Psycho-Education and Supportive Psychotherapy for Depressive Symptoms Among College Students

The intervention process for the patients of anxiety with depressive symptoms. The target of this study was the preference of depressed patients for the first line treatment module (Psychotherapy). All patients (students) were selected from higher educational institutions (India). The patients were introduced to psycho-education and supportive psychotherapy as a first line therapeutic intervention. The treatment outcome was based on self-reported and semi-structured clinical interviews for depressive symptoms. After treatment, patients with the therapeutic approaches showed significant symptomatic improvement at the individual level

Krill’s Disease: A Newer Management Option

Purpose: To report a case of a young female who presented with scotoma in the right eye for few days. Case Report: Krill’s disease or acute retinal pigment epithelitis (ARPE) is a self-limiting retinal disease with no specific treatment. Typical clinical and imaging features helped us to diagnose her with ARPE. Intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP), which gives a rapid anti-inflammatory response, was advised. An SD-OCT scan post-injection showed a reduction in hyperreflectivity and height of lesion at day 3 and near total resolution by day 5. Conclusion: This case suggests rapid resolution of ARPE with the use of IVM

Evaluation of a Selective Chemical Probe Validates That CK2 Mediates Neuroinflammation in a Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Mircroglial Model

Novel treatments for neurodegenerative disorders are in high demand. It is imperative that new protein targets be identified to address this need. Characterization and validation of nascent targets can be accomplished very effectively using highly specific and potent chemical probes. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provide a relevant platform for testing new compounds in disease relevant cell types. However, many recent studies utilizing this platform have focused on neuronal cells. In this study, we used hiPSC-derived microglia-like cells (MGLs) to perform side-by-side testing of a selective chemical probe, SGC-CK2-1, compared with an advanced clinical candidate, CX-4945, both targeting casein kinase 2 (CK2), one of the first kinases shown to be dysregulated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). CK2 can mediate neuroinflammation in AD, however, its role in microglia, the innate immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), has not been defined. We analyzed available RNA-seq data to determine the microglial expression of kinases inhibited by SGC-CK2-1 and CX-4945 with a reported role in mediating inflammation in glial cells. As proof-of-concept for using hiPSC-MGLs as a potential screening platform, we used both wild-type (WT) MGLs and MGLs harboring a mutation in presenilin-1 (PSEN1), which is causative for early-onset, familial AD (FAD). We stimulated these MGLs with pro-inflammatory lipopolysaccharides (LPS) derived from E. coli and observed strong inhibition of the expression and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines by simultaneous treatment with SGC-CK2-1. A direct comparison shows that SGC-CK2-1 was more effective at suppression of proinflammatory cytokines than CX-4945. Together, these results validate a selective chemical probe, SGC-CK2-1, in human microglia as a tool to reduce neuroinflammation

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 Delta variant replication and immune evasion

Abstract: The B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first identified in the state of Maharashtra in late 2020 and spread throughout India, outcompeting pre-existing lineages including B.1.617.1 (Kappa) and B.1.1.7 (Alpha)1. In vitro, B.1.617.2 is sixfold less sensitive to serum neutralizing antibodies from recovered individuals, and eightfold less sensitive to vaccine-elicited antibodies, compared with wild-type Wuhan-1 bearing D614G. Serum neutralizing titres against B.1.617.2 were lower in ChAdOx1 vaccinees than in BNT162b2 vaccinees. B.1.617.2 spike pseudotyped viruses exhibited compromised sensitivity to monoclonal antibodies to the receptor-binding domain and the amino-terminal domain. B.1.617.2 demonstrated higher replication efficiency than B.1.1.7 in both airway organoid and human airway epithelial systems, associated with B.1.617.2 spike being in a predominantly cleaved state compared with B.1.1.7 spike. The B.1.617.2 spike protein was able to mediate highly efficient syncytium formation that was less sensitive to inhibition by neutralizing antibody, compared with that of wild-type spike. We also observed that B.1.617.2 had higher replication and spike-mediated entry than B.1.617.1, potentially explaining the B.1.617.2 dominance. In an analysis of more than 130 SARS-CoV-2-infected health care workers across three centres in India during a period of mixed lineage circulation, we observed reduced ChAdOx1 vaccine effectiveness against B.1.617.2 relative to non-B.1.617.2, with the caveat of possible residual confounding. Compromised vaccine efficacy against the highly fit and immune-evasive B.1.617.2 Delta variant warrants continued infection control measures in the post-vaccination era

Blue light cured 3D living catalysts

We wish to form polymeric bioreactors with interconnected microfluidic channels between walls or struts that have cells embedded or attached to the surface. A Rapid Prototyping (RP) fabrication technique is employed, using blue light curing to crosslink water-soluble monomers to hydrogels. The 3D writing is carried out by a computer-controlled syringe system that extrudes a fine line of monomer. The requirements for the building formulation are that it be highly viscous or thixotropic in order to hold its shape during curing, that the curing reaction be rapid and that the reagents be biocompatible and not kill the cells during processing. Initial results are reported on blue-light cured water-soluble acrylates with fumed silica as a thixotropic agent that form millimeter scale ldquolog pilesrdquo and ldquomultilevel car parksrdquo with embedded yeast

Liquid phase collagen modified graphene that induces apoptosis

Direct exfoliation of graphite (GR) to collagen modified graphene (G) flakes using acylated collagen has been studied. The chemical structure of collagen (CL) and all liquid exfoliants studied so far have striking similarity, namely, the hydrocarbon chain length, aromatic residues and polarity. Here, CL dispersed in acetic (AA), succinic (SA) and propionic (PA) acid behaves as three different surfactants which have been used to simultaneously exfoliate and disperse nano G platelets to a colloidal form. Transmission electron microscopy micrographs show average dimensions of similar to 500 X 200 nm; Moire patterns observed at several places in all the three samples indicate periodic perturbations in the graphitic stacking and selected area electron diffraction confirms graphene formation. AFM images confirmed the same lateral dimensions with an average thickness of 1.2 nm. The Raman spectra revealed strain dependent splitting and a red shift of 2D bands, a maximum in G-PA and minimum in G-AA. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed a decrease of the sp(2)/sp(3) ratio GR post CL interaction indicating an interaction. The zeta potential, fluorescence and luminescence values changed in G, with maximum variation in G-PA; suggesting that CL dispersed in PA is the best. The bioactivity of colloidal G-PA was studied in solid, hematological and neuronal cancer cell lines. It induced reactive oxygen species and cell death in cancer cell lines and altered membrane integrity while sparing normal cells, underscoring its possible utility in cancer therapy

Investigation on luminescence enhancement and decay characteristics of long afterglow nanophosphors for dark-vision display applications

Long afterglow SrAl2O4:Eu2+,Dy3+ nanophosphors were synthesized via a facile but effectual auto-combustion technique followed by post-annealing treatment at elevated temperatures. The influence of various fuels during synthesis and thereafter improvement in the luminescence decay characteristics under various illuminant irradiations of long afterglow nanophosphors have been reported. Extensive studies on structural, morphological and luminescent properties of the as-synthesized afterglow nanophosphors have been presented. Powder X-ray diffraction studies confirm the presence of high-purity, single-phase monoclinic nanophosphors. HRTEM investigations confirm the formation of nanophosphors of particle size less than 50 nm. Photoluminescence emission is attributed to the characteristic d-f transition (4f(6)5d(1)-> 4f(7)) of Eu2+ ions and was positioned at 512 nm. As-synthesized nanophosphors exhibit considerable confinement effects resulting into blue shift in emission maxima as compared to their bulk counterparts. The mechanism underlined for long afterglow has been discussed using trapping-detrapping model. The nanophosphor being multifunctional finds many interesting applications including dark-vision display, energy storage, fingerprint detection, in vivo and in vitro biological staining, etc

Krill's Disease: A Newer Management Option

Abstract Purpose: To report a case of a young female who presented with scotoma in the right eye for few days. Case Report: Krill's disease or acute retinal pigment epithelitis (ARPE) is a self-limiting retinal disease with no specific treatment. Typical clinical and imaging features helped us to diagnose her with ARPE. Intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP), which gives a rapid anti-inflammatory response, was advised. An SD-OCT scan post-injection showed a reduction in hyperreflectivity and height of lesion at day 3 and near total resolution by day 5. Conclusion: This case suggests rapid resolution of ARPE with the use of IVMP

Advantages and limitations of hiPSC-derived neurons for the study of neurodegeneration

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), are expensive, common, and will likely increase as the population ages. The lack of significant therapeutic development indicates that further research is needed on various cellular mechanisms that contribute to neurodegeneration. Human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) technology has provided living, dynamic cellular models to address this challenge. Here, we discuss these models in the context of AD and related dementias and review the insights these models have made into disease mechanisms. We include discussion of genetic forms of AD and strong AD risk factors and discuss how these are modeled in both two-dimensional cultures and three-dimensional cerebral organoids. We address the limitations of the system, in particular how to incorporate brain aging, and we summarize drug discovery efforts using hiPSC-derived neurons