SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection in deceased bodies: implications for infection prevention.

Background & Objectives: High transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 has significant implications on healthcare workers' safety, preservation, handling, transportation and disposal of the deceased bodies. The objective of this study was to detect SARS-CoV-2 antigen in nasopharyngeal samples and its implications in handling and care of COVID-19 deceased bodies.

Methods: A study was conducted at a dedicated COVID-19 centre on deceased individuals from April to December 2020.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria originating from the gut may modulate the mucosal immune response during sepsis and septic shock.

The enrichment and diversity of gut microbiota play an important role in sepsis, but the role of gut microbiota composition and early-life colonization in sepsis and septic shock has not yet been characterized. The impact of gut microbiota diversity on host immunological disorders and future treatments of inflammatory diseases are not yet fully elucidated. Further, the association between the microbiota and immune development in sepsis remains unknown, and the underlying mechanisms are not well understood.

Cellulose synthesis complexes are homo-oligomeric and hetero-oligomeric in Physcomitrium patens.

The common ancestor of seed plants and mosses contained homo-oligomeric cellulose synthesis complexes (CSCs) composed of identical subunits encoded by a single CELLULOSE SYNTHASE (CESA) gene. Seed plants use different CESA isoforms for primary and secondary cell wall deposition. Both primary and secondary CESAs form hetero-oligomeric CSCs that assemble and function in planta only when all the required isoforms are present.

A cadaveric study on the rate of strain-dependent behaviour of human anterior cruciate ligament.

Purpose: Failure of anterior cruciate ligament often occurs in young sports personnel hampering their career. Such ACL ruptures are quite prevalent in sports such as soccer during dynamic loading which occurs at more than one rate of loading. In this work, a structural constitutive equation has been used to predict the forces acting on ACL for different rates of loading.

Endoscopic Anterior Odontoid Screw Fixation for the Odontoid Fracture: A Cadaveric Pilot Study.

Introduction: Anterior odontoid screw fixation technique for specific types of odontoid fracture has been proven to be an effective, yet challenging procedure because of threatened damage to the structures in the vicinity. There are few articles suggesting the role of percutaneous and endoscopic technique as an alternative approach to the standard microscopic way. This is the first cadaveric study using existing "EASY GO" endoscopic system-assisted odontoid screw placement.

Design of orthogonal regulatory systems for modulating gene expression in plants.

Agricultural biotechnology strategies often require the precise regulation of multiple genes to effectively modify complex plant traits. However, most efforts are hindered by a lack of characterized tools that allow for reliable and targeted expression of transgenes. We have successfully engineered a library of synthetic transcriptional regulators that modulate expression strength in planta.

Acacia Gum as a Natural Anti-Plasticizer for the Production of Date Syrup Powder: Sorption Isotherms, Physicochemical Properties, and Data Modeling.

The thermoplastic and hygroscopic behaviors of date syrup (DS) challenge the DS drying process. In this context, DS was mixed with 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60% acacia gum (AG) and subjected to a drum dryer. The chemical composition, bulk density (), caking degree (CD), glass transition temperature (Tg), and color values of DS powders were studied.

Spinopelvic parameters in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, and failed back syndrome: Comparison vis-à-vis normal asymptomatic population and treatment implications.

Background: Most of the literature on role of spinopelvic parameters in various lumbar spine pathologies has been based on studies done on Caucasian population.

Aims And Objectives: The present study attempts to establish a database of measurements of the sagittal profile of spine in asymptomatic Indian population and their comparison with subjects having various lumbar spine pathologies.

Materials And Methods: We performed a prospective case control study at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi in which we enrolled 109 patients and 22 healthy asymptomatic subjects in 2 years from 2015 to 2017.

Convergent evolution of hetero-oligomeric cellulose synthesis complexes in mosses and seed plants.

In seed plants, cellulose is synthesized by rosette-shaped cellulose synthesis complexes (CSCs) that are obligate hetero-oligomeric, comprising three non-interchangeable cellulose synthase (CESA) isoforms. The moss Physcomitrella patens has rosette CSCs and seven CESAs, but its common ancestor with seed plants had rosette CSCs and a single CESA gene. Therefore, if P.

Effect of preservation methods on tensile properties of human femur-ACL-tibial complex (FATC) - a cadaveric study on male subjects.

Purpose: Deep freezing and storing in formalin are some of the common techniques of human tissue preservation. However, the preservation modes affect the biomechanical properties of the tissues. In this work, the effects of the above-stated preservation tech- niques are compared with that of fresh cadaveric samples.

Dynamic root exudate chemistry and microbial substrate preferences drive patterns in rhizosphere microbial community assembly.

Like all higher organisms, plants have evolved in the context of a microbial world, shaping both their evolution and their contemporary ecology. Interactions between plant roots and soil microorganisms are critical for plant fitness in natural environments. Given this co-evolution and the pivotal importance of plant-microbial interactions, it has been hypothesized, and a growing body of literature suggests, that plants may regulate the composition of their rhizosphere to promote the growth of microorganisms that improve plant fitness in a given ecosystem.

A robust gene-stacking method utilizing yeast assembly for plant synthetic biology.

The advent and growth of synthetic biology has demonstrated its potential as a promising avenue of research to address many societal needs. However, plant synthetic biology efforts have been hampered by a dearth of DNA part libraries, versatile transformation vectors and efficient assembly strategies. Here, we describe a versatile system (named jStack) utilizing yeast homologous recombination to efficiently assemble DNA into plant transformation vectors.

Adult brachial plexus injuries: Surgical strategies and approaches.

Traumatic brachial plexus injuries are devastating injuries commonly affecting the young population and leading to significant socioeconomic losses to the society. The results of brachial plexus surgery have been severely disappointing in the past. However, several technological advancements and newer surgical techniques, especially the advent of distal nerve transfers over recent years, have led to a paradigm shift in the outcome of patients with these injuries.

Expression of heterologous xyloglucan xylosyltransferases in Arabidopsis to investigate their role in determining xyloglucan xylosylation substitution patterns.

Putative XyG xylosyltransferases from Tropaeolum majus (nasturtium) and Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) homologous to characterized Arabidopsis genes were identified and shown to functionally complement Arabidopsis mutants lacking xyloglucan demonstrating they represent xyloglucan xylosyltransferases. Xyloglucan is a major hemicellulose in the plant cell wall and is important for the structural organization of the wall. The fine structure of xyloglucan can vary dependent on plant species and tissue type.

KORRIGAN1 interacts specifically with integral components of the cellulose synthase machinery.

Cellulose is synthesized by the so called rosette protein complex and the catalytic subunits of this complex are the cellulose synthases (CESAs). It is thought that the rosette complexes in the primary and secondary cell walls each contains at least three different non-redundant cellulose synthases. In addition to the CESA proteins, cellulose biosynthesis almost certainly requires the action of other proteins, although few have been identified and little is known about the biochemical role of those that have been identified.

TRICHOME BIREFRINGENCE-LIKE27 affects aluminum sensitivity by modulating the O-acetylation of xyloglucan and aluminum-binding capacity in Arabidopsis.

Xyloglucan (XyG) has been reported to contribute to the aluminum (Al)-binding capacity of the cell wall in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). However, the influence of O-acetylation of XyG, accomplished by the putative O-acetyltransferase TRICHOME BIREFRINGENCE-LIKE27 (TBL27 [AXY4]), on its Al-binding capacity is not known. In this study, we found that the two corresponding TBL27 mutants, axy4-1 and axy4-3, were more Al sensitive than wild-type Columbia-0 plants.

Synergistic epistasis of paraoxonase 1 (rs662 and rs85460) and apolipoprotein E4 genes in pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Genetic polymorphism and epistasis play a role in etiopathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). In this case-control study, a total of 241 patients were included in the study to see the effect of paraoxonase 1 (PON1; rs662 and rs85460) and apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genes in altering the odds of having AD and VaD along with serum PON and lipid profile. The presence of at least 1 variant allele of rs662, but not rs85460, increased the risk of having AD by 1.

The Cellulase KORRIGAN Is Part of the Cellulose Synthase Complex.

Plant growth and organ formation depend on the oriented deposition of load-bearing cellulose microfibrils in the cell wall. Cellulose is synthesized by a large relative molecular weight cellulose synthase complex (CSC), which comprises at least three distinct cellulose synthases. Cellulose synthesis in plants or bacteria also requires the activity of an endo-1,4-β-d-glucanase, the exact function of which in the synthesis process is not known.

Serum folic acid and RFC A80G polymorphism in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Low level of vitamin B12 and folic acid has been reported to play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). Serum folic acid and vitamin B12 were assayed in 80 AD and 50 VaD cases and in 120 healthy controls. The reduced folate carrier (RFC1) gene, rs1051266, which encodes the RFC 1, protein was analyzed for polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Hemicellulose biosynthesis.

One major component of plant cell walls is a diverse group of polysaccharides, the hemicelluloses. Hemicelluloses constitute roughly one-third of the wall biomass and encompass the heteromannans, xyloglucan, heteroxylans, and mixed-linkage glucan. The fine structure of these polysaccharides, particularly their substitution, varies depending on the plant species and tissue type.

Complexes with mixed primary and secondary cellulose synthases are functional in Arabidopsis plants.

In higher plants, cellulose is synthesized by so-called rosette protein complexes with cellulose synthases (CESAs) as catalytic subunits of the complex. The CESAs are divided into two distinct families, three of which are thought to be specialized for the primary cell wall and three for the secondary cell wall. In this article, the potential of primary and secondary CESAs forming a functional rosette complex has been investigated.

Do gene polymorphism in IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 influence therapeutic response in patients with drug refractory epilepsy?

Purpose: Pro-inflammatory cytokines may play an important pathophysiological role in patients with epilepsy. To understand the role of genes encoding pro-inflammatory cytokines in epilepsy, this study aimed to evaluate the polymorphisms of the promoter regions of IL-1β-511C>T (rs16944), TNF-α-308G>A (rs1800629) and IL-6-174G>C (rs1800795) genes and to look into the interaction between these genes in influencing seizure susceptibility, seizure frequency and response to therapy.

Methods: The comparative frequency of polymorphism was determined in rs16944, rs1800629 and rs1800795 using PCR-RFLP in a group of 120 persons with epilepsy (PWE) and 110 ethnically matched healthy subjects of comparable age and sex in the North Indian population.

MTHFR (677 and 1298) and IL-6-174 G/C genes in pathogenesis of Alzheimer's and vascular dementia and their epistatic interaction.

Genetic risk factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). In this case-control study, we examined C677T and A1298C (rs1801133 and rs1801131) polymorphism in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) genes and their correlation with plasma levels of homocysteine (Hcy) in AD and VaD cases and evaluated the gene-gene interaction (epistasis) with IL-6-174 G/C (rs1800795). CC genotype was associated with elevated levels of plasma homocysteine (p = 0.