Averting catastrophic tuberculosis costs in an Indian state: integration of Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka with National Tuberculosis Elimination Program.

The WHO's "End TB" initiative aims to reduce catastrophic expenses, incidence, and mortality by 90%, 80%, and 0%, respectively by 2030 and Government of India has committed to reaching these goals by 2025. Despite tremendous progress, tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the main public health issues. To limit TB transmission and expedite reduction in incidence, further measures are needed.

The role of p53 and ki67 in predicting clinical outcome in breast cancer patients.

Background: ">ki67 may be used as a proliferative index in addition to estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative status. p53 gene expression is a well-known biomarker in breast cancer and its role in predicting clinical outcome remains unclear. The current study aimed to determine the relationship between p53 gene mutation and ki67 expression, their clinical characteristics, and overall survival (OS), and to differentiate the significance of p53 and ki67 as the prognostic value in breast cancer patients.

Recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the skin treated with immunotherapy.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) has a good prognosis, while metastatic tumors have aggressive behavior. Immunotherapy has become a standard line of treatment in metastatic cancers; pembrolizumab has shown promising results and improved quality of life in recurrent and metastatic cancers. We report a case of recurrent SCC of the skin with extensive disease and a known case of human immunodeficiency virus.

A Phase IIIb Open-Label, Single-Arm Study of Afatinib in EGFR TKI-Naïve Patients with EGFRm+ NSCLC: Final Analysis, with a Focus on Patients Enrolled at Sites in China.

Background: Afatinib has been shown as a suitable option for the treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor mutation-positive (EGFRm+) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in randomized controlled trials. However, patients treated in real-world clinical practice, including elderly patients, and those with brain metastases or poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance statuses, are often excluded from these studies.

Objective: To report the final results, with a particular focus on patients enrolled in China, from a prospective phase IIIb, "near real-world" study of afatinib in tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-naïve Asian patients with EGFRm+ NSCLC.

Afatinib in EGFR TKI-Naïve Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic EGFR Mutation-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of Three Phase IIIb Studies.

Background: Afatinib is approved for first-line treatment of patients with epidermal growth factor receptor mutation-positive (m+) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we report findings from a combined analysis of three phase IIIb studies of afatinib in EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-naïve patients.

Methods: EGFR-TKI-naïve patients with m+ NSCLC received afatinib 40 mg/day.

Prospective Analysis of Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer receiving Eribulin Mesylate as Second or More Lines of Chemotherapy: An Indian Experience.

Background: Eribulin mesylate is a non-taxane microtubule inhibitor which can be used after anthracycline and taxane treatment in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of eribulin monotherapy in heavily pretreated patients with MBC.

Methods: In this study, a total of 45 eligible patients with MBC who received eribulin in HCG Cancer Speciality Center from November 2014 to March 2016 were prospectively analyzed.

Neonatal Immunity, Respiratory Virus Infections, and the Development of Asthma.

Infants are exposed to a wide range of potential pathogens in the first months of life. Although maternal antibodies acquired transplacentally protect full-term neonates from many systemic pathogens, infections at mucosal surfaces still occur with great frequency, causing significant morbidity and mortality. At least part of this elevated risk is attributable to the neonatal immune system that tends to favor T regulatory and Th2 type responses when microbes are first encountered.

STAT6 inhibitory peptide given during RSV infection of neonatal mice reduces exacerbated airway responses upon adult reinfection.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related hospitalization during infancy is strongly associated with the subsequent development of asthma. Early life RSV infection results in a Th2-biased immune response, which is also typical of asthma. Murine models of neonatal RSV infection have been developed to examine the possible contribution of RSV-driven Th2 responses to the development of airway hyper-responsiveness later in childhood.

A feasibility study towards cryopreservation of silkworm eggs: response of non-diapause silkworm eggs to low temperature.

Insect embryos are very sensitive to chilling temperatures and vary with species and their developmental stages. Insect eggs are small and can supercool to temperatures ranging from -5 degrees C to -40 degrees C. In general, insects rely on a variety of ecological and physiological adaptations to survive low temperatures, making cryopreservation technique significantly complex.

Inhibition of STAT6 during vaccination with formalin-inactivated RSV prevents induction of Th2-cell-biased airway disease.

The pattern of immune response to a vaccine antigen can influence both efficacy and adverse events. Th2-cell-deviated responses have been implicated in both human and murine susceptibility to enhanced disease following formalin-inactivated (FI) vaccines for measles and RSV. In this study, we used the Th2-cell-deviated murine model of FI-RSV vaccination to test the ability of a dominant negative, cell-penetrating peptide inhibitor of STAT6 (STAT6 inhibitory peptide (IP)) to modulate the vaccine-induced predisposition to exaggerated inflammation during later RSV infection.

Utility of multi-channel surface electromyography in assessment of focal hand dystonia.

Introduction: Surface electromyography (SEMG) allows objective assessment and guides selection of appropriate treatment in focal hand dystonia (FHD).

Methods: Sixteen-channel SEMG obtained during different phases of a writing task was used to study timing, activation patterns, and spread of muscle contractions in FHD compared with normal controls. Customized software was developed to acquire and analyze EMG signals.

DXR inhibition by potent mono- and disubstituted fosmidomycin analogues.

The antimalarial compound fosmidomycin targets DXR, the enzyme that catalyzes the first committed step in the MEP pathway, producing the essential isoprenoid precursors, isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate. The MEP pathway is used by a number of pathogens, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and apicomplexan parasites, and differs from the classical mevalonate pathway that is essential in humans. Using a structure-based approach, we designed a number of analogues of fosmidomycin, including a series that are substituted in both the Cα and the hydroxamate positions.

Trisubstituted imidazoles as Mycobacterium tuberculosis glutamine synthetase inhibitors.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis glutamine synthetase (MtGS) is a promising target for antituberculosis drug discovery. In a recent high-throughput screening study we identified several classes of MtGS inhibitors targeting the ATP-binding site. We now explore one of these classes, the 2-tert-butyl-4,5-diarylimidazoles, and present the design, synthesis, and X-ray crystallographic studies leading to the identification of MtGS inhibitors with submicromolar IC(50) values and promising antituberculosis MIC values.

Design, synthesis, and X-ray crystallographic studies of α-aryl substituted fosmidomycin analogues as inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase.

The natural antibiotic fosmidomycin acts via inhibition of 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR), an essential enzyme in the non-mevalonate pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis. Fosmidomycin is active on Mycobacterium tuberculosis DXR (MtDXR), but it lacks antibacterial activity probably because of poor uptake. α-Aryl substituted fosmidomycin analogues have more favorable physicochemical properties and are also more active in inhibiting malaria parasite growth.

Structural basis for the inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis glutamine synthetase by novel ATP-competitive inhibitors.

Glutamine synthetase (GS, EC 6.3.1.

Fabrication of gold nanotubes from removable MgO nanowires templates.

We have prepared MgO/Au core-shell nanowires, subsequently demonstrating the fabrication of Au nanotubes by using MgO nanowires as a sacrificial template. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. MgO nanowires were coated with a conformal layer of Au via sputtering.

Medicinal plant wealth of local communities in some villages in Shimoga District of Karnataka, India.

An ethnomedicinal survey (1998-2000) was conducted in three villages of Shimoga district of Karnataka, India, using a questionnaire designed by [Sinha, R.K., 1996.

Convergent synthesis of neoglycopeptides by coupling of 2-bromoethyl glycosides to cysteine and homocysteine residues in T cell stimulating peptides.

The 2-bromoethyl beta-glycosides of the disaccharide galabiose [Gal(alpha1-4)Gal] and the trisaccharides globotriose [Gal(alpha1-4)Gal(beta1-4)Glc] and 3'-sialyllactose [Neu5Ac(alpha2-3)Gal(beta1-4)Glc] have been prepared by improved routes. The 2-bromoethyl glycosides were then used in cesium carbonate promoted alkylations of the sulfhydryl groups of cysteine and homocysteine residues in T cell stimulating peptides. This convergent and general approach was used to prepare 16 neoglycopeptides which were obtained in 52-95% yields after purification by HPLC.

Surgery of perirolandic mass lesions with central sulcus mapping.

In a series of forty eight consecutive patients with parenchymatous mass lesions in the perirolandic area the central sulcus was identified intraoperatively in forty six. In patients in whom the mass lesion was seen on the surface, the relationship of the lesion to the somatosensory cortex and its underlying white matter was precisely determined. When the lesion was subcortical, the relationship of the mass lesion to the central sulcus on the MR image together with the central sulcus identified peroperatively, again, helped to determine the exact site of the tumour.

A CD4+ T cell line-secreted factor, growth promoting for normal and leukemic B cells, identified as thioredoxin.

In this study, a B cell growth stimulatory factor, constitutively secreted by a human CD4+ T cell hybridoma clone, MP6, has been purified and characterized. Serum-free 24 h culture media from MP6 cells were collected, concentrated by ultrafiltration and separated by gel chromatography. Fractions were analyzed for stimulatory activity using [3H]thymidine incorporation in normal and leukemic (B-CLL) B cells as target cells.

Cloning and sequence of a cDNA encoding a novel hybrid proline-rich protein associated with cytokinin-induced haustoria formation in Cuscuta reflexa.

A complete cDNA encoding a novel hybrid Pro-rich protein (HyPRP) was identified by differentially screening 3 x 10(4) recombinant plaques of a Cuscuta reflexa cytokinin-induced haustorial cDNA library constructed in lambda gt10. The nucleotide (nt) sequence consists of: (i) a 424-bp 5'-non coding region having five start codons (ATGs) and three upstream open reading frames (uORFs); (ii) an ORF of 987 bp with coding potential for a 329-amino-acid (aa) protein of M(r) 35,203 with a hydrophobic N-terminal region including a stretch of nine consecutive Phe followed by a Pro-rich sequence and a Cys-rich hydrophobic C terminus; and (iii) a 178-bp 3'-UTR (untranslated region). Comparison of the predicted aa sequence with the NBRF and SWISSPROT databases and with a recent report of an embryo-specific protein of maize [Jose-Estanyol et al.

Major histocompatibility complex class I-binding peptides are recycled to the cell surface after internalization.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) recognize target antigens as short, processed peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) heavy and light chains (beta 2-microglobulin; beta 2-m). The heavy chain, which comprise the actual peptide binding alpha-1 and alpha-2 domains, can exist at the cell surface in different forms, either free, bound to beta 2-m or as a ternary complex with beta 2-m and peptides. MHC-I chains are also known to internalize, and recycle to the cell surface, and this has been suggested to be important in peptide presentation.

Structural characterization of gelonin: evidence for separate antigenic and cytotoxic domains.

The N-terminal sequence of the three isoforms of gelonin is identical. Cyanogen bromide cleavage of gelonin produced fragments of Mr 17,000, 13,000, 11,000 and 7,000. The apparent Mr 17,000 component was identified as the N-terminal fragment and represents the major antigenic domain of the protein as it reacted with antibody to the native protein but this fragment did not inhibit protein synthesis in the in vitro translation assay.

A small novel chloroplast ribosomal protein (S31) that has no apparent counterpart in the E. coli ribosome.

Higher plant chloroplast ribosomes contain several novel protein components whose homologues are not present in the eubacterial E. coli ribosome, indicating a complex evolution of the chloroplast translational apparatus following the endosymbiotic event. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of a new small protein from spinach chloroplast ribosome which has, based on the amino acid sequence and immunological data, no counterpart in the E.