Lipid vesicles chaperone an encapsulated RNA aptamer.

The organization of molecules into cells is believed to have been critical for the emergence of living systems. Early protocells likely consisted of RNA functioning inside vesicles made of simple lipids. However, little is known about how encapsulation would affect the activity and folding of RNA.

In-depth molecular analysis of a small cohort of human and Aedes mosquito (adults and larvae) samples from Kolkata revealed absence of Zika but high prevalence of dengue virus.

Purpose: Zika virus infections have recently been reported in many dengue-endemic areas globally. Both dengue (DENV) and Zika (ZIKV) virus are transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, raising the possibility of mixed infections in both vector and host. We evaluated DENV and ZIKV prevalence in human and vector samples in Kolkata, a DENV-endemic city.

Long-term changes in body proportions since 1952 to 2011 in children and adolescents from Kolkata (India).

The aim of this study was to investigate the intergenerational changes of the selected body proportions of children and adolescents from Kolkata (India). The analysis was based on anthropometric measurements of 7488 Bengali children (4222 boys and 3266 girls), aged 7-19, from the middle-class families. The cohorts from 1952-66 and 1999-2011, as well as series of boys from 1982-83, were compared in terms of body height, subischial leg length, biacromial width, biiliac width, reciprocal ponderal index (RPI), skelic index, pelvi-acromial index, shoulder-height ratio, pelvis-height ratio.

Evaluating the causality of novel sequence variants in the prion protein gene by example.

The estimation of pathogenicity and penetrance of novel prion protein gene (PRNP) variants presents significant challenges, particularly in the absence of family history, which precludes the application of Mendelian segregation. Moreover, the ambiguities of prion disease pathophysiology renders conventional in silico predictions inconclusive. Here, we describe 2 patients with rapid cognitive decline progressing to akinetic mutism and death within 10 weeks of symptom onset, both of whom possessed the novel T201S variant in PRNP.

Predictors for gut colonization of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in neonates in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Background: With the emergence of carbapenem-resistant isolates, the therapeutic alternatives have become limited. Various factors are responsible for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) gut colonization. This study was conducted to determine predictors for CRE gut colonization in neonates who were hospital delivered and admitted in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Self-Assembled Pd Molecular Spheroids and Their Proton Conduction Property.

A series of molecular spheroids (SP1-SP4) was synthesized using pseudolinear bisimidazole and bisbenzimidazole donors in combination with Pd(NO) acceptor via coordination-driven self-assembly. They were characterized by NMR and mass spectrometry, and the solid-state structures of SP1 and SP3 were confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Crystal packing revealed the presence of molecular channels with water molecules in the channels as proton source.

Persistent 6-OH-BDE-47 exposure impairs functional neuronal maturation and alters expression of neurodevelopmentally-relevant chromatin remodelers.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a pervasive class of brominated flame retardants that are present in the environment at particularly high levels, especially in the United States. Their environmental stability, propensity for bioaccumulation, and known potential for neurotoxicity has evoked interest regarding their effects on the developing nervous system. Exposure to PBDEs has been strongly associated with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Ameliorative effect of chitosan-conjugated 17α-methyltestosterone on testicular development in Clarias batrachus.

Chitosan nanoparticles conjugated with 17α-methyltestosterone (CS + MT) were used for studying their effect on the testicular development of Clarias batrachus during different reproductive phases. The size of chitosan nanoparticles was 127.2 nm and the nano-conjugated 17α methyltestosterone (17α-MT) was 196.

Practical consensus recommendations on duration of adjuvant hormonal therapy in breast cancer.

Optimization of adjuvant systemic therapy in women with early-stage hormone receptor-positive breast cancer includes the consideration of chemotherapy and duration of hormone therapy. Adjuvant hormonal therapy significantly improves long-term survival of breast cancer patients with hormone receptor-positive disease. Despite the proven clinical efficacy of tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors, many breast cancer survivors either fail to take the correct dosage at the prescribed frequency (adherence) or discontinue therapy (persistence).

Different Neuronal Activity Patterns Induce Different Gene Expression Programs.

A vast number of different neuronal activity patterns could each induce a different set of activity-regulated genes. Mapping this coupling between activity pattern and gene induction would allow inference of a neuron's activity-pattern history from its gene expression and improve our understanding of activity-pattern-dependent synaptic plasticity. In genome-scale experiments comparing brief and sustained activity patterns, we reveal that activity-duration history can be inferred from gene expression profiles.

Nanostructured lipid carriers for site-specific drug delivery.

Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), comprises of a blend of solid and liquid lipids which results in a partially crystallized lipid system and imparts many advantages over solid lipid nanoparticles such as enhanced drug loading capacity, drug release modulation flexibility and improved stability. NLC have found numerous applications in both pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry due to ease of preparation, the feasibility of scale-up, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, enhanced targeting efficiency and the possibility of site-specific delivery via various routes of administration. This review highlights the NLC with focus on the structure, the various fabrication techniques used and the characterization techniques which are critical in the development of a suitable and stable formulation.

Labor analgesia in parturients of fetal growth restriction having raised umbilical Doppler vascular indices.

Background And Aims: Fetuses with abnormal umbilical blood flow are at a higher risk of adverse perinatal outcome than those with normal flow. Epidural analgesia (EA) has shown to decrease villous vascular resistance in preeclamptic women during labor. The present study evaluates the effects of epidural ropivacaine and intramuscular (IM) tramadol on Doppler blood flow in parturients with fetal growth restriction and raised umbilical artery (UmA) blood flow.

Study on association of human leukocyte antigen-DRB1 alleles amongst Bangladeshi patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic and autoimmune disease affecting 0.5-1% of the world population. Genetic and environmental factors are already established as being involved in the development of RA.

Phosphine-Free and Reusable Palladium Nanoparticles-Catalyzed Domino Strategy: Synthesis of Indanone Derivatives.

The carbene migratory insertion involving a domino reaction by highly stable, reusable, and binaphthyl-stabilized Pd-nanoparticles (Pd-BNP) is disclosed. The reaction was catalyzed by 2 mol % of a heterogeneous Pd-BNP catalyst under external ligand-free conditions, and it afforded 3-aryl-substituted indanone derivatives in up to a 90% yield with exclusive E-selectivity. Furthermore, a one-pot reaction and derivatization of indanone derivatives were also successfully demonstrated.

Drug-resistant Spinal Tuberculosis.

Drug-resistant spinal tuberculosis (TB) is an emerging health problem in both developing and developed countries. In this review article, we aim to define management protocols for suspicion, diagnosis, and treatment of such patients. Spinal TB is a deep-seated paucibacillary lesion, and the demonstration of acid-fast bacilli on Ziehl-Neelsen staining is possible only in 10%-30% of cases.

Mitochondria-localizing BODIPY-copper(ii) conjugates for cellular imaging and photo-activated cytotoxicity forming singlet oxygen.

Copper(ii) acetylacetonates of N,N,N-donor dipicolylamine (dpa) ligands, viz. [Cu(L1)(acac)]ClO4 (1), [Cu(L2)(acac)]ClO4 (2) and [Cu(L3)(acac)]ClO4 (3), where L1 is benzyldipicolylamine (bzdpa), L2 and L3 are non-iodinated and diiodinated BODIPY (borondipyrromethene) ligands and Hacac is acetylacetone, were synthesized and characterized and their photocytotoxicity was studied. The BODIPY complex 2, structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography, has copper(ii) in a distorted square-pyramidal geometry (degree of trigonality, τ5 = 0.

An Outbreak of Foodborne Infection Caused by Shigella sonnei in West Bengal, India.

A foodborne acute gastroenteritis outbreak due to Shigella sonnei infection occurred in a household after eating foods in a housewarming party at Pakapol Village, South 24 Parganas District of West Bengal, an Indian state, in November 2016. Here, we report the epidemiological and microbiological findings of this outbreak. Thirty-four people attended the party on November 23, 2016, and had lunch together.

DoE based Olanzapine loaded poly-caprolactone nanoparticles decreases extrapyramidal effects in rodent model.

The purpose of present investigation was to nano-encapsulate atypical antipsychotic such as Olanzapine in polymeric nanoparticles in order to explore the possibility of minimizing drug associated extrapyramidal adverse effects. The polymeric nanoparticulate systems were prepared using FDA approved polymer, polycaprolactone, by simple technique of nanoprecipitation using factorial design by DoE approach. The significant factors selected for the optimization during formulation development process were polymer content and surfactant concentration at three different levels (3 factorial design).

Neurofascin Knock Down in the Basolateral Amygdala Mediates Resilience of Memory and Plasticity in the Dorsal Dentate Gyrus Under Stress.

Activation of the amygdala is one of the hallmarks of acute stress reactions and a central element of the negative impact of stress on hippocampus-dependent memory and cognition. Stress-induced psychopathologies, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, exhibit a sustained hyperactivity of the amygdala, triggered at least in part by deficits in GABAergic inhibition that lead to shifts in amygdalo-hippocampal interaction. Here, we have utilized lentiviral knock down of neurofascin to reduce GABAergic inhibition specifically at the axon initial segment (AIS) of principal neurons within the basolateral amygdala (BLA) of rats.

Thiophene Appended Dual Fluorescent Sensor for Detection of Hg and Cysteamine.

An efficient and highly selective pyrene-thiophene conjugate has been reported as a dual sensor for Hg and cysteamine (an important drug for genetic disorder). The sensor displays a turn-on fluorescence response towards Hg in a 2:1 stoichiometric ratio via excimer formation with a detection limit as low as of 30.6 nM.

Metabolic engineering of the pentose phosphate pathway for enhanced limonene production in the cyanobacterium Synechocysti s sp. PCC 6803.

Isoprenoids are diverse natural compounds, which have various applications as pharmaceuticals, fragrances, and solvents. The low yield of isoprenoids in plants makes them difficult for cost-effective production, and chemical synthesis of complex isoprenoids is impractical. Microbial production of isoprenoids has been considered as a promising approach to increase the yield.

Boron Nanowheels with Axles Containing Noble Gas Atoms: Viable Noble Gas Bound M©B Clusters (M=Nb, Ta).

The viability of noble gas axled boron nanowheels Ng M©B (Ng=Ar-Rn; M=Nb, Ta; n=1, 2) is explored by ab initio computations. In the resulting Ng -M complexes, the Ng-M-Ng nanorod passes through the center of the B ring, providing them with an inverse sandwich-like structure. While in the singly Ng bound analogue, the Ng binding enthalpy H at 298 K ranges from 2.

A Cu(ii)-MOF capable of fixing CO from air and showing high capacity H and CO adsorption.

A porous Cu(ii)-MOF shows an adsorption of 6.6 wt% of H at 77 K and 62 bar and a very high 60 wt% of CO at 298 K and 32 bar. When air is bubbled into a suspension of the activated MOF in the presence of different epoxides at room temperature, the CO in air is readily converted into the corresponding cyclic carbonates.

Muli bamboo (Melocanna baccifera) leaves ethanolic extract a non-toxic phyto-prophylactic against low pH stress and saprolegniasis in Labeo rohita fingerlings.

Bamboo (Melocanna baccifera) plant plays a significant role in traditional Asian medicine and it can be used as an alternative to various chemo-therapeutics or prophylactic agents used in aquaculture. In the present study, the 1 experiment was done for the preparation of extracts from bamboo leaves by using 90% alcohol as a solvent. In the 2 experiment, toxicity study was carried on Labeo rohita fingerlings (average length of 10.