COVID-19 Associated Mucormycosis.

Mucormycosis is a life-threatening opportunistic fungal infection seen in immunocompromised states. Rising incidence of mucormycosis among Coronavirus Disease-2019 infected individuals is an increasing concern in India. The disease which was endemic has blown out to become an epidemic.

Comparative Evaluation of Dexmedetomidine and Dexamethasone as Adjuvants in Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block.

Introduction Currently, peripheral nerve block has shown immense potential with effective patient satisfaction. In the event of upper limb surgeries, the supraclavicular brachial plexus approach under ultrasound guidance renders quick and dense anesthesia. In addition, the clinical utility of adjuvants with local anesthetics elicits a good quality of nerve block with improved duration and inset.

Photoredox-Mediated Deoxygenative Radical Additions of Aromatic Acids to Vinyl Boronic Esters and gem-Diborylalkenes.

A new method to access β-keto-gem-diborylalkanes, by direct deoxygenative radical addition of aromatic carboxylic acids to gem-dibortlalkenes, is described. The reaction proceeds under mild photoredox catalysis and involves the photochemical C-O bond activation of aromatic carboxylic acids in the presence of PPh . It generates an acyl radical, which further undergoes an additional reaction with gem-diborylalkenes to form an α-gem-diboryl alkyl radical intermediate, which then reduces to the corresponding anion, which after protonation, affords the β-keto-gem-diborylalkane product.

A Descriptive Study Exploring Semen Quality Among Indian Cancer Patients.

To descriptively explore semen quality among Indian men with various types of malignancies. We evaluated semen parameters of male patients referred to our hospital before commencing their cancer treatment. Four hundred sixty-one male patients who were within the age range of 15-50 years were recruited with diagnosed malignancies.

Noninterpretive Uses of Artificial Intelligence in Radiology.

We deem a computer to exhibit artificial intelligence (AI) when it performs a task that would normally require intelligent action by a human. Much of the recent excitement about AI in the medical literature has revolved around the ability of AI models to recognize anatomy and detect pathology on medical images, sometimes at the level of expert physicians. However, AI can also be used to solve a wide range of noninterpretive problems that are relevant to radiologists and their patients.

Palladium-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Asymmetric Allylic Alkylation of Dihydroquinolinones.

A palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative asymmetric allylic alkylation (Pd-DAAA) of benzo-fused and non-benzo-fused δ-valerolactams is disclosed. This methodology gives access to chiral lactams bearing C3-quaternary stereocenters, which are central to many natural products and biologically active compounds. The reaction proceeds via palladium-catalyzed ionization of an allyl ester, followed by carbon dioxide extrusion and recombination of the electrophilic Pd-π-allyl complex with the in situ generated lactam enolate.

CT Pulmonary Angiography: Using Decision Rules in the Emergency Department.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the appropriateness of utilization and diagnostic yields of CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA), comparing two commonly applied decision rules, the pulmonary embolism (PE) rule-out criteria (PERC) and the modified Wells criteria (mWells), in the emergency department (ED) setting.

Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained for this HIPAA-compliant, prospective-cohort, academic single-center study. Six hundred two consecutive adult ED patients undergoing CTPA for suspected PE formed the study population.

Mass-spectrometric identification of T-kininogen I/thiostatin as an acute-phase inflammatory protein suppressed by curcumin and capsaicin.

Curcumin and capsaicin are dietary xenobiotics with well-documented anti-inflammatory properties. Previously, the beneficial effect of these spice principles in lowering chronic inflammation was demonstrated using a rat experimental model for arthritis. The extent of lowering of arthritic index by the spice principles was associated with a significant shift in macrophage function favoring the reduction of pro-inflammatory molecules such as reactive oxygen species and production and release of anti-inflammatory metabolites of arachidonic acid.

In(OTf)3-catalysed one-pot versatile pyrrole synthesis through domino annulation of α-oxoketene-N,S-acetals with nitroolefins.

In(OTf)3-catalyzed robust and sustainable one-pot access to previously unknown and synthetically demanding polysubstituted pyrroles via [3 + 2] annulation of α-oxoketene-N,S-acetals with β-nitrostyrenes has been achieved under solvent-free conditions. The merit of this domino Michael addition/cyclization sequence is highlighted by its operational simplicity, short reaction time (5-10 min), good to excellent yields, tolerance of a large variety of functional groups, and efficiency of producing two new (C-C and C-N) bonds and one highly functionalized pyrrole ring in a single operation, which make it an ideal alternative to existing methods.

Immune status influences fear and anxiety responses in mice after acute stress exposure.

Significant evidence suggests that exposure to traumatic and/or acute stress in both mice and humans results in compromised immune function that in turn may affect associated brain processes. Additionally, recent studies in mouse models of immune deficiency have suggested that adaptive immunity may play a role during traumatic stress exposure and that impairments in lymphocyte function may contribute to increased susceptibility to various psychogenic stressors. However, rodent studies on the relationship between maladaptive stress responses and lymphocyte deficiency have been complicated by the fact that genetic manipulations in these models may also result in changes in CNS function due to the expression of targeted genes in tissues other than lymphocytes, including the brain.

4-Dimethylamino pyridine-promoted one-pot three-component regioselective synthesis of highly functionalized 4H-thiopyrans via heteroannulation of β-oxodithioesters.

A highly convergent and regioselective heteroannulation protocol for the synthesis of hitherto unreported highly substituted 2-amino-4-(aryl/alkyl)-5-(aroyl/heteroaroyl)-3-(cyano/carboalkoxy)-6-methylthio-4H-thiopyran derivatives has been developed. This one-pot three-component domino coupling of β-oxodithioesters, aldehydes, and malononitrile/ethyl or methyl cyanoacetate is promoted by 4-dimethylamino pyridine (DMAP) in solvent (dichloromethane (DCM)) as well as under solvent-free conditions. Systematic optimization of reaction parameters identified that the three-component coupling (3CC) protocol is tolerant to a wide array of functionality providing densely functionalized 4H-thiopyrans in excellent yields.

Rats fed blended oils containing coconut oil with groundnut oil or olive oil showed an enhanced activity of hepatic antioxidant enzymes and a reduction in LDL oxidation.

The effects of feeding Wistar rats with blended and interesterified oils of coconut (CO):groundnut (GNO) or CO:olive (OLO) on liver antioxidant enzyme activities and susceptibility of LDL to oxidation were studied. The hepatic lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels in the rats fed CO:GNO blend and interesterified oils were increased by 31% and 21%, when compared to the rats given CO. The superoxide dismutase activity was increased by 31% and 28%, and catalase (CAT) activity was increased by 37% and 39%, respectively, in rats given blends and interesterified oils of CO:GNO, as compared to those given CO.

Computer-aided design of selective COX-2 inhibitors: comparative molecular field analysis, comparative molecular similarity indices analysis, and docking studies of some 1,2-diarylimidazole derivatives.

Comparative molecular field analysis and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis were performed on 114 analogues of 1,2-diarylimidazole to optimize their cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective antiinflammatory activities. These studies produced models with high correlation coefficients and good predictive abilities. Docking studies were also carried out wherein these analogues were docked into the active sites of both COX-1 and COX-2 to analyze the receptor ligand interactions that confer selectivity for COX-2.

The prolactin response to flutroline hydrochloride in schizophrenic patients.

Flutroline hydrochloride, a gamma carboline manifesting neuroleptic activity, was administered in a double-blind fashion in single daily dosages of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 100 mg to 48 hospitalized schizophrenic patients over a period of four weeks. During this period, weekly evaluations were made of response employing standardized psychiatric ratings. Plasma prolactin (PRL) levels were obtained at the termination of previous neuroleptic medication and at two-week intervals during treatment with the investigational compound.

Flutroline in the treatment of the schizophrenic patient.

As an introduction into a clinical study of one of a new group of compounds having neuroleptic potential, the background and characteristics of the gamma carbolines, particularly flutroline, are cited in the general context of a review of the use of antipsychotic drugs in psychiatry. In the four-week double-blind trial involving dosages of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 100 mg, 48 hospitalized schizophrenic patients were given the tryptoline derivative flutroline on a once-a-day basis. Outcome criteria obtained weekly, including the incidence of side effects, standardized psychiatric ratings, and clinical global impressions of psychopathology, indicated that flutroline was a safe and effective antipsychotic drug.

A comparison of dopamine receptor blocking assay with plasma drug levels of haloperidol in schizophrenic patients.

A comparison of a chemical analytic technique (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) with that of the dopamine receptor blocking assay in a study involving seven schizophrenic patients being administered a fixed dosage of haloperidol (20 mg) demonstrated a high degree of correspondence in the quantification of the plasma levels of the neuroleptic.

Viloxazine and the depressed schizophrenic--methodological issues.

A pilot study of a small group of schizophrenic patients manifesting symptoms of a depressive nature was treated in a double-blind study in which viloxazine or a placebo was administered in combination with either chlorpromazine or haloperidol. There appeared to be no difference between the viloxazine-treated group and the placebo-treated group, although the study raised some question as to the adequacies of the dosage utilized since there was an absence of any apparent side effects. In view of these issues concerning the clinical merit of the combination, this obviously requires further investigation.

The dopamine radioreceptor assay--a clinical application.

The counterbalanced design in a bioequivalent study of haloperidol indicated an absence of any clinical difference between a new 20-mg dosage form and two 10-mg tablets of haloperidol (Haldol). This impression was supported by the absence of any significant behavioral changes during the four weeks when either form of the once-a-day fixed dose of 20 mg haloperidol was administered. This impression was substantiated by experiences with the dopamine receptor blocking assay, since results with this procedure also indicated the lack of any significant difference in the plasma neuroleptic equivalence of either dosage form.