Sulfated xylogalactofucans from Spatoglossum asperum: Production, structural features and antiviral activity.

In cultured cells, herpes simplex virus (HSV) infectivity is successfully inhibited by sulfated polysaccharides. Herein, we utilized an amalgamated extraction-sulfation procedure to produce two xylogalactofucan sulfates (S203 and S204) from Spatoglossum asperum using ClSOH.Pyr/DMF and SO.

Exoskeletal-assisted walking combined with transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation to improve bone health in persons with spinal cord injury: study protocol for a prospective randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Persons with non-ambulatory spinal cord injury (SCI) undergo immediate unloading of the skeleton and, as a result, have marked loss of bone mineral density below the level of lesion that is directly associated with increased risk of long-bone fractures. There is a paucity of research that has successfully implemented rehabilitation and/or exercise training interventions to mitigate bone loss after acute SCI or reverse bone loss that has already occurred in chronic SCI. This paper describes a research protocol to compare the effect of exoskeletal-assisted walking (EAW) alone versus EAW plus transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (EAW+tSCS) on bone density, geometry and strength in a cohort of chronic SCI participants.

Delayed cerebrovascular reactivity in individuals with spinal cord injury in the right inferior parietal lobe: a breath-hold functional near-infrared spectroscopy study.

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) reflects the ability of blood vessels to dilate or constrict in response to a vasoactive stimulus, and allows researchers to assess the brain's vascular health. Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) are at an increased risk for autonomic dysfunction in addition to cognitive impairments, which have been linked to a decline in CVR; however, there is currently a lack of brain-imaging studies that investigate how CVR is altered after SCI. In this study, we used a breath-holding hypercapnic stimulus and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate CVR alterations in individuals with SCI (n = 20, 14M, 6F, mean age = 46.

Anti-respiratory syncytial virus and anti-herpes simplex virus activity of chemically engineered sulfated fucans from Cystoseira indica.

Seaweed polysaccharides, particularly sulfated ones, exhibited potent antiviral activity against a wide variety of enveloped viruses, such as herpes simplex virus and respiratory viruses. Different mechanisms of action were suggested, which may range from preventing infection to intracellular antiviral activity, at different stages of the viral cycle. Herein, we generated two chemically engineered sulfated fucans (C303 and C304) from Cystoseira indica by an amalgamated extraction-sulfation procedure using chlorosulfonic acid-pyridine/N,N-dimethylformamide and sulfur trioxide-pyridine/N,N-dimethylformamide reagents, respectively.

Brain activation during the N-back working memory task in individuals with spinal cord injury: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study.

Cognitive impairments have frequently been reported in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) across different domains such as working memory, attention, and executive function. The mechanism of cognitive impairment after SCI is not well understood due to the heterogeneity of SCI sample populations, and may possibly be due to factors such as cardiovascular dysfunction, concomitant traumatic brain injury (TBI), hypoxia, sleep disorders, and body temperature dysregulation. In this study, we implement the Neuropsychiatric Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool (NUCOG) to assess cognitive differences between individuals with SCI and age-matched able-bodied (AB) controls.

Synchronous Proton-Hydride Transfer by a Pyrazole-Functionalized Protic Mn(I) Complex in Catalytic Alcohol Dehydrogenative Coupling.

A series of Mn(I) complexes Mn(L )(CO) Br, Mn(L )(CO) Br, Mn(L )(CO) (OAc) and Mn(L )(CO) Br [L =2-(5-tert-butyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)-1,8-naphthyridine, L =2-(5-tert-butyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine, L =2-(5-tert-butyl-1-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)-1,8-naphthyridine] were synthesized and fully characterized. The acid-base equilibrium between the pyrazole and the pyrazolato forms of Mn(L )(CO) Br was studied by H NMR and UV-vis spectra. These complexes are screened as catalysts for acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling (ADC) of primary alcohols and aromatic diamines for the synthesis of benzimidazole and quinoline derivatives with the release of H and H O as byproducts.

Comparative treatment costs of risk-stratified therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in India.

Background: To evaluate the treatment cost and cost effectiveness of a risk-stratified therapy to treat pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in India.

Methods: The cost of total treatment duration was calculated for a retrospective cohort of ALL children treated at a tertiary care facility. Children were risk stratified into standard (SR), intermediate (IR) and high (HR) for B-cell precursor ALL, and T-ALL.

Comparison of the dynamics of exoskeletal-assisted and unassisted locomotion in an FDA-approved lower extremity device: Controlled experiments and development of a subject-specific virtual simulator.

Robotic exoskeletons have considerable, but largely untapped, potential to restore mobility in individuals with neurological disorders, and other conditions that result in partial or complete immobilization. The growing demand for these devices necessitates the development of technology to characterize the human-robot system during exoskeletal-assisted locomotion (EAL) and accelerate robot design refinements. The goal of this study was to combine controlled experiments with computational modeling to build a virtual simulator of EAL.

Role of Dynamics and Mutations in Interactions of a Zinc Finger Antiviral Protein with CG-rich Viral RNA.

Zinc finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a host antiviral factor that selectively inhibits the replication of a variety of viruses. ZAP recognizes the CG-enriched RNA sequences and activates the viral RNA degradation machinery. In this work, we investigated the dynamics of a ZAP/RNA complex and computed the energetics of mutations in ZAP that affect its binding to the viral RNA.

Dual Wavelength Photoplethysmography Framework for Heart Rate Calculation.

The quality of heart rate (HR) measurements extracted from human photoplethysmography (PPG) signals are known to deteriorate under appreciable human motion. Auxiliary signals, such as accelerometer readings, are usually employed to detect and suppress motion artifacts. A 2019 study by Yifan Zhang and his coinvestigatorsused the noise components extracted from an infrared PPG signal to denoise a green PPG signal from which HR was extracted.

Botulinum neurotoxin type A improves vasti muscle balance, patellar tracking, and pain in patients with chronic patellofemoral pain.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT-A) on vastus lateralis:vastus medialis (VL:VM) muscle balance, patellar tracking, and pain in patients with chronic patellofemoral (PF) pain. We recruited 13 participants (9 females, 4 males) with recalcitrant PF pain who underwent ultrasound-guided BoNT-A injections into the distal third of the VL muscle, followed by a 6-week home exercise program to strengthen their VM muscle. We imaged the participants in a C-arm computed tomography (CT) scanner before and after the intervention.

Deciphering the Role of ATP on PHF6 Aggregation.

The aggregation of Tau protein, which are involved in Alzheimer's disease, are associated with the self-assembly of the hexapeptide sequence, paired helical filament 6 (PHF6) from repeat 3 of Tau. In order to treat Alzheimer's disease and other such tauopathies, one of the therapeutic strategies is to inhibit aggregation of Tau and its nucleating segments. Therefore, we have studied the effect of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) on the aggregation of PHF6.

Nonpolar hydrophobic amino acids tune the enzymatic activity of lysozyme.

We have used five different hydrophobic L-amino acids (Gly, Ala, Val, Leu, Ile) as molecular crowders to investigate their role on the enzymatic activity of lysozyme towards Micrococcus lysodeikticus (M. lys.)cell as substrate.

Antiviral Strategies Using Natural Source-Derived Sulfated Polysaccharides in the Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Major Human Pathogenic Viruses.

Only a mere fraction of the huge variety of human pathogenic viruses can be targeted by the currently available spectrum of antiviral drugs. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak has highlighted the urgent need for molecules that can be deployed quickly to treat novel, developing or re-emerging viral infections. Sulfated polysaccharides are found on the surfaces of both the susceptible host cells and the majority of human viruses, and thus can play an important role during viral infection.

Muscle co-contractions are greater in older adults during walking at self-selected speeds over uneven compared to even surfaces.

Falls in the aging population are a major public health concern. Outdoor falls in community-dwelling older adults are often triggered by uneven pedestrian walkways. Our understanding of the motor control adaptations to walk over an uneven surface, and the effects of aging on these adaptations is sparse.

Theoretical investigation of conformational deviation of the human parallel telomeric G-quadruplex DNA in the presence of different salt concentrations and temperatures under confinement.

Various experimental reports address the stability of G-quadruplex DNA inside a close confinement such as α-hemolysin, nanocavity water pool and different metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs). To understand the conformational change of G-quadruplex DNA at the atomistic level, we have carried out a total of 40 μs simulation run under both non-polar and polar confinement conditions. To investigate the dynamics, we have considered two different KCl salt concentrations, i.

Development of sub-tropically adapted diverse provitamin-A rich maize inbreds through marker-assisted pedigree selection, their characterization and utilization in hybrid breeding.

Malnutrition has emerged as one of the major health problems worldwide. Traditional yellow maize has low provitamin-A (proA) content and its genetic base in proA biofortification breeding program of subtropics is extremely narrow. To diversify the proA rich germplasm, 10 elite low proA inbreds were crossed with a proA rich donor (HP702-22) having mutant crtRB1 gene.

An in silico investigation of the binding modes and pathway of APTO-253 on c-KIT G-quadruplex DNA.

The stability of c-KIT G-quadruplex DNA via ligands has been a significant concern in the growing field of cancer therapy. Thus, it is very important to understand the mechanism behind the high binding affinity of the small drug molecules on the c-KIT G-quadruplex DNA. In this study, we have investigated the binding mode and pathway of the APTO-253 ligand on the c-KIT G-quadruplex DNA employing a total of 10 μs all atom molecular dynamics simulations and further 8.

Conjugation reaction with ferulic acid boosts the antioxidant property of arabinogalactan-protein and enhances its ability to form complex with β-lactoglobulin.

Ferulic acid was chemically grafted onto the arabinogalactan protein of Aegle marmelos fruit gum using 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole as coupling reagent. Thus, grafted polysaccharides with different degrees of substitution were prepared and then characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, size exclusion chromatography, and ultraviolet-visible, infra-red, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic investigations. Fluorescence spectroscopic investigation showed hydrophobic microdomain formation in grafted polymers.

The heteropolysaccharide of Mangifera indica fruit: Isolation, chemical profile, complexation with β-lactoglobulin and antioxidant activity.

A 91 kDa heteropolysaccharide (F2) was isolated from Mangifera indica fruit via extraction with HO, purification by CHOH, starch removal and ion exchange chromatography. This polymer was made up mostly of Ara, Gal, Glc, Rha, Xyl, and GalA in a 37: 29: 9:3:2:19 molar proportion. It inherited a small backbone containing GalpA and Rhap units substituted with very large side chains containing differently linked Ara and Gal units plus esterified gallic acid (GA) residue.

Tibiofemoral forces during FES rowing in individuals with spinal cord injury.

The purpose of this study is to determine the tibiofemoral forces during functional electrical stimulation (FES) rowing in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). We analysed the motion of five participants with SCI during FES rowing, with simultaneous measurements of (i) three-dimensional marker trajectories, (ii) foot reaction forces (FRFs), (iii) ergometer handle forces, and (iv) timestamps for electrical stimulation of the quadriceps and hamstrings muscles. We created full-body musculoskeletal models in OpenSim to determine subject-specific tibiofemoral forces during FES rowing.

Potential of a Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent, Glyceline, in the Thermal Stability of the Trp-Cage Mini-protein.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are the new class of green and inexpensive anhydrous solvents, which are alternatives of ionic liquids. The applications of these promising anhydrous sustainable solvents in biological media have been explored. However, the behavior and stability of biomolecules in DES are not clearly understood.

Understanding The Role of Reline, a Natural DES, on Temperature-Induced Conformational Changes of C-Kit G-Quadruplex DNA: A Molecular Dynamics Study.

The noncanonical guanine-rich DNAs have drawn particular attention to the scientific world due to their controllable diverse and polymorphic structures. Apart from biological and medical significance, G-quadruplex DNAs are widely used in various fields such as nanotechnology, nanomachine, biosensors, and biocatalyst. So far, the applications of the G-quadruplex DNA are mainly limited in the water medium.

ATP Controls the Aggregation of Aβ Peptides.

The oligomerization of Aβ peptide, which is the hydrophobic core region of full-length Aβ, causes Alzheimer's disease (AD). This progressive neurodegenerative disease affects over 44 million people worldwide. However, very few synthesized drug molecules are available to inhibit the aggregation of Aβ.

Thermal stability modulation of the native and chemically-unfolded state of bovine serum albumin by amino acids.

Cells are crowded with various cosolutes including salts, osmolytes, nucleic acids, peptides and proteins. These cosolutes modulate the protein folding equilibrium in different ways, however, a unifying concept remains elusive. To elucidate the cosolute size-effect, macromolecular crowders are commonly compared to their monomeric building blocks (e.