Methotrexate Induced Lung Injury in a Patient with Primary CNS Lymphoma: a Case Report

Methotrexate is an antimetabolite commonly used in clinical practice for a variety of indications ranging from rheumatoid arthritis and other connective tissue disorders to high dose regimens in many malignancies. This folate antagonist has got a spectrum of toxicities among which gastrointestinal effects predominate. Lung injury is a well described but rare event and has been reported most often in patients who have been on long term oral therapy for rheumatic disorders. Acute lung injury in a patient receiving a high dose regimen for haematological malignancies has not been reported previously. We present one such case of methotrexate related acute lung injury in a patient of primary CNS lymphoma receiving high dose methotrexate

Mapping India's energy subsidies 2021: time for renewed support to clean energy.

Government support is more important than ever for the energy transition in the wake of COVID-19, as governments around the world take unprecedented measures to help stimulate economic recovery. Shifting government support from fossil to clean energy can ensure that every rupee of public money helps access, affordability, energy security and the shift to a low-carbon economy. This report examines how the Government of India has used subsidies to support different types of energy from FY 2014 until FY 2020, and draws on qualitative data to describe major shifts since the onset of COVID-19. In light of the government commitments to Aatmanirbhar Bharat ("self-reliant India"), it also includes two special thematic chapters. The first explores how subsidy policy can best promote solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing as part of the road to 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030. The second examines how investments by public sector undertakings (PSUs) - that is, enterprises where the government is the majority owner - are supporting clean energy. Our data, summarized in Figure ES1, cover all subsidies from production to consumption for coal, oil and gas, electricity transmission and distribution (T&D), renewable energy, and electric vehicles (EVs). Nuclear and hydropower are not included due to a lack of adequate data availability. The underlying data are available online and have been made easier to explore with an accompanying data portal

Bronchiectasis in India:results from the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) and Respiratory Research Network of India Registry

BACKGROUND: Bronchiectasis is a common but neglected chronic lung disease. Most epidemiological data are limited to cohorts from Europe and the USA, with few data from low-income and middle-income countries. We therefore aimed to describe the characteristics, severity of disease, microbiology, and treatment of patients with bronchiectasis in India. METHODS: The Indian bronchiectasis registry is a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study. Adult patients ( 6518 years) with CT-confirmed bronchiectasis were enrolled from 31 centres across India. Patients with bronchiectasis due to cystic fibrosis or traction bronchiectasis associated with another respiratory disorder were excluded. Data were collected at baseline (recruitment) with follow-up visits taking place once per year. Comprehensive clinical data were collected through the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration registry platform. Underlying aetiology of bronchiectasis, as well as treatment and risk factors for bronchiectasis were analysed in the Indian bronchiectasis registry. Comparisons of demographics were made with published European and US registries, and quality of care was benchmarked against the 2017 European Respiratory Society guidelines. FINDINGS: From June 1, 2015, to Sept 1, 2017, 2195 patients were enrolled. Marked differences were observed between India, Europe, and the USA. Patients in India were younger (median age 56 years [IQR 41-66] vs the European and US registries; p<0\ub70001]) and more likely to be men (1249 [56\ub79%] of 2195). Previous tuberculosis (780 [35\ub75%] of 2195) was the most frequent underlying cause of bronchiectasis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common organism in sputum culture (301 [13\ub77%]) in India. Risk factors for exacerbations included being of the male sex (adjusted incidence rate ratio 1\ub717, 95% CI 1\ub703-1\ub732; p=0\ub7015), P aeruginosa infection (1\ub729, 1\ub710-1\ub750; p=0\ub7001), a history of pulmonary tuberculosis (1\ub720, 1\ub707-1\ub734; p=0\ub7002), modified Medical Research Council Dyspnoea score (1\ub732, 1\ub725-1\ub739; p<0\ub70001), daily sputum production (1\ub716, 1\ub703-1\ub730; p=0\ub7013), and radiological severity of disease (1\ub703, 1\ub701-1\ub704; p<0\ub70001). Low adherence to guideline-recommended care was observed; only 388 patients were tested for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and 82 patients had been tested for immunoglobulins. INTERPRETATION: Patients with bronchiectasis in India have more severe disease and have distinct characteristics from those reported in other countries. This study provides a benchmark to improve quality of care for patients with bronchiectasis in India. FUNDING: EU/European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations Innovative Medicines Initiative inhaled Antibiotics in Bronchiectasis and Cystic Fibrosis Consortium, European Respiratory Society, and the British Lung Foundation

SOX2 is an amplified lineage-survival oncogene in lung and esophageal squamous cell carcinomas

Lineage survival oncogenes are activated by somatic DNA alterations in cancers arising from the cell lineages in which these genes play a role in normal development.1,2 Here we show that a peak of genomic amplification on chromosome 3q26.33, found in squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the lung and esophagus, contains the transcription factor gene SOX2—which is mutated in hereditary human esophageal malformations3 and necessary for normal esophageal squamous development4, promotes differentiation and proliferation of basal tracheal cells5 and co-operates in induction of pluripotent stem cells.6,7,8 SOX2 expression is required for proliferation and anchorage-independent growth of lung and esophageal cell lines, as shown by RNA interference experiments. Furthermore, ectopic expression of SOX2 cooperated with FOXE1 or FGFR2 to transform immortalized tracheobronchial epithelial cells. SOX2-driven tumors show expression of markers of both squamous differentiation and pluripotency. These observations identify SOX2 as a novel lineage survival oncogene in lung and esophageal SCC

Analyzing the falling solar and wind tariffs: Evidence from India

India needs to considerably accelerate its solar and wind energy capacity addition in order to meet its renewable energy (RE) capacity deployment targets. Besides policy commitments, the cost-competitiveness of RE tariffs is a major determinant of capacity addition. This paper focuses on the major determinants of RE tariffs, disaggregating the impact of equipment-related factors and financing costs (costs of debt and equity). The paper finds that financing costs account for the largest component - over 50% of RE tariffs. Further, equipment-related factors have been the major drivers of tariff reduction historically, accounting for 73% of the solar tariff reduction between January 2016 and May 2017. However, the paper demonstrates that there could be a role reversal - changes in financing costs could drive future decreases in both solar and wind tariffs. This necessitates the de-risking of these sectors through suitable policy- and market-led interventions in order to lower financing costs

A note on some new Pδ-transforms of ₂F₂ generalized hypergeometric functions

In this note, we aim to establish Pδ-transforms of ₂F₂ generalized hypergeometric functions in terms of gamma functions. The results are established from the generalized classical summation theorems due to Gauss’s second, Kummer’s and Bailey’s for the series ₂F1 obtained earlier by Lavoie et al. [2]. Special cases of our main findings are known results derived earlier by Parmar et al. [3].Publisher's Versio

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Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 (FOC TR4), is one of the newly emerged dreaded pathogens of banana with an established global presence. Fungicides have not been effective in controlling the disease. There are very few effective antagonistic microbes reported for the biological management of this pathogen. In the present study, suppressive soil was selected for isolation of potential biocontrol plant growth-promoting bacteria. The bacterial strain CSR-D4 Bacillus licheniformis was identified with significant antagonistic attributes and plant growth-promoting properties. This strain exhibited a high inhibition percentage (77.59%) against the FOC TR4 pathogen in the dual plate assay. Further, the bioactive metabolite of the strain conferring biocontrol of FOC-TR4 was also identified through the Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry technique. Our analysis revealed the presence of many antifungal metabolites in the isolate CSR-D4, the majority of which were identified as iturin, fengycin, surfactin, and bacillomycin. These results indicated the involvement of metabolites in the antifungal activity of the strain CSR-D4 against FOC TR4. During sick-pots studies taken with susceptible Cavendish banana cultivar Grand Naine, application of B. licheniformis CSR-D4 showed a significant reduction in the disease incidence percentage (10%). B. licheniformis CSR-D4 treated plants also showed enhanced activity of defense-related enzymes such as β-1,3 glucanase, peroxidase, chitinase, polyphenol oxidase, and phenyl-alanine ammonium lyase compared to FOC TR4 alone treated plants that suggest the occurrence of induced host tolerance in Bacillus licheniformis CSR-D4 treated plants. Our results suggest the antagonistic potential of rhizobacterium Bacillus licheniformis CSR-D4 strain through secreted metabolites mediated the effective biocontrol of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense Tropical Race 4.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableFusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 (FOC TR4), is one of the newly emerged dreaded pathogens of banana with an established global presence. Fungicides have not been effective in controlling the disease. There are very few effective antagonistic microbes reported for the biological management of this pathogen. In the present study, suppressive soil was selected for isolation of potential biocontrol plant growth-promoting bacteria. The bacterial strain CSR-D4 Bacillus licheniformis was identified with significant antagonistic attributes and plant growth-promoting properties. This strain exhibited a high inhibition percentage (77.59%) against the FOC TR4 pathogen in the dual plate assay. Further, the bioactive metabolite of the strain conferring biocontrol of FOC-TR4 was also identified through the Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry technique. Our analysis revealed the presence of many antifungal metabolites in the isolate CSR-D4, the majority of which were identified as iturin, fengycin, surfactin, and bacillomycin. These results indicated the involvement of metabolites in the antifungal activity of the strain CSR-D4 against FOC TR4. During sick-pots studies taken with susceptible Cavendish banana cultivar Grand Naine, application of B. licheniformis CSR-D4 showed a significant reduction in the disease incidence percentage (10%). B. licheniformis CSR-D4 treated plants also showed enhanced activity of defense-related enzymes such as β-1,3 glucanase, peroxidase, chitinase, polyphenol oxidase, and phenyl-alanine ammonium lyase compared to FOC TR4 alone treated plants that suggest the occurrence of induced host tolerance in Bacillus licheniformis CSR-D4 treated plants. Our results suggest the antagonistic potential of rhizobacterium Bacillus licheniformis CSR-D4 strain through secreted metabolites mediated the effective biocontrol of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense Tropical Race 4.Not Availabl

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