An environmental justice analysis of air pollution in India.

Due to the lack of timely data on socioeconomic factors (SES), little research has evaluated if socially disadvantaged populations are disproportionately exposed to higher PM concentrations in India. We fill this gap by creating a rich dataset of SES parameters for 28,081 clusters (villages in rural India and census-blocks in urban India) from the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-4) using a precision-weighted methodology that accounts for survey-design. We then evaluated associations between total, anthropogenic and source-specific PM exposures and SES variables using fully-adjusted multilevel models.

Effect of Withaferin-A, Withanone, and Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester on DNA Methyltransferases: Potential in Epigenetic Cancer Therapy.

Background: DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) have been reported to be potential drug targets in various cancers. The major hurdle in inhibiting DNMTs is the lack of knowledge about different DNMTs and their role in the hypermethylation of gene promoters in cancer cells. Lack of information on specificity, stability, and higher toxicity of previously reported DNMT inhibitors is the major reason for inadequate epigenetic cancer therapy.

Prevalence, potential determinants, and treatment-seeking behavior of acute respiratory infection among children under age five in India: Findings from the National Family Health Survey, 2019-21.

Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are a major cause of mortality and morbidity among under-five children worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Current evidence using nationally representative data on determinants and care-seeking behavior for ARI is limited in the Indian context. Hence, the present study complements the existing literature by examining the prevalence, determinants, and health-care-seeking behavior regarding ARI among Indian children under age five.

Enhancing Photocatalytic Efficiency of Spent Tea Leaf Powder on ZnInS Incorporation: Role of Surface Charge on Dye Degradation.

Photocatalytic degradation of dye contaminants using nanocomposite adsorbents has emerged as a promising solution for wastewater treatment. Owing to its abundant availability, eco-friendly composition, biocompatibility, and strong adsorption activity, spent tea leaf (STL) powder has been extensively explored as a viable dye-adsorbent material. In this work, we report spectacular enhancement in the dye-degradation properties of STL powder on incorporation of ZnInS (ZIS).

Cucurbitacin-B inhibits cancer cell migration by targeting mortalin and HDM2: computational and experimental evidence.

Cancer metastasis, a highly complex process wherein cancer cells move from the primary site to other sites in the body, is a major hurdle in its therapeutics. A large array of synthetic chemotherapeutic molecules used for the treatment of metastatic cancers, besides being extremely expensive and unaffordable, are known to cause severe adverse effects leading to poor quality of life (QOL) of the patients. In this premise, natural compounds (considered safe, easily available and economic) that possess the potential to inhibit migration of cancer cells are deemed useful and hence are on demand.

Modulation of DNA-protein Interactions by Proximal Genetic Elements as Uncovered by Interpretable Deep Learning.

Transcription factors (TF) recognize specific motifs in the genome that are typically 6-12 bp long to regulate various aspects of the cellular machinery. Presence of binding motifs and favorable genome accessibility are key drivers for a consistent TF-DNA interaction. Although these pre-requisites may occur thousands of times in the genome, there seems to be a high degree of selectivity for the sites that are actually bound.

Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Melanoma Subtypes Using Reflectance Confocal Images.

Lentigo maligna (LM) is an early form of pre-invasive melanoma that predominantly affects sun-exposed areas such as the face. LM is highly treatable when identified early but has an ill-defined clinical border and a high rate of recurrence. Atypical intraepidermal melanocytic proliferation (AIMP), also known as atypical melanocytic hyperplasia (AMH), is a histological description that indicates melanocytic proliferation with uncertain malignant potential.

Temperature Compensation for Reusable Piezo Configuration for Condition Monitoring of Metallic Structures: EMI Approach.

This paper presents a novel algorithm for compensating the changes in conductance signatures of a piezo sensor due to the temperature variation employed in condition monitoring using the electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) approach. It is crucial to consider the changes in an EMI signature due to temperature before using it for comparison with the baseline signature. The shifts in the signature due to temperature can be misinterpreted as damages to the structure, which might also result in a false alarm.

Fire Resistance Evaluation of Concrete Beams and Slabs Incorporating Natural Fiber-Reinforced Polymers.

This paper presents a numerical study to evaluate the fire resistance of concrete beams and slabs incorporating natural fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP). A validated finite element model was applied to carry out a series of numerical studies on fire-exposed reinforced concrete (RC) beams and slabs strengthened with conventional and bio-based FRP composites. The model calculates the temperature-dependent moment-curvature relationship for various segments of the member at each time step, which are then used to calculate the moment capacity and deflection of the member.

Modular pulsed power supply for characterization of high-power microwave devices.

Developing a robust and reliable high-voltage (HV) pulse power system (PPS) is essential for the characterization and testing of microwave tubes and industrial applications. This paper presents the design, simulation, and implementation of a modular and versatile high-voltage pulse power supply used in microwave device characterization and testing. A microcontroller-based digitally controlled pulse generation unit is also developed to generate the trigger pulses for high-voltage switching modules to control the turn-ON and turn-OFF of the switching devices.

Identification of a new member of Mortaparib class of inhibitors that target mortalin and PARP1.

Mortalin, a heat shock family protein enriched in cancer cells, is known to inactivate tumor suppressor protein p53. Abrogation of mortalin-p53 interaction and reactivation of p53 has been shown to trigger growth arrest/apoptosis in cancer cells and hence, suggested to be useful in cancer therapy. In this premise, we earlier screened a chemical library to identify potential disruptors of mortalin-p53 interaction, and reported two novel synthetic small molecules (5-[1-(4-methoxyphenyl) (1,2,3,4-tetraazol-5-yl)]-4-phenylpyrimidine-2-ylamine) and (4-[(1E)-2-(2-phenylindol-3-yl)-1-azavinyl]-1,2,4-triazole) called Mortaparib and Mortaparib, respectively.

Performance of field-scale permeable reactive barriers: An overview on potentials and possible implications for in-situ groundwater remediation applications.

Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) are significant among all the promising remediation technologies for treating contaminated groundwater. Since the first commercial full field-scale PRB emplacement in Sunnyvale, California, in 1994-1995, >200 PRB systems have been installed worldwide. The main working principle of a PRB is to treat a variety of contaminants downstream from the contaminated source zone ("hot spot").

Validating the ability of a portable shoe-floor friction testing device, NextSTEPS, to predict human slips.

Measuring shoe-floor friction is critical for assessing the safety of footwear products. Portable devices for measuring coefficient of friction (COF) are needed. This study introduces such a device and evaluates its ability to predict human slip events across shoe designs.

Implementing accelerated dynamics to unravel the effects of high-fidelity Cas9 mutants on target DNA and guide RNA hybrid stability.

The clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and its associated nuclease (Cas9) offers a unique and easily reprogrammable system for editing eukaryotic genomes. Cas9 is guided to the target by an RNA strand, and precise edits are created by introducing double-stranded breaks. However, nuclease activity of Cas9 is also triggered at other sites other than the target sit, which is a major limitation for various applications.

Leveraging the potential of silver nanoparticles-based materials towards sustainable water treatment.

Increasing demand of pure and accessible water and improper disposal of waste into the existing water resources are the major challenges for sustainable development. Nanoscale technology is an effective approach that is increasingly being applied to water remediation. Compared to conventional water treatment processes, silver nanotechnology has been demonstrated to have advantages due to its anti-microbial and oligodynamic (biocidal) properties.

Tropolone derivative hinokitiol ameliorates cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis in mice.

Hinokitiol is a natural bio-active tropolone derivative with promising antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study was conducted to evaluate the ameliorative effects of hinokitiol against acute pancreatitis induced by cerulein. Mice were pre-treated with hinokitiol intraperitoneally for 7 days (50 and 100 mg/kg), and on the final day of study, cerulein (6 × 50 μg/kg) was injected every hour for six times.

Test Methods for Characterizing the Properties of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites at Elevated Temperatures.

Recent research trends focus on developing bio-based (derived from agricultural byproducts) fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites for structural applications. Fire resistance is one of the key issues that need to be addressed for the use of these FRP materials in buildings. The thermal and mechanical properties of the constituent materials essentially determine the fire performance (and the fire resistance rating) of a structural member, and these properties vary with temperature.

Vincamine, an active constituent of Vinca rosea ameliorates experimentally induced acute lung injury in Swiss albino mice through modulation of Nrf-2/NF-κB signaling cascade.

Acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is one of the leading pulmonary inflammatory disorders causing significant morbidity and mortality. Vincamine is a novel phytochemical with promising anti-inflammatory properties. In the current work, the protective effect of vincamine was studied in vitro (Raw 264.

Deep Neural Network-Assisted Drug Recommendation Systems for Identifying Potential Drug-Target Interactions.

In silico methods to identify novel drug-target interactions (DTIs) have gained significant importance over conventional techniques owing to their labor-intensive and low-throughput nature. Here, we present a machine learning-based multiclass classification workflow that segregates interactions between active, inactive, and intermediate drug-target pairs. Drug molecules, protein sequences, and molecular descriptors were transformed into machine-interpretable embeddings to extract critical features from standard datasets.

Computational Identification of BCR-ABL Oncogenic Signaling as a Candidate Target of Withaferin A and Withanone.

Withaferin-A (Wi-A), a secondary metabolite extracted from Ashwagandha (), has been shown to possess anticancer activity. However, the molecular mechanism of its action and the signaling pathways have not yet been fully explored. We performed an inverse virtual screening to investigate its binding potential to the catalytic site of protein kinases and identified ABL as a strong candidate.

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) confers wild type p53 function in p53 mutant: bioinformatics and experimental evidence.

Mutations in the tumor suppressor protein p53 is a prevalent feature in majority of cancers resulting in inactivation of its activities related to control of cell cycle progression and proliferation. p53 is one of the common hotspot mutations that causes decrease in its thermodynamic stability. Some small molecules have been shown to bind to the mutated site and restore its wild type thermodynamics and tumor suppressor function.

A Low Dose Combination of Withaferin A and Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Possesses Anti-Metastatic Potential In Vitro: Molecular Targets and Mechanisms.

Withaferin A (Wi-A) and Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE) are the bioactive ingredients of Ashwagandha () and propolis, respectively. Both of these natural compounds have been shown to possess anticancer activity. In the present study, we recruited a low dose of each of these compounds and developed a combination that exhibited remarkably potent anti-migratory and anti-angiogenic activities.

Gene therapy: Comprehensive overview and therapeutic applications.

Gene therapy is the product of man's quest to eliminate diseases. Gene therapy has three facets namely, gene silencing using siRNA, shRNA and miRNA, gene replacement where the desired gene in the form of plasmids and viral vectors, are directly administered and finally gene editing based therapy where mutations are modified using specific nucleases such as zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regulatory interspaced short tandem repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas)-associated nucleases. Transfer of gene is either through transformation where under specific conditions the gene is directly taken up by the bacterial cells, transduction where a bacteriophage is used to transfer the genetic material and lastly transfection that involves forceful delivery of gene using either viral or non-viral vectors.