Single-site glycine-specific labeling of proteins.

Labeling of native proteins invites interest from diverse segments of science. However, there remains the significant unmet challenge in precise labeling at a single site of a protein. Here, we report the site-specific labeling of natural or easy-to-engineer N-terminus Gly in proteins with remarkable efficiency and selectivity. The method generates a latent nucleophile from N-terminus imine that reacts with an aldehyde to deliver an aminoalcohol under physiological conditions. It differentiates N-Gly as a unique target amongst other proteinogenic amino acids. The method allows single-site labeling of proteins in isolated form and extends to lysed cells. It administers an orthogonal aldehyde group primed for late-stage tagging with an affinity tag, 19F NMR probe, and a fluorophore. A user-friendly protocol delivers analytically pure tagged proteins. The mild reaction conditions do not alter the structure and function of the protein. The cellular uptake of fluorophore-tagged insulin and its ability to activate the insulin-receptor mediated signaling remains unperturbed

Metabolomics-Driven Mining of Metabolite Resources:Applications and Prospects for Improving Vegetable Crops

Vegetable crops possess a prominent nutri-metabolite pool that not only contributes to the crop performance in the fields, but also offers nutritional security for humans. In the pursuit of identifying, quantifying and functionally characterizing the cellular metabolome pool, biomolecule separation technologies, data acquisition platforms, chemical libraries, bioinformatics tools, databases and visualization techniques have come to play significant role. High-throughput metabolomics unravels structurally diverse nutrition-rich metabolites and their entangled interactions in vegetable plants. It has helped to link identified phytometabolites with unique phenotypic traits, nutri-functional characters, defense mechanisms and crop productivity. In this study, we explore mining diverse metabolites, localizing cellular metabolic pathways, classifying functional biomolecules and establishing linkages between metabolic fluxes and genomic regulations, using comprehensive metabolomics deciphers of the plant’s performance in the environment. We discuss exemplary reports covering the implications of metabolomics, addressing metabolic changes in vegetable plants during crop domestication, stage-dependent growth, fruit development, nutri-metabolic capabilities, climatic impacts, plant-microbe-pest interactions and anthropogenic activities. Efforts leading to identify biomarker metabolites, candidate proteins and the genes responsible for plant health, defense mechanisms and nutri-rich crop produce are documented. With the insights on metabolite-QTL (mQTL) driven genetic architecture, molecular breeding in vegetable crops can be revolutionized for developing better nutritional capabilities, improved tolerance against diseases/pests and enhanced climate resilience in plants

Complementary Medicine − A Novel Therapeutic Approach for Oral Diseases

With the increasing concern among patients about the adverse effects of conventional medicines’ increased resistance by bacteria to antibiotics and challenges faced by the medical personnel in managing chronic disease and their symptoms, it is becoming essential for the health professionals to have a sound knowledge of complementary and alternative modalities for the treatment of these chronic ailments. Oral physicians and dental health care professionals also face challenges in the management of few dental conditions as a result of resistance of oral microflora due to drug tolerance leading to persistence of symptoms and emergence of other side effects of conventional therapies. Therefore, it is often necessary for the dentists to be aware of complementary and alternative modalities which are popular, safe, effective, and economical alternative treatment regimen. Complementary medicine comprises treatment modalities such as herbal medicines, traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathy, Ayurveda, aromatherapy, homeopathy, acupuncture, magnetic field therapy, ozone therapy, Mora therapy, and many more

Unfolding the Mysterious Path of Forensic Facial Reconstruction: Review of Different Imaging Modalities

Forensic facial reconstruction (FFR) is the technique that combines art and science to recreate the antemortem appearance of an individual in order to recognize and identify the decedent. Over the years, many techniques of FFR and imaging modalities that provide the basic data for FFR have evolved. There is always a considerable debate and confusion regarding the advantages and limitations of these techniques. The aim of this review is to summarize the different techniques of FFR and emphasize the role of radiological techniques including cone beam computed tomography in it

Advancing Predictive Risk Assessment of Chemicals via Integrating Machine Learning, Computational Modeling, and Chemical/Nano‐Quantitative Structure‐Activity Relationship Approaches

The escalating use of novel chemicals and nanomaterials (NMs) across diverse sectors underscores the need for advanced risk assessment methods to safeguard human health and the environment. Traditional labor‐intensive approaches have given way to computational methods. This review integrates recent developments in chemical and nano‐quantitative structure‐activity relationship (QSAR) with machine learning and computational modeling, offering a comprehensive predictive assessment of NMs and chemicals. It explores nanodescriptors, their role in predicting toxicity, and the amalgamation of machine learning algorithms with chemical and nano‐QSAR for improved risk assessment accuracy. The article also investigates computational modeling techniques like molecular dynamics simulations, molecular docking, and molecular mechanics/quantum mechanics for predicting physical and chemical properties. By consolidating these approaches, the review advocates for a more accurate and efficient means of assessing risks associated with NMs/chemicals, promoting their safe utilization and minimizing adverse effects on human health and the environment. A valuable resource for researchers and practitioners, informed decision‐making, advancing our understanding of potential risks, is facilitated. Beyond studying systems at various scales, computational modeling integrates data from diverse sources, enhancing risk assessment accuracy and fostering the safe use of NMs/chemicals while minimizing their impact on human health and the environment

Clinical and Radiological Evaluation of Franceschetti Syndrome (Treacher Collins Syndrome): A Rare Case Report

Franceschetti Syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder of craniofacial development with variable expressivity. It affects structures which are derivatives of the first and second brachial arches. It has a characteristic facial appearance as a result of hypoplasia of facial bones, accompanied by ear, eye and nose abnormalities and positive coloboma sign. This article describes clinical and radiographic features of this syndrome in a 22 year old male who reported to our department with the complaint of pain in his left upper back and right lower back tooth region showing incomplete clinical form of Franceschetti syndrome. Also pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention, management are discussed

Characterization and expression of codon optimized soybean <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">phytase</i> gene in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">E. coli</i>

537-547Phytic acid, the major storage form of phosphorus in plant seeds is degraded by the phytases to yield inositol and free phosphate, contributing thereby to the improved bioavailability of phytate phosphorus and essential minerals in plant foods and simultaneous reduction in phosphorus pollution of the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. As a possible strategy for altering seed phytate levels, the approach involving reduction of phytate content by ectopically expressing endogenous phytase gene during seed development of soybean (Glycine max L. cv. Pusa-20) was attempted in the present study. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed the maximum expression of phytase gene transcripts in germinating cotyledons (~10 days after germinations), compared to other vegetative tissues. A full-length phytase cDNA was amplified from the germinating seedlings by splicing by overlap extension (SOE)-PCR and its sequence analysis revealed an open-reading-frame of 1644 bp, including an N terminal signal peptide of 28 amino acids. Predicted amino acid sequence (547-aa) of molecular mass 62 kDa on alignment with related purple acid phosphatases in other plants shared five conserved domains and seven invariant amino acids involved in coordination of the metals in the binuclear center of purple acid phosphatases. Owing to a large number of E. coli low-usage codons in soybean phytase gene, the modified gene was cloned into a prokaryotic expression vector pET-28a (+) and its expression in E. coli was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Bioassay of the crude expression product in E. coli revealed a functional <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">phytase gene, showing a great potential for developing low phytate transgenic soybean through its seed-specific overexpression in the early stages of seed development

Prevalence and calcification of stylohyoid complex in North West part of India and its correlation with general and dental health condition

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the variation and clinical significance of stylohyoid complex and to correlate it with general and dental health among different age groups and gender using panoramic radiographs. Materials and Methods: The study included 1,000 subjects indicated for panoramic radiographs. Styloid processes >30 mm were correlated age wise and gender wise. The morphology of the calcified stylohyoid complexes was allocated into 12 different patterns and their length was measured directly on the radiographs. Serum calcium levels and cholesterol levels were obtained from subjects with elongated styloid process and their heart rate, blood pressure measurement, weight, height, number of teeth present, and community periodontal index (CPI) was assessed. Results: Out of 978 detected styloid processes, 267 (27.3%) were more than 30 mm. The average length of the calcified styloid complex was 26.40 mm. The most common pattern of calcification was found to be E pattern, 64 (34.03%) in number which had statistically significant correlation with age (P value <0.001). Pearson's correlation coefficient association of body weight with elongated styloid process (left and right) was 0.163 (P value 0.162) and 0.300 (P value 0.001) respectively which was found to be statistically significant on right side. Twenty seven subjects who showed no elongation but evident calcification patterns according to gender and age on panoramic radiographs were also recorded and were called mineralized styloid termed as mineralization. Conclusion: Calcification of the styloid complex is commonly observed on panoramic radiographs and the present and previous studies indicate that the panoramic radiographs include information on general and dental health condition

Unintended and unexpected incidental findings on cone beam computed tomography: A retrospective study of 1500 scans

Introduction: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has revolutionized the field of oral radiology. With the detailed three-dimensional views of dental tissues, incidental findings which were once considered abnormalities present outside the area of interest can now be recognized. Here, we report various incidental findings found on CBCT. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study consisted of 1500 CBCT scans. Different fields-of-view ranging from 5 × 5 to 11 × 13 were selected. Age group of the subjects included in the study was 5 to 89 years. All incidental findings were categorized in seven groups according to the area and nature of pathology – dento-alveolar region, cysts and tumors, nasal and sinus pathologies, supernumerary and impacted teeth, artifacts, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) region, and miscellaneous. Results: Out of 1500 patients, 723 (48.2%) were males and 777 (51.8%) were females. Mean age of patients referred for CBCT was 47.08 years. Most frequently referred patient age group was 60–69 years (19.75%). Eighty-nine percent of the subjects showed incidental findings. Total number of incidental findings was 2734. The most common area showing incidental findings was dento-alveolar area (44.3%), the least number of findings were seen in the TMJ area (0.4%). Most common finding was mucositis/mucous retention cyst (83.4%) whereas the least finding found was odontogenic keratocyst cyst and coronoid hyperplasia (0.6%). Conclusion: The full CBCT dataset should be fully examined and interpreted by Oral Maxillofacial Radiologists. Correct identification of various potentially pathological lesions outside the area of interest on CBCT scan should be reported and documented

<i>Chlamydia</i> and ocular adnexal lymphomas: an Indian experience

Ocular adnexal lymphomas (OALs) are a heterogeneous group of malignancies, majority being extranodal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) type. Different geographical regions have reported association of <i>Chlamydia</i> with OALs (MALT type). In India, role of <i>Chlamydia</i> in OALs remains unexplored. The aim of this study was to detect <i>Chlamydia</i> and to correlate with clinicopathological features of OALs in India. The clinicopathological features of 41 OAL cases were studied prospectively. <i>Chlamydia</i> DNA was detected by genus specific PCR amplifying major outer membrane protein (MOMP) gene followed by DNA sequencing. <i>Chlamydia</i> immunoexpression was evaluated by immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry. The results were correlated with clinicopathological features including follow-up and survival. <i>Chlamydia</i> genome was detected in 3/41 (7.3%) OAL cases by PCR. Direct sequencing revealed C. trachomatis in 3 positive cases. Immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry showed <i>Chlamydia</i> antigen in 5/41 and 1/41 cases respectively. Immunofluorescence demonstrated higher sensitivity than immunohistochemistry. A significant association was observed between <i>Chlamydia</i> positivity and orbital location (P = 0.05). Follow-up revealed relapse in 2 <i>Chlamydia</i> positive cases (P = 0.056). Our results demonstrate for the first time presence of C. trachomatis genome in 7.3% OAL cases in India. As no other reports are documented, more detailed studies from different regions within India are needed to explore status of <i>Chlamydia</i> in OALs