Identifying Research Priorities for Cognition in CKD: A Delphi Study.

Background: Cognition is a research priority for people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but identification of critical research questions is lacking. This study aimed to determine which cognition-related research questions are most important to CKD stakeholders.

Methods: A modified Delphi technique with 3 survey rounds was used.

Prediction of mortality and prioritisation to tertiary care using the 'OUR-ARCad' risk score gleaned from the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic-A retrospective cohort study from South India.

Background: Judicious utilisation of tertiary care facilities through appropriate risk stratification assumes priority, in a raging pandemic, of the nature of delta variant-predominated second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India. Prioritisation of tertiary care, through a scientifically validated risk score, would maximise recovery without compromising individual safety, but importantly without straining the health system.

Methods: De-identified data of COVID-19 confirmed patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital in South India, between April 1, 2021 and July 31, 2021, corresponding to the peak of COVID-19 second wave, were analysed after segregating into 'survivors' or 'non-survivors' to evaluate the risk factors for COVID-19 mortality at admission and formulate a risk score with easily obtainable but clinically relevant parameters for accurate patient triaging.

Radar versus optical: The impact of cloud cover when mapping seasonal surface water for health applications in monsoon-affected India.

Surface water plays a vital role in the spread of infectious diseases. Information on the spatial and temporal dynamics of surface water availability is thus critical to understanding, monitoring and forecasting disease outbreaks. Before the launch of Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) missions, surface water availability has been captured at various spatial scales through approaches based on optical remote sensing data.

Improved daily PM estimates in India reveal inequalities in recent enhancement of air quality.

Poor ambient air quality poses a substantial global health threat. However, accurate measurement remains challenging, particularly in countries such as India where ground monitors are scarce despite high expected exposure and health burdens. This lack of precise measurements impedes understanding of changes in pollution exposure over time and across populations.

Development and nutritional evaluation of pomegranate peel enriched bars.

Pomegranate peel powder is used as a functional ingredient in the development of nutritional bars. Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is well known fruit belongs to punicaceae family having multiple health benefits, not only limited to its edible parts but also in its non-edible parts mostly the peel. Fruit wastes are rich source of nutrients, and can be used for the development of functional food products.

Empowering drones in vehicular network through fog computing and blockchain technology.

The performance of drones, especially for time-sensitive tasks, is critical in various applications. Fog nodes strategically placed near IoT devices serve as computational resources for drones, ensuring quick service responses for deadline-driven tasks. However, the limited battery capacity of drones poses a challenge, necessitating energy-efficient Internet of Drones (IoD) systems.

Social influence and consensus building: Introducing a q-voter model with weighted influence.

We present a model of opinion formation where an individual's opinion is influenced by interactions with a group of agents. The model introduces a novel bias mechanism that favors one opinion, a feature not previously explored. In the absence of bias, the system reduces to a mean field voter model.

Structure-guided identification of mitogen-activated protein kinase-1 inhibitors towards anticancer therapeutics.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) is a serine/threonine kinase that plays a crucial role in the MAP kinase signaling transduction pathway. This pathway plays a crucial role in various cellular processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, migration, and survival. Besides, many chemotherapeutic drugs targeting the MAPK pathway are used in clinical practice, and novel inhibitors of MAPK1 with improved specificity and efficacy are required.

Exploring effector protein dynamics and natural fungicidal potential in rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae.

Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most destructive fungal diseases in rice, resulting in major economic losses worldwide. Genetic and genomic studies have identified key genes and proteins, such as AvrPik variants and MAX proteins, that are crucial for the pathogen's virulence. These effector proteins interact with specific alleles of the Pik gene family on rice chromosome 11, modulating the host's immune response.

Impact of vitamin D supplementation on symptom severity and quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: A meta-analysis.

Background: Vitamin D supplementation could offer irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients significant improvements in terms of symptom severity and overall quality of life (QoL). Yet, the potential benefits and risks associated with vitamin D supplementation still require additional investigation.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the impact of vitamin D supplementation on IBS using a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Discriminating neural ensemble patterns through dendritic computations in randomly connected feedforward networks.

Co-active or temporally ordered neural ensembles are a signature of salient sensory, motor, and cognitive events. Local convergence of such patterned activity as synaptic clusters on dendrites could help single neurons harness the potential of dendritic nonlinearities to decode neural activity patterns. We combined theory and simulations to assess the likelihood of whether projections from neural ensembles could converge onto synaptic clusters even in networks with random connectivity.

Lipid-induced condensate formation from the Alzheimer's Aβ peptide triggers amyloid aggregation.

The onset and development of Alzheimer's disease is linked to the accumulation of pathological aggregates formed from the normally monomeric amyloid-β peptide within the central nervous system. These Aβ aggregates are increasingly successfully targeted with clinical therapies at later stages of the disease, but the fundamental molecular steps in early stage disease that trigger the initial nucleation event leading to the conversion of monomeric Aβ peptide into pathological aggregates remain unknown. Here, we show that the Aβ peptide can form biomolecular condensates on lipid bilayers both in molecular assays and in living cells.

BuffExDb: web-based tissue-specific gene expression resource for breeding and conservation programmes in Bubalus bubalis.

Amidst the global challenge of extreme poverty, the livestock sector can significantly contribute to global sustainable development goals by enhancing resilience, smallholder productivity, and market participation. The Indian livestock sector is one of the largest in the world with a total livestock population of 535.82 million, ∼10.

Hierarchical S-Doped Vanadium MOFs with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes: A Robust Bifunctional Catalyst for Efficient Water Electrolysis.

Developing nonprecious metal-based electrocatalysts with exceptional activity and durability for water electrolysis remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report a highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst composed of sulfur-doped vanadium metal-organic frameworks (S@V-MOF) integrated with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to promote the synergistic effect between S@V-MOF and MWCNTs and modulate the electronic structure of the catalyst, which eventually enhanced its electrocatalytic performance. The S@V-MOF/MWCNT catalyst loaded at the Ni foam electrode exhibits remarkable activity for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic media and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media, requiring overpotentials of 48 and 227 mV, respectively, to reach a current density of 10 mA cm.

Safety and Tolerability of Interval Compressed Chemotherapy Schedule in Children Receiving Treatment for Ewing Sarcoma: A Real-world Experience From India.

Background And Aims: Chemotherapy with alternating cycles of vincristine-doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide-etoposide, along with primary tumor treatment with surgery or radiotherapy or both, constitute the usual treatment of Ewing sarcoma. The AEWS0031 study demonstrated survival benefits after interval-compressed chemotherapy without significant toxicity. The aim of this study was to assess the tolerability of dose-intensified chemotherapy in developing countries like India.

Permanent Left Bundle Branch Area DF-4 Defibrillator Lead Implantation-Feasibility, Procedural Caveats, Safety, and Follow-Up.

Introduction: Permanent implantation of a DF-4 implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) lead in the left bundle branch area (LBBA-ICD) is the next paradigm in amalgamating cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and defibrillation. We systematically investigated feasibility/success rate, procedural caveats, and complications associated with a permanent DF-4 LBBA ICD implant and pertinent data at short-term follow-up.

Methods: We prospectively attempted implantation of 7 Fr Durata (Abbott, Chicago, IL, USA) single coil DF-4 ICD lead at the LBBA using a fixed-curve non-deflectable CPS locator delivery sheath.

Alternative and Sustainable Route to Explore a New Class of Amidines by Photochemical Synergistic Effect of Copper/Nitroxyl Radical Catalysis via Halogen-Atom Transfer.

Amidines are a vital class of bioactive compounds and often necessitate multiple components for their synthesis. Therefore, exploring efficient and sustainable methodologies for their synthesis is indispensable. Herein, we disclose an alternative and greener method for synthesizing an unexplored new class of amidines through the photochemical synergistic effect of copper/nitroxyl radical catalysis.

Penicillin Allergy Management in India and Sri Lanka: Current Challenges.

Data regarding Penicillin allergy labels (PALs) from India and Sri Lanka are sparse. Emerging data suggests that the proportion of patients declaring an unverified PAL in secondary care in India and Sri Lanka (1%-4%) is lesser than that reported in High Income Countries (15%-20%). However, even this relatively small percentage translates into a large absolute number, as this part of the world accounts for approximately 25% of the global population.

Exploring cyanobacteria from diverse habitats of the Konkan region of India, unveiling novel species of the genera Desikacharya, Pseudoaliinostoc, and Chlorogloeopsis using a polyphasic approach.

The Indian subcontinent has emerged as a natural habitat to several cyanobacterial taxa which have been explored and described in the past few years using a polyphasic approach. Various new genera and species of Nostoc morphotypes, heteropolar unbranched as well as branched heterocytous cyanobacteria, have been described from various parts of India such as the central mainland, temperate hill stations of extreme northern India, and the biodiversity hotspots of northeast India. Konkan, a small strip of land bounded by Arabian sea on the west and Sahyadri mountains on the east, has various habitats such as coastal beds, old monuments, freshwater lakes, and rivers; however, this region has been less charted in modern cyanobacterial systematics, relative to others.

Integrating a greener RP-HPLC method and chemical pattern recognition for the identification of L. and its common adulterants in Indian markets.

This work deals with the development of a greener RP-HPLC method and chemical pattern recognition for the identification of L. collected from different natural sources and samples traded as '' in Indian herbal drug markets. The simultaneous quantification of α- and β-asarone was performed using 0.

Crystallisation Based Deracemisation and Chiral Resolution of Small Molecules.

Enantiomeric separation of chiral molecules is pivotal for exploring fundamental questions about life's origin and many other fields. Crystallisation is an important platform for the separation of chiral molecules, elegantly applied to many systems, for instance, the formation of conglomerates, where the enantiomers crystallise as separate phases. Many approaches have been proposed to explore crystallisation-driven enantiomeric separation with fewer insights into the complex pathways associated with the separation processes.

The Songdo consensus: Development of minimum reporting standards for studies of intervention in idiopathic anal fistula using a modified nominal group technique.

Aim: Cryptoglandular anal fistulas carry a substantial burden to quality of life. Surgery is the only effective curative treatment but requires balancing fistula healing against pain, wounds and continence impairment. Sphincter-preserving procedures do exist but demonstrate variable rates of success.

Trauma-Induced Stress Distribution in Primary Incisors Restored With Preformed Zirconia Crowns: 3D Finite Element Analysis.

Background/aims: Preformed zirconia crowns have emerged as the preferred choice for restoring damaged primary incisors. However, they differ from natural teeth in their biophysical properties and can potentially alter the overall response of crowned teeth to a traumatic load. This in silico study aimed to compare the response of three different traumatic loading conditions for the (i) natural (M1) and (ii) zirconia-restored tooth models (M2) models.

Curcumin: A Potential Detoxifier Against Chemical and Natural Toxicants.

The human body gets exposed to a variety of toxins intentionally or unintentionally on a regular basis from sources such as air, water, food, and soil. Certain toxins can be synthetic, while some are biological. The toxins affect the various parts of the body by activating numerous pro-inflammatory markers, like oxidative stresses, that tend to disturb the normal function of the organs ultimately.