Medical Imaging Advancement

The field of medical imaging, stimulated by advances in digital and communication technologies, has grown tremendously. Medical imaging refers to a number of techniques that can be used as non - invasive methods of looking inside the body. Medical imaging is a central importance in diagnosis, treat ment monitoring and patient management. Imaging should only be performed if it is likely to help with diagnosis and improve the management of yo ur health condition or injury. Here, we discuss ultrasound i maging, high resolution computed tomography, magneti c resonance imaging application

Conceptual study of malnutrition related diabetes mellitus

The Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease characterized by absolute or relative insulin deficiency. Type 1 diabetes is commonly known as juvenile diabetes, because it typically strikes during childhood and sometimes adolescents, and young age group. Now in the whole world nearly about 24% of population is suffering from diseases. The first widely accepted classification of diabetes mellitus was published by WHO in 1980 named them as IDDM (type-1) and NIDDM (type-2) and Malnutrition related diabetes mellitus (MRDM) was introduced in 1985. In India Malnutrition has high prevalence rate Malnutrition during intrauterine and early childhood period may impair growth and development. This review provides an overview of Juvenile Diabetes in children with MRDM. The juvenile diabetes and MRDM is a palliative disease. It cannot be completely cured, but can be controlled by medication, food, Ayurvedic Chikitsa and Lifestyle Changes

Mosquito larvicidal and silver nanoparticles synthesis potential of plant latex

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized from the latex of the medicinally important plants Euphorbia milii, Euphorbia hirta, Ficus racemosa and Jatropha curcas. Synthesized AgNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, particle size, and zeta potential analysis. Potency of latex and latex-synthesized AgNPs was evaluated against the 2nd and 4th instar larvae of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi. The lowest lethal concentration 50 (LC50) value among the different types of plant latex studied was observed for latex of E. milii (281.28±23.30 and 178.97±37.82 ppm, respectively) against 2nd instar larvae of Ae. aegypti and An. stephensi. E. milii latex-synthesised AgNPs showed a high reduction in LC50 compared with its latex; i.e., 8.76±0.46 and 8.67±0.47 ppm, respectively, for 2nd instars of Ae. aegypti and An. stephensi. LC50 values of AgNPs synthesized using the latex of E. hirta, F. racemosa and J. curcas were lower than those of the latex of the respective plants; i.e., 10.77±0.53, 9.81±0.52, 12.06±0.60 and 8.79±0.51, 9.83±0.52, 9.60±0.51 ppm, respectively, for 2nd instars of An. stephensi and Ae. aegypti. Similarly, as compared with the plant latex, lower LC50 values were reported for latex-synthesized AgNPs against 4th instars of Ae. aegypt and An. stephensi. Results showed that all the types of plant latex investigated have the potential to convert silver nitrate into AgNPs showing a spectrum of potent mosquito larvicidal effects, indicating the possibility of further exploration of the bioefficacy of latex and latex-synthesized AgNPs against vectors of public health concerns

Polypeptide-grafted macroporous polyHIPE by surface-initiated N-Carboxyanhydride (NCA) polymerization as a platform for bioconjugation

A new class of functional macroporous monoliths from polymerized high internal phase emulsion (polyHIPE) with tunable surface functional groups was developed by direct polypeptide surface grafting. In the first step, amino-functional polyHIPEs were obtained by the addition of 4-vinylbenzyl or 4-vinylbenzylphthalimide to the styrenic emulsion and thermal radical polymerization. The obtained monoliths present the expected open-cell morphology and a high surface area. The incorporated amino group was successfully utilized to initiate the ring-opening polymer- ization of benzyl-L-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride (BLG NCA) and benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine (Lys(Z)) NCA, which resulted in a dense homogeneous coating of polypeptides throughout the internal polyHIPE surfaces as confirmed by SEM and FTIR analysis. The amount of polypeptide grafted to the polyHIPE surfaces could be modulated by varying the initial ratio of amino acid NCA to amino-functional polyHIPE. Subsequent removal of the polypeptide protecting groups yielded highly functional polyHIPE-g-poly(glutamic acid) and polyHIPE-g- poly(lysine). Both types of polypeptide-grafted monoliths responded to pH by changes in their hydrohilicity. The possibility to use the high density of function (−COOH or −NH2) for secondary reaction was demonstrated by the successful bioconjugation of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and fluorescein isocyanate (FITC) on the polymer 3D-scaffold surface. The amount of eGFP and FITC conjugated to the polypeptide-grafted polyHIPE was significantly higher than to the amino- functional polyHIPE, signifying the advantage of polypeptide grafting to achieve highly functional polyHIPEs

Recent advances in glycopolypeptide synthesis

Glycosylated peptides and proteins are ubiquitous in nature and display a wide range of biological functions including mediation of recognition events, protection from proteases, and lubrication in eyes and joints. Similarly, synthetic glycopolypeptides are also expected to show great potential as biomedical materials (e.g. scaffolds for tissue repair and drug carriers), as well as serve as valuable tools for probing carbohydrate-protein interactions. Although block copolypeptides and other complex polypeptide architectures have been known for some time, the synthesis of complex and well-defined glycopolypeptide materials, until recently, has been challenging. This article reviews the many advances and accomplishments made in the past few years toward development of strategies and methods for the preparation of synthetic glycopolypeptides via ring opening polymerization. © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry

Surface initiated N-carboxyanhydride ring-opening polymerization: Designing nanohybrids for biomedical applications

Synthetic polypeptides are of great importance in biomedical applications as they are directly modelled on natural proteins and can mimic their functions in biological systems. Thus, synthetic polypeptides display properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, bioavailability, bioadhesion and could find applications in drug delivery, tissue engineering, implants, therapeutics. The availability of wide range of functionality of the synthetic polypeptides arising from the vast pool of natural and non-natural amino acids has been used to modify and to impart new functionalities to the synthetic materials such as organic/inorganic nanoparticles, surfaces, synthetic polymeric architectures, films. This new class of hybrid materials with enhanced biocompatibility are advantageous over their constituent components and show promising candidature in advanced biomedical applications. N-carboxyanhydride Ring Opening Polymerization (NCA-ROP) is a lucrative technique to synthesize polypeptides with controlled molecular weights and narrow polydispersities. Surface intiated N-carboxyanhydride ring opening polymerization (SI-NCA-ROP) by an immobilized intiator has been investigated to teather synthetic polypeptides onto the desired material surfaces. SI-NCA-ROP has been employed from silica nanoparticle surfaces to engineer synthetic polypeptide grafted smart hybrid materials capable of changing microscopic properties according to the changes in pH of the external micro- environment. These silica polypeptide hybrids have shown their applicability in pH responsive cargo release systems. Similarly, surface grafted synthetic polypeptides have been used to modify and improve dispersion properties of iron-oxide magnetic nanoparticles useful in imaging and drug delivery applications. Grafting of highly hydrophilic glycosylated polypeptides have shown improved aqueous dispersion properties of these inorganic nanoparticles useful for MRI imaging and bio-recognition. In an extended study, polypeptides comprising two amino acids have been grafted from iron oxide nanoparticle surfaces to engineer new hybrids with excellent aqueous dispersibility and siRNA vector ability. These co-polypeptide grafted nanoparticle hybrids shown to retain their bio-recognition ability besides improving aqueous dispersibilty and imparting siRNA vectorability, which highlights their applicability as theranostics. In summary, we have presented novel polypeptide hybrid materials by SI-NCA-ROP and their advanced biomedical applications

The Interplay of Genital Herpes with Cellular Processes: A Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Perspective

Genital herpes, primarily caused by herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), remains a pressing global health concern. Its remarkable ability to intertwine with cellular processes, from harnessing host machinery for replication to subverting antiviral defenses like autophagy and programmed cell death, exemplifies the intricate interplay at the heart of its pathogenesis. While the biomedical community has extensively researched antiviral interventions, the efficiency of these strategies in managing HSV-2 remains suboptimal. Recognizing this, attention has shifted toward leveraging host cellular components to regulate HSV-2 replication and influence the cell cycle. Furthermore, innovative interventional strategies—including drug repurposing, microbivacs, connecting the host microbiome, and exploiting natural secondary metabolites—are emerging as potential game changers. This review summarizes the key steps in HSV-2 pathogenesis and newly discovered cellular interactions, presenting the latest developments in the field, highlighting existing challenges, and offering a fresh perspective on HSV-2’s pathogenesis and the potential avenues for its treatment by targeting cellular proteins and pathways

Polypeptide polymer brushes by light-induced surface polymerization of amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides

Silicon wafers are decorated with photoamine generator 4,5-dimethoxy-2-nitrobenzyl 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl carbamate. UV-irradiation in the presence of benzyl-l-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride is carried out, resulting in the release of the surface-bound primary amines, making them viable N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) polymerization initiators. Successful polypeptide grafting is confirmed by water contact angle measurements as well as by ellipsometry, revealing a poly(benzyl-l-glutamate) (PBLG) layer of ≈3 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the presence of amide groups in the grafted PBLG while time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy provides additional evidence for the presence of PBLG on the surface. Evaluation of negative control samples confirms successful UV surface grafting. The approach is thus established as a viable general method for light exposure directable polypeptide functionalization of silicon surfaces