Development of a versatile image quality test phantom for single photon emission computed tomography system.

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a vital imaging tool for visualizing functional and physiological processes of human body. Periodic quality assurance (QA) ensures imaging accuracy, but high-cost commercial phantoms limit accessibility in resource-constrained settings. To address this, a cost-effective and modular SPECT phantom was developed to evaluate imaging parameters in a single scan.

Harnessing SDS as a source of sulfur: a bioremediation strategy of Fischerella sp. lmga1.

Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a widely used anionic surfactant, is a pervasive aquatic pollutant with documented ecotoxicity and persistence in the environment. In this study, we investigated metabolic response of the filamentous, heterocytous cyanobacterium Fischerella sp. lmga1 under sulfur starvation, focusing on its capacity to degrade SDS and utilize it as an alternative sulfur source.

Efficacy of Different Obturating Materials - A Comparative Study.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of propolis and its combination products as an obturating material in comparison to Vitapex.

Materials And Methods: Propolis collected from the primary source was extracted using organic solvents and laboratory bio-assayed against Enterococcus faecalis to evaluate its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). For in-vivo studies, propolis efficacy was investigated in combination with zinc oxide and calcium hydroxide powder.

Unprecedented brachial plexus: a novel variant.

Anatomic variations in the brachial plexus, observed in a 78-year-old Indian male cadaver, are clinically significant for surgical planning and nerve blocks. Deviations in root values and branching patterns can lead to abnormal sensory or motor dysfunction during interventions. Understanding these variations is essential for minimizing complications and improving the effectiveness of procedures.

Unveiling Promising PARP12 Inhibitors through Virtual Screening for Cancer Therapy.

Background: Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 12 (PARP12) plays a crucial role in DNA damage response (DDR) through DNA repair, maintaining genomic stability. Mutations in PARP12 contribute to genomic instability, leading to cancer progression. Targeting PARP12 mutants with small molecule inhibitors offers a promising therapeutic strategy.

Antiepileptic drugs carbamazepine and valproic acid mediate transcriptional activation of CYP1A1 via aryl hydrocarbon receptor and regulation of estrogen metabolism.

Cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) actively catalyzes estrogen hydroxylation reactions and maintains the levels of neuroactive steroid estradiol. The widely prescribed first-line anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) are considered to be a potent inducer of CYP1A1 and have also been observed to affect serum estradiol and calcium levels in patients with epilepsy. However, the ability of AEDs to interfere with CYP enzyme function and estrogen disposition is a relatively unexplored area.

Deciphering the impact of NOS-derived NO on nitrogen metabolism and carbon flux in the heterocytous cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon flos-aquae 2012/KM1/D3.

Nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) are heme-based monooxygenases that catalyze the NADPH-dependent oxidation of L-arginine to produce NO and L-citrulline. Over the past five years, the identification and characterization of NOS homologs in cyanobacteria have significantly advanced our understanding of these enzymes. However, the precise mechanisms through which NOS-derived NO influences nitrogen metabolism remain incompletely elucidated.

Effect of antiepileptic drug monotherapy on endogenous sex hormonal profile in men and women with epilepsy.

Objective: To assess the alterations of endogenous sex hormone profiles in patients with epilepsy (PWE) on different antiepileptic drug (AED) monotherapies compared to healthy controls and drug naïve PWE (DNPWE).

Methods: Four databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and CENTRAL were searched for analytical observational/intervention studies on the assessment of endogenous sex hormones in PWE compared to healthy controls and DNPWE. Two researchers reviewed the title/abstract, and full-text articles for the selection of the studies independently.

Enhanced quantitation of pathological α-synuclein in patient biospecimens by RT-QuIC seed amplification assays.

Disease associated pathological aggregates of alpha-synuclein (αSynD) exhibit prion-like spreading in synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Seed amplification assays (SAAs) such as real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) have shown high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for detecting proteopathic αSynD seeds in a variety of biospecimens from PD and DLB patients. However, the extent to which relative proteopathic seed concentrations are useful as indices of a patient's disease stage or prognosis remains unresolved.

Performance assessment of VSC-based HVDC system in asynchronous grid interconnection: Offline and real-time validation of control design with symmetric optimum PI tuning.

Asynchronous interconnection is essential for integrating AC networks operating at different frequencies, typically 50 Hz and 60 Hz. This need arises from distributed power generation methods, including offshore renewable sources and diverse regional grid configurations. Advanced strategies are required to overcome these frequency differences and ensure uninterrupted power transfer.

Phosphorus recovery potential from sewage sludge by struvite precipitation: remodelling policy framework in Rajasthan, India.

The manufacturing of fossil-based fertilizers by extraction of rock phosphate has contributed to carbon emissions and depleted the non-renewable phosphorus reserves. Sewage sludge, which is a waste product from Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), is rich in phosphorus. The existing techniques for sludge management contribute to carbon emissions and ecological footprint.

Systematic computational strategies for identifying protein targets and lead discovery.

Computational algorithms and tools have retrenched the drug discovery and development timeline. The applicability of computational approaches has gained immense relevance owing to the dramatic surge in the structural information of biomacromolecules and their heteromolecular complexes. Computational methods are now extensively used in identifying new protein targets, druggability assessment, pharmacophore mapping, molecular docking, the virtual screening of lead molecules, bioactivity prediction, molecular dynamics of protein-ligand complexes, affinity prediction, and for designing better ligands.

SGLT2i as a First-line Antihyperglycemic in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes in the Context of Indians: A Systematic Review and Consensus.

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have been used for almost a decade and have proven to be effective not only in managing Type 2 diabetes (T2D), but their cardio and renal protective features make them very useful in managing patients with risk of multiple comorbidities. This systematic review was undertaken by the authors because there is no evidence currently available in India that has studied the suitability of SGLT2i as a first-line agent in patients newly diagnosed with T2D in India.

Materials And Methods: First, literature was searched to identify features that are considered important when deciding on a first-line agent for managing T2D.

Moringin, an isothiocyanate modulates multiple cellular signalling molecules in breast cancer cells.

Prohibitin (PHB) is a pleiotropic molecule with a variety of known functions and subcellular locations. PHB's function in breast cancer is poorly understood. Herein, we report that PHB is expressed in cancer types of diverse origin including breast cancer.

Discovery of potent inhibitors of α-synuclein aggregation using structure-based iterative learning.

Machine learning methods hold the promise to reduce the costs and the failure rates of conventional drug discovery pipelines. This issue is especially pressing for neurodegenerative diseases, where the development of disease-modifying drugs has been particularly challenging. To address this problem, we describe here a machine learning approach to identify small molecule inhibitors of α-synuclein aggregation, a process implicated in Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies.

Evaluation of Efficacy of Curcumin and Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester in Breast Cancer by Preclinical Studies.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the combined and comparative efficacy of Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and curcumin in breast cancer.

Background: CAPE and curcumin are a class of phenolics. While curcumin is obtained from turmeric, CAPE is found in and .

Multiomics data identifies RSPO2 as a prognostic biomarker in human tumors associated with pan-cancer.

RSPO2 protein may provide valuable insights into the mechanism underlying various types of tumorigenesis. The role of RSPO2 in pan-cancer has not been reported so far. Therefore, this study aimed to provide a comprehensive analysis of RSPO2 from a pan-cancer perspective employing multiomics data.

To Evaluate the Success of Natural Compound: Curcumin as Obturating Material in Primary Teeth.

Background: In a quest a search for newer obturating materials, trends have now shifted from more harmful chemical-based compounds to less toxic and more natural Ayurvedic or herbal materials. Curcumin-a natural extract from turmeric rhizomes, possesses anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties and thus may be used as a novel obturating material in the primary teeth.

Objective: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of curcumin powder mixed with zinc oxide-eugenol (ZOE) and ZOE as obturating materials in primary molars.

Unravelling a novel CTNND1-RAB6A fusion transcript: Implications in colon cancer cell migration.

The interchange of DNA sequences between genes may occur because of chromosomal rearrangements leading to the formation of chimeric genes. These chimeric genes have been linked to various cancers, accumulated significant interest in recent times. We used paired-end RNA-seq.

Angle-dependent phononic dynamics for data-driven source localization.

The source angle localization problem is studied based on scattering of elastic waves in two dimensions by a phononic array and the exceptional points of its band structure. Exceptional points are complex singularities of a parameterized eigen-spectrum, where two modes coalesce with identical mode shapes. These special points mark the qualitative transitions in the system behavior and have been proposed for sensing applications.

Insight into the Epigenetics of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus.

Epigenetic reprogramming represents a series of essential events during many cellular processes including oncogenesis. The genome of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), an oncogenic herpesvirus, is predetermined for a well-orchestrated epigenetic reprogramming once it enters into the host cell. The initial epigenetic reprogramming of the KSHV genome allows restricted expression of encoded genes and helps to hide from host immune recognition.

RSPO2 as Wnt signaling enabler: Important roles in cancer development and therapeutic opportunities.

R-spondins are secretory proteins localized in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi bodies and are processed through the secretory pathway. Among the R-spondin family, RSPO2 has emanated as a novel regulator of Wnt signaling, which has now been acknowledged in numerous and studies. Cancer is an abnormal growth of cells that proliferates and spreads uncontrollably due to the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic factors that constitutively activate Wnt signaling in various types of cancer.

HIF-1α regulates the expression of the non-conventional isoform of the cd5 gene in T cells under the hypoxic condition: A potential mechanism for CD5 phenotype of infiltrating cells in solid tumors.

CD5, a T-cell receptor (TCR) negative regulator, is reduced on the surface of CD8+ lymphocytes in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Reduced surface CD5 expression (sCD5) occurs due to the preferential transcription of HERV-E derived exon E1B, i.e.

Autonomous healing of fatigue cracks via cold welding.

Fatigue in metals involves gradual failure through incremental propagation of cracks under repetitive mechanical load. In structural applications, fatigue accounts for up to 90% of in-service failure. Prevention of fatigue relies on implementation of large safety factors and inefficient overdesign.