Development and characterisation of a silicon PIN diode array based highly sensitive portable continuous radon monitor.

This paper discusses the development and characterisation of a portable and highly sensitive continuous radon monitor (CRM) based on an array of in-house developed silicon PIN diode detectors. The development of this system was initiated in view of the limitations of the available similar radon measurement systems with regards to low sensitivity. The system utilises a hemispherical metal chamber (1 L capacity) for active air sampling.

Modeling of indoor radon concentration from radon exhalation rates of building materials and validation through measurements.

Building materials are the second major source of indoor radon after soil. The contribution of building materials towards indoor radon depends upon the radium content and exhalation rates and can be used as a primary index for radon levels in the dwellings. The radon flux data from the building materials was used for calculation of the indoor radon concentrations and doses by many researchers using one and two dimensional model suggested by various researchers.

Molecular docking study, green synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives as potential antiepileptic agents.

Epilepsy is one of the commonly occurring chronic neurological disorders which involves abnormal electrical impulses in the brain. It is characterized by the sudden loss of consciousness, followed by abnormal shaking of the body. Though there are various types of antiepileptic drugs available clinically, the treatment of epilepsy still remains inadequate because of their toxicity and idiosyncratic side effects.

Psoralen-narrowband UVB phototherapy for the treatment of vitiligo in comparison to narrowband UVB alone.

Background: The potential of psoralen-narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) photochemotherapy has been investigated in vitiligo. The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of psoralen-NBUVB (P-NBUVB) vs. NBUVB in vitiligo.

Computational elucidation of structural basis for ligand binding with Leishmania donovani adenosine kinase.

Enzyme adenosine kinase is responsible for phosphorylation of adenosine to AMP and is crucial for parasites which are purine auxotrophs. The present study describes development of robust homology model of Leishmania donovani adenosine kinase to forecast interaction phenomenon with inhibitory molecules using structure-based drug designing strategy. Docking calculation using reported organic small molecules and natural products revealed key active site residues such as Arg131 and Asp16 for ligand binding, which is consistent with previous studies.

Elucidation of novel structural scaffold in rohu TLR2 and its binding site analysis with peptidoglycan, lipoteichoic acid and zymosan ligands, and downstream MyD88 adaptor protein.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play key roles in sensing wide array of microbial signatures and induction of innate immunity. TLR2 in fish resembles higher eukaryotes by sensing peptidoglycan (PGN) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA) of bacterial cell wall and zymosan of yeasts. However, in fish TLR2, no study yet describes the ligand binding motifs in the leucine rich repeat regions (LRRs) of the extracellular domain (ECD) and important amino acids in TLR2-TIR (toll/interleukin-1 receptor) domain that could be engaged in transmitting downstream signaling.

A rare presentation of mammary Paget's disease involving the entire breast in the absence of any underlying ductal malignancy.

Paget's disease of the breast is an uncommon form of breast cancer presenting as an eczematous eruption over the nipple and/or areola. The diagnosis remains elusive with varied presentations, mimicking many benign skin diseases, the awareness of which is indispensable for diagnosis and minimizing morbidity. Most of the cases have an associated malignancy of the underlying breast tissue.

Activation of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 1 (NOD1) receptor signaling in Labeo rohita by iE-DAP and identification of ligand-binding key motifs in NOD1 by molecular modeling and docking.

The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 1 (NOD1) receptor recognizes various pattern-associated structures of microbes through its leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain and activates signaling cascades to induce innate immunity. This report describes the activation of NOD1 receptor signaling by gamma-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelic acid (or γ-D-Glu-mDAP [iE-DAP]) in a commercially important fish species, rohu (Labeo rohita). It also described critical motifs in the NOD1-LRR domain that could be involved in binding iE-DAP, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C).

In silico 3D structure prediction and hydrogen peroxide binding study of wheat catalase.

Catalase (CAT) is one of the most active enzyme catalysts found in plants, animals and in all aerobic microorganisms. The major function of the enzyme is to decompose H2O2, produced by cellular metabolic activities under normal and stressful conditions to water and oxygen. The present study involves 3D structure modeling of wheat catalase from Triticum aestivum by MODELLER9v7 and its binding study with H2O2.

Disease control in a food chain model supplying alternative food.

Necessity to find a non-chemical method of disease control is being increasingly felt due to its eco-friendly nature. In this paper the role of alternative food as a disease controller in a disease induced predator-prey system is studied. Stability criteria and the persistence conditions for the system are derived.

Combining gold and photoredox catalysis: visible light-mediated oxy- and aminoarylation of alkenes.

A room-temperature intramolecular oxy- and aminoarylation of alkenes with aryldiazonium salts has been developed using a novel gold and photoredox dual-catalytic system. The compatibility of these two catalytic modes has been established for the first time and demonstrates the potential of this system as a method to expand the scope of nucleophilic addition reactions to carbon-carbon multiple bonds.

Thermal and pH responsive polymer-tethered multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles for targeted delivery of anticancer drug.

Targeted and efficient delivery of therapeutics to tumor cells is one of the key issues in cancer therapy. In the present work, we report a temperature and pH dual responsive core-shell nanoparticles comprising smart polymer shell coated on magnetic nanoparticles as an anticancer drug carrier and cancer cell-specific targeting agent. Magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs), prepared by a simple coprecipitation method, was surface modified by introducing amine groups using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane.

Characterization and lectin microarray of an immunomodulatory heteroglucan from Pleurotus ostreatus mycelia.

Glucans isolated from various mushroom and mycelia sources are interestingly being studied nowadays as a potent therapeutic agent. The present work was focused on the isolation, characterization and immunomodulatory study of a novel water soluble glucan from the pure mycelia of Pleurotus ostreatus. The extracted glucan was found to have a high molecular weight of ∼2.

Posttraumatic bifid and trifid mandibular condyle with bilateral temporomandibular joint ankylosis.

Trifid mandibular condyle is an exceedingly rare entity with only 5 cases reported to date. The etiology of the disorder is unknown, though like bifid mandibular condyle, a correlation with prior trauma is usually seen. We present a case of a 6-year-old child who presented with severe restriction of movements at the temporomandibular joint, with a history of trauma 2 years back.

Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in children <18 years by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

Objectives: To establish a normative database for retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in children<18 years by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).

Methods: Children <18 years, who were consecutively enrolled from July-August 2011 in this cross-sectional hospital study, underwent Cirrus SD-OCT. Recorded demographics and clinical characteristics included age, sex, axial length, spherical equivalent, intraocular pressure (by Perkins tonometry) and cup disc ratio.

Exploring novel KDR inhibitors based on pharmaco-informatics methodology.

Kinase-insert domain-containing receptor (KDR) is one of the important mediators of Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) function in endothelial cells. Inhibition of KDR can be therapeutically advantageous for treatment of a number of diseases. The present study focuses on exploring novel KDR inhibitors by means of pharmaco-informatics methodologies.

Global stability of predator-prey system with alternative prey.

A predator-prey model in presence of alternative prey is proposed. Existence and local stability conditions for interior equilibrium points are derived. Global stability conditions for interior equilibrium points are also found.

Identification of MDP (muramyl dipeptide)-binding key domains in NOD2 (nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain-2) receptor of Labeo rohita.

In lower eukaryotes-like fish, innate immunity contributed by various pattern recognition receptor (PRR) plays an essential role in protection against diseases. Nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain (NOD)-2 is a cytoplasmic PRR that recognizes MDP (muramyl dipeptide) of the Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria as ligand and activates signalling to induce innate immunity. Hypothesizing a similar NOD2 signalling pathway of higher eukaryotes, the peripheral blood leucocytes (PBLs) of rohu (Labeo rohita) was stimulated with MDP.

Traumatic abdominal wall hernia: Delayed repair: Advantageous or taxing.

Introduction: Traumatic abdominal wall hernia (TAWH) is a rare entity. Most cases occur in children, following an injury from the bicycle handle bar. In adults, it usually results from road traffic accidents (RTA).

Spectroscopy on a single trapped ¹³⁷Ba⁺ ion for nuclear magnetic octupole moment determination.

We present precision measurements of the hyperfine intervals in the 5D3/2 manifold of a single trapped Barium ion, ¹³⁷Ba⁺. Measurements of the hyperfine intervals are made between mF = 0 sublevels over a range of magnetic fields allowing us to interpolate to the zero field values with an accuracy below a few Hz, an improvement on previous measurements by three orders of magnitude. Our results, in conjunction with theoretical calculations, provide a 30-fold reduction in the uncertainty of the magnetic dipole (A) and electric quadrupole (B) hyperfine constants.

A novel approach for efficient immobilization and stabilization of papain on magnetic gold nanocomposites.

In the present study, a facile functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles has been described for the immobilization of enzyme that offers many advantages for reuse and excellent efficiencies. The magnetic gold nanocomposites have been fabricated for the successful immobilization of an industrially important enzyme "papain". For immobilization of papain on magnetic gold nanocomposites, magnetic nanoparticles were modified with 3-(mercaptopropyl) trimethoxy silane (MPTS).

Serine phosphorylation suppresses huntingtin amyloid accumulation by altering protein aggregation properties.

Aggregation of expanded polyglutamine repeat-containing fragments of the huntingtin (htt) protein may play a key role in Huntington's disease. Consistent with this hypothesis, two Ser-to-Asp mutations in the 17-amino-acid N-terminal htt(NT) segment abrogate both visible brain aggregates and disease symptoms in a full-length Q(97) htt mouse model while compromising aggregation kinetics and aggregate morphology in an htt fragment in vitro [Gu et al. (2009).

Inhalation and external doses in coastal villages of high background radiation area in Kollam, India.

The observational evidence for radiation-induced health effects in humans comes largely from the exposures to high doses received over short periods of time. The rate of induction of any health risk at low doses and dose rates is estimated by extrapolation from observations at high doses. Effects of low dose/low dose rate could be done by the study of populations that have been exposed to slightly above-average natural radiation doses.