Pigmented Corneal Ulcer

Purpose: To report the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and treatment of a rare case of keratitis caused by pigmented fungi Bipolaris hawaiiensis. Case Report: A 55-year-old man presented with a history of trauma with vegetative matter in his left eye. Slit lamp biomicroscopic examination revealed the presence of a brownish-black pigmented plaque with surrounding infiltrates. Corneal scrapings revealed multiple septate hyphae. Culture revealed growth of the Bipolaris species. The patient was treated with topical natamycin 5%, topical voriconazole 1%, and oral itraconazole followed by intracameral amphotericin B (5 μg/mL). The patient responded well to the treatment. Conclusion: Brown pigmented infiltrates are an important clinical feature of dematiaceous fungi. B. hawaiiensis is a rare cause of corneal phaeohyphomycosis. Our patient responded well to intracameral amphotericin B, which obviated the need for penetrating keratoplasty

Microbial beta glucosidase enzymes: recent advances in biomass conversation for biofuels application

The biomass to biofuels production process is green, sustainable, and an advanced technique to resolve the current environmental issues generated from fossil fuels. The production of biofuels from biomass is an enzyme mediated process, wherein β-glucosidase (BGL) enzymes play a key role in biomass hydrolysis by producing monomeric sugars from cellulose-based oligosaccharides. However, the production and availability of these enzymes realize their major role to increase the overall production cost of biomass to biofuels production technology. Therefore, the present review is focused on evaluating the production and efficiency of β-glucosidase enzymes in the bioconversion of cellulosic biomass for biofuel production at an industrial scale, providing its mechanism and classification. The application of BGL enzymes in the biomass conversion process has been discussed along with the recent developments and existing issues. Moreover, the production and development of microbial BGL enzymes have been explained in detail, along with the recent advancements made in the field. Finally, current hurdles and future suggestions have been provided for the future developments. This review is likely to set a benchmark in the area of cost effective BGL enzyme production, specifically in the biorefinery area

Pigmented Corneal Ulcer

Purpose: To report the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and treatment of a rare case of keratitis caused by pigmented fungi Bipolaris hawaiiensis. Case Report: A 55-year-old man presented with a history of trauma with vegetative matter in his left eye. Slit lamp biomicroscopic examination revealed the presence of a brownish-black pigmented plaque with surrounding infiltrates. Corneal scrapings revealed multiple septate hyphae. Culture revealed growth of the Bipolaris species. The patient was treated with topical natamycin 5%, topical voriconazole 1%, and oral itraconazole followed by intracameral amphotericin B (5 μg/mL). The patient responded well to the treatment. Conclusion: Brown pigmented infiltrates are an important clinical feature of dematiaceous fungi. B. hawaiiensis is a rare cause of corneal phaeohyphomycosis. Our patient responded well to intracameral amphotericin B, which obviated the need for penetrating keratoplasty

A Cross-Sectional Study on Ultrasonographic Measurements of Parotid Glands in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease which is seen increasing globally and is diagnosed and monitored on basis of invasive blood investigations. Salivary glands are affected in diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to assess ultrasonographic measurements of parotid glands and correlate with the glycosylated hemoglobin levels in type 2 diabetic mellitus and duration of type 2 diabetic mellitus and treatment regimens. Materials and Methods. This study was conducted on 50 subjects of type 2 diabetes mellitus and on 50 healthy controls. After HbA1C analysis of selected individuals, 100 individuals were grouped into group I (above 5.7) and group II (below 5.7). Ultrasonographic measurements (length (L), transverse dimension (TD), depth lateral to the mandible (DLM), and depth dorsal to the mandible (DDM)) of bilateral parotid glands were calculated. Statistical analysis was done using the chi-square test of significance and Spearman correlation coefficients. Results. On correlation with measurement of right (L, DLM, DDM) and left (TD, DLM, DDM) of parotid glands with duration of type 2 diabetes mellitus, we found a moderate positive relationship, whereas as for right (TD) and left (L), we found a low-positive relationship. Similarly, for right (L, TD, DLM, DDM) and left (TD, DDM) parotid glands with HbA1C, we found a low-positive relationship, whereas for left parotid gland (L, DLM) with HbA1C, we found a moderate positive relationship. The mean DLM of right and left parotids in the insulin group was found to be slightly more than that in the combined group which was statistically insignificant. Conclusion. Ultrasonographic measurements of parotid glands were found to be higher in study subjects as compared to control subjects, and they increased with increased HbA1C levels; also, there was no difference in treatment regimen. Ultrasonography could be a prospective diagnostic test for detection and monitoring of diabetes mellitus, and still further studies are required for this

Exploring pyrazolo[3,4-<i>d</i>]pyrimidine phosphodiesterase 1 (PDE1) inhibitors: a predictive approach combining comparative validated multiple molecular modelling techniques

<p>Phosphodiesterase 1 (PDE1) is a potential target for a number of neurodegenerative disorders such as Schizophrenia, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. A number of pyrazolo[3,4-<i>d</i>]pyrimidine PDE1 inhibitors were subjected to different molecular modelling techniques [such as regression-based quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR): multiple linear regression, support vector machine and artificial neural network; classification-based QSAR: Bayesian modelling and Recursive partitioning; Monte Carlo based QSAR; Open3DQSAR; pharmacophore mapping and molecular docking analyses] to get a detailed knowledge about the physicochemical and structural requirements for higher inhibitory activity. The planarity of the pyrimidinone ring plays an important role for PDE1 inhibition. The <i>N</i>-methylated function at the 5th position of the pyrazolo[3,4-<i>d</i>]pyrimidine core is required for interacting with the PDE1 enzyme. The cyclopentyl ring fused with the parent scaffold is necessary for PDE1 binding potency. The phenylamino substitution at 3rd position is crucial for PDE1 inhibition. The <i>N2</i>-substitution at the pyrazole moiety is important for PDE1 inhibition compared to the <i>N1</i>-substituted analogues. Moreover, the <i>p</i>-substituted benzyl side chain at <i>N2</i>-position helps to enhance the PDE1 inhibitory profile. Depending on these observations, some new molecules are predicted that may possess better PDE1 inhibition.</p

Assessing pollution and health risks from chromite mine tailings contaminated soils in India by employing synergistic statistical approaches

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) contamination in the agricultural soil can generate a detrimental effect on the ecosystem and poses a threat to human health. The present work evaluates the PTEs concentration, source identification, probabilistic assessment of health hazards, and dietary risk analysis due to PTEs pollution in the region of the chromite-asbestos mine, India. To evaluate the health risks associated with PTEs in soil, soil tailings and rice grains were collected and studied. The results revealed that the PTEs concentration (mainly Cr and Ni) of total, DTPA-bioavailable, and rice grain was significantly above the permissible limit in site 1 (tailings) and site 2 (contaminated) as compared with site 3 (uncontaminated). The Free ion activity model (FIAM) was applied to detect the solubility of PTEs in polluted soil and their probable transfer from soil to rice grain. The hazard quotient values were significantly higher than the safe (FIAM-HQ \u3c 0.5) for Cr (1.50E+00), Ni (1.32E+00), and, Pb (5.55E+00) except for Cd (1.43E−03), Cu (5.82E−02). Severity adjustment margin of exposure (SAMOE) results denote that the PTEs contaminated raw rice grain has high health risk [CrSAMOE: 0.001; NiSAMOE: 0.002; CdSAMOE: 0.007; PbSAMOE: 0.008] for humans except for Cu. The Positive matrix factorization (PMF) along with correlation used to apportion the source. Self-organizing map (SOM) and PMF analysis identified the source of pollution mainly from mines in this region. Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) revealed that TCR (total carcinogenic risk) cannot be insignificant and children were the maximum sufferers relative to adults via ingestion-pathway. In the spatial distribution map, the region nearer to mine is highly prone to ecological risk with respect to PTEs pollution. Based on appropriate and reasonable evaluation methods, this work will help environmental scientists and policymakers\u27 control PTEs pollution in agricultural soils near the vicinity of mines

Differential Physio-Biochemical and Metabolic Responses of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) under Multiple Abiotic Stress Conditions

The frequency and severity of extreme climatic conditions such as drought, salinity, cold, and heat are increasing due to climate change. Moreover, in the field, plants are affected by multiple abiotic stresses simultaneously or sequentially. Thus, it is imperative to compare the effects of stress combinations on crop plants relative to individual stresses. This study investigated the differential regulation of physio-biochemical and metabolomics parameters in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) under individual (salt, drought, cold, and heat) and combined stress treatments using multivariate correlation analysis. The results showed that combined heat, salt, and drought stress compounds the stress effect of individual stresses. Combined stresses that included heat had the highest electrolyte leakage and lowest relative water content. Lipid peroxidation and chlorophyll contents did not significantly change under combined stresses. Biochemical parameters, such as free amino acids, polyphenol, starch, and sugars, significantly changed under combined stresses compared to individual stresses. Free amino acids increased under combined stresses that included heat; starch, sugars, and polyphenols increased under combined stresses that included drought; proline concentration increased under combined stresses that included salt. Metabolomics data that were obtained under different individual and combined stresses can be used to identify molecular phenotypes that are involved in the acclimation response of plants under changing abiotic stress conditions. Peanut metabolomics identified 160 metabolites, including amino acids, sugars, sugar alcohols, organic acids, fatty acids, sugar acids, and other organic compounds. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that abiotic stresses significantly affected amino acid, amino sugar, and sugar metabolism. The stress treatments affected the metabolites that were associated with the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) and urea cycles and associated amino acid biosynthesis pathway intermediates. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and heatmap analysis identified potential marker metabolites (pinitol, malic acid, and xylopyranose) that were associated with abiotic stress combinations, which could be used in breeding efforts to develop peanut cultivars that are resilient to climate change. The study will also facilitate researchers to explore different stress indicators to identify resistant cultivars for future crop improvement programs