatically increased at higher temperatures, a critical factor that cannot be varied in a wide range with low boiling molecular solvents.