Prophylactic and Therapeutic Role of Human Breast Milk Proteins and Bioactive Peptides against Neonatal Bacterial Infections

Breast milk represents nature’s best mechanism to provide complete nourishment and protection to the newborn. Human breast milk acts as a store house of an array of bioactive factors, which includes antimicrobial proteins and antimicrobial peptides that confer early protection while lowering the incidence of developing various infections and exhibiting immune modulation property to activate the immune cells to fight against the invading pathogens. Among the bioactive peptides, endogenous peptides present in breast milk have opened a new window of research on studying their unique mechanisms of action. This will help in incorporating these peptides in formula milk for meeting special needs where breastfeeding is not possible. The present chapter aims to give a deep insight into the various antimicrobial peptides and the newly reported endogenous peptides in human breast milk with emphasis on their levels and activity in preterm milk as data related to this is lacking and preterm newborns are highly vulnerable to acquire infections. Further, the chapter focuses on highlighting the antibacterial mechanisms adopted by the bioactive peptides for protection against the neonatal bacterial pathogens with special emphasis on the infections caused by resistant bacterial strains in hospital settings (neonatal wards) and their future implications

A comprehensive appraisal of mechanism of anti-CRISPR proteins: an advanced genome editor to amend the CRISPR gene editing

The development of precise and controlled CRISPR-Cas tools has been made possible by the discovery of protein inhibitors of CRISPR-Cas systems, called anti-CRISPRs (Acrs). The Acr protein has the ability to control off-targeted mutations and impede Cas protein–editing operations. Acr can help with selective breeding, which could help plants and animals improve their valuable features. In this review, the Acr protein–based inhibitory mechanisms that have been adopted by several Acrs, such as (a) the interruption of CRISPR-Cas complex assembly, (b) interference with target DNA binding, (c) blocking of target DNA/RNA cleavage, and (d) enzymatic modification or degradation of signalling molecules, were discussed. In addition, this review emphasizes the applications of Acr proteins in the plant research

Post-Operative Macular Oedema Management Through Ayurveda- A Case Study

Macular oedema is gush of fluid from surrounding vessels of foveal region into tissues which makes pocket or vesicle like spaces and increases thickness of macula which can be checked by Fluorescein angiography and autofluorescence. Blurry or wavy vision near or in the centre of field of vision is its primary symptom. Chronic inflammation, direct macular traction, and decrease in oxygen amount’s common role is assessed in every study till now. Main Clinical Findings: A female patient of age 66 years had been complaining of blurred vision and discomfort in left eye for 3months after her cataract surgery. Diagnosis: She was diagnosed for macular oedema and treated for it. Interventions: The principles of Vataja Timira, Shotha were followed and internal medicine was given. Outcome: Patient got Significant results by improving quality of vision and repair the detached area. Conclusion: The present case anticipates the fruitful approach of Ayurveda science in dealing with Macular oedema. This also confirms relation between macular oedema and treatment principles followed

A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF HISTOMORPHOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF HANSEN’S DISEASE IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE OF BARABANKI AREA

BACKGROUND: Hansen’s disease is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Early detection is essential to prevent the disease's spread and disability. Due of the multitude of morphologies, it may be difficult to accurately diagnose certain cases based solely on clinical signs; therefore, histopathology is crucial for definitive diagnosis. Thus, this study was conducted to delineate the histomorphological spectrum of leprosy in a tertiary care centre. METHODS: It was a retrospective study that included 25 leprosy cases that were clinically and histopathologically diagnosed from July 2021 to August 2022 in a tertiary care centre. RESULTS: The majority of the cases were from the second decade with the male predominance of the cases (M: F=1.5:1). According to histomorphology, tuberculoid leprosy was the most common type (36%), followed by borderline tuberculoid (24%), borderline lepromatous (16%), lepromatous leprosy (8%), borderline leprosy (8%), histoid leprosy (4%), and indeterminate leprosy (4%). Ziehl Neelsen staining (Zn staining) for acid fast bacilli (AFB) demonstrated positivity in 8 cases. CONCLUSIONS: As the clinical spectrum of leprosy is diverse, histopathology is the gold standard for the diagnosis and a key tool in obtaining a conclusive diagnosis. Keywords: Histomorphology, Hansen’s disease, tuberculoid, borderline, lepromatous, histoi

Transdermal Patch: A Novel Approach for Transdermal Drug Delivery

A self-contained, covert, medicated adhesive patch known as a transdermal patch offers a practical mode of delivery for a range of skin and body problems. Multiple drug administration has several disadvantages including inconvenient administration, the risk of overdose, lack of patient compliance, and drug plasma level fluctuations. Transdermal medication delivery has emerged as a creative means of achieving systemic drug absorption at a predefined rate over an extended period. Its primary benefits are reduced dose frequency, avoiding first-pass metabolism by entering directly into the systemic circulation, suitability for elderly patients who cannot take pharmaceuticals orally, and ability to be self-administered with fewer adverse effects. This review covers general aspects like drug absorption pathways through the skin, the kinetics of drug absorption, different factors affecting the transdermal permeability, various types of transdermal patches, their components, and evaluation parameters. Additionally, some marketed transdermal patches and therapeutic applications of transdermal drug delivery systems have been discussed. Moreover, the article includes various generations of advancements in the transdermal drug delivery system and its future aspect. Keywords- Transdermal patch, Permeability, Polymer Matrix, Rate Controlling Membrane, Permeation Enhancers

Floating Drug Delivery System: As A Novel Approach for Drug Delivery

The retention period of the drug and dosage form in the stomach is very challenging for the treatment of gastrointestinal disease. To solve this problem and improve the efficacy and bioavailability of the drug, most researchers develop a novel carrier system that is called a Floating drug delivery system (FDDS).  The goal of this review on floating drug delivery systems (FDDS) is to synthesise contemporary material with a particular concentration on the main mechanism of flotation for stomach retention. The physiology of the stomach (including gastric pH and movement) has been shown a major effect on gastrointestinal holding period and drug delivery behaviour in both intra- and inter-subject variability. The most recent advancements in the Floating drug delivery system (FDDS) are thoroughly reviewed, including the physiological and formulation factors that influence stomach retention, design methods for single-unit and multiple-unit floating systems, and their categorization and formulation characteristics. A synopsis of the research that has been done to determine the effectiveness and utility of floating systems, as well as uses for such systems, is also included in this review. This study covers the most recent Floating drug delivery system (FDDS) technology advances, including patented delivery techniques and commercial devices, along with their benefits and potential applications for oral controlled drug administration in the future. Keywords: Floating drug delivery system, Gastric-emptying time, Inter-digestive myoelectric cycle (IDMC), Polymers, Bioavailability, Membrane permeability

Neural signatures of syntactic variation in speech planning

Planning to speak is a challenge for the brain, and the challenge varies between and within languages. Yet, little is known about how neural processes react to these variable challenges beyond the planning of individual words. Here, we examine how fundamental differences in syntax shape the time course of sentence planning. Most languages treat alike (i.e., align with each other) the 2 uses of a word like “gardener” in “the gardener crouched” and in “the gardener planted trees.” A minority keeps these formally distinct by adding special marking in 1 case, and some languages display both aligned and nonaligned expressions. Exploiting such a contrast in Hindi, we used electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking to suggest that this difference is associated with distinct patterns of neural processing and gaze behavior during early planning stages, preceding phonological word form preparation. Planning sentences with aligned expressions induces larger synchronization in the theta frequency band, suggesting higher working memory engagement, and more visual attention to agents than planning nonaligned sentences, suggesting delayed commitment to the relational details of the event. Furthermore, plain, unmarked expressions are associated with larger desynchronization in the alpha band than expressions with special markers, suggesting more engagement in information processing to keep overlapping structures distinct during planning. Our findings contrast with the observation that the form of aligned expressions is simpler, and they suggest that the global preference for alignment is driven not by its neurophysiological effect on sentence planning but by other sources, possibly by aspects of production flexibility and fluency or by sentence comprehension. This challenges current theories on how production and comprehension may affect the evolution and distribution of syntactic variants in the world’s languages

Measurement of alpha-induced reaction cross-sections on

In the present study we have measured the excitation functions for the nuclear reactions $$^{nat}$$Mo($$\alpha$$,x)$$^{103}$$Ru, $$^{nat}$$Mo($$\alpha$$,x)$$^{97}$$Ru, $$^{nat}$$Mo($$\alpha$$,x)$$^{95}$$Ru, $$^{nat}$$Mo($$\alpha$$,x)$$^{96g}$$Tc, $$^{nat}$$Mo($$\alpha$$,x)$$^{95g}$$Tc and $$^{nat}$$Mo($$\alpha$$,x)$$^{94g}$$Tc in the energy range 9–32 MeV. We have used the stacked foil activation technique followed by the offline gamma-ray spectroscopy technique to measure the excitation functions. In this study we have also documented detailed uncertainty analysis for these nuclear reactions and their corresponding covariance matrix are also presented. The excitation functions are compared with the available experimental data from EXFOR data library and the theoretical prediction from TALYS nuclear reaction code

CrowdLoc

Determining the location of a mobile user is central to several crowd-sensing applications. Using a Global Positioning System is not only power-hungry, but also unavailable in many locations. While there has been work on cellular-based localization, we consider an unexplored opportunity to improve location accuracy by combining cellular information across multiple mobile devices located near each other. For instance, this opportunity may arise in the context of public transport units having multiple travelers. Based on theoretical analysis and an extensive experimental study on several public transportation routes in two cities, we show that combining cellular information across nearby phones considerably improves location accuracy. Combining information across phones is especially useful when a phone has to use another phone’s fingerprint database, in a fingerprinting-based localization scheme. Both the median and 90 percentile errors reduce significantly. The location accuracy also improves irrespective of whether we combine information across phones connected to the same or different cellular operators. Sharing information across phones can raise privacy concerns. To address this, we have developed an id-free broadcast mechanism, using audio as a medium, to share information among mobile phones. We show that such communication can work effectively on smartphones, even in real-life, noisy-road conditions

Neural signatures of syntactic variation in speech planning.

Planning to speak is a challenge for the brain, and the challenge varies between and within languages. Yet, little is known about how neural processes react to these variable challenges beyond the planning of individual words. Here, we examine how fundamental differences in syntax shape the time course of sentence planning. Most languages treat alike (i.e., align with each other) the 2 uses of a word like "gardener" in "the gardener crouched" and in "the gardener planted trees." A minority keeps these formally distinct by adding special marking in 1 case, and some languages display both aligned and nonaligned expressions. Exploiting such a contrast in Hindi, we used electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking to suggest that this difference is associated with distinct patterns of neural processing and gaze behavior during early planning stages, preceding phonological word form preparation. Planning sentences with aligned expressions induces larger synchronization in the theta frequency band, suggesting higher working memory engagement, and more visual attention to agents than planning nonaligned sentences, suggesting delayed commitment to the relational details of the event. Furthermore, plain, unmarked expressions are associated with larger desynchronization in the alpha band than expressions with special markers, suggesting more engagement in information processing to keep overlapping structures distinct during planning. Our findings contrast with the observation that the form of aligned expressions is simpler, and they suggest that the global preference for alignment is driven not by its neurophysiological effect on sentence planning but by other sources, possibly by aspects of production flexibility and fluency or by sentence comprehension. This challenges current theories on how production and comprehension may affect the evolution and distribution of syntactic variants in the world's languages