Development and Validation of Physical Education Awareness Instrument (Pea-I)

Research Background: The importance of physical education in the development of young children has long been recognized. Despite this, there is a lack of a standardized instrument to accurately measure awareness of physical education among this demographic. The absence of such a tool hampers our understanding of children's perceptions and the impact of physical education on their overall well-being. Purpose: The primary objective of this study is to develop and validate the Physical Education Awareness Instrument (PEA-I) to assess young children's awareness of physical education. Through rigorous statistical techniques, including factor analysis and reliability assessment, the study seeks to establish the validity and reliability of the newly developed instrument. Materials and Methodology: The study involved 817 participants, randomly divided into two groups. The researchers utilized the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to handle potential missing values, although none were found in the collected responses. The first half of the sample (N = 317) underwent exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using IBM SPSS 26 for Windows. Latent root criteria and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) index determined the optimal number of factors, indicating significant adequacy for principal component analysis (PCA). The EFA revealed a one-factor scale, with nine items demonstrating strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.740 to 0.796). Statistical Procedure: Following the EFA, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on the second half of the sample using AMOS 23. All items in the CFA met the standard criterion, confirming the instrument's acceptable factor validity. The (PEA-I) exhibited good reliability and validity, establishing it as a robust tool to assess young children's awareness of physical education.  Results: The results solidify the PEA-I as a valid and reliable measure of physical education awareness among young children. Its factor loadings, internal consistency, and factor validity indicate its effectiveness in assessing individuals' perceived awareness of physical education accurately. Conclusion and practical implication: The (PEA-I) has practical implications, serving as a valuable tool for identifying individuals' awareness of physical education and evaluating the effectiveness of physical education programs. Its potential to aid policymakers, physical educators, and health professionals is significant, as it emphasizes the importance of physical education in overall well-being and advocates for its inclusion as a compulsory subject in schools. This study contributes substantially to the field, underscoring the significance of physical education in fostering healthier lifestyles and well-rounded individuals. The findings highlight the need for increased awareness and the positive impact of physical education on youth development, shaping the discourse on its promotion among policymakers, educators, and health professionals

Antifungal metabolites, their novel sources, and targets to combat drug resistance

Excessive antibiotic prescriptions as well as their misuse in agriculture are the main causes of antimicrobial resistance which poses a growing threat to public health. It necessitates the search for novel chemicals to combat drug resistance. Since ancient times, naturally occurring medicines have been employed and the enormous variety of bioactive chemicals found in nature has long served as an inspiration for researchers looking for possible therapeutics. Secondary metabolites from microorganisms, particularly those from actinomycetes, have made it incredibly easy to find new molecules. Different actinomycetes species account for more than 70% of naturally generated antibiotics currently used in medicine, and they also produce a variety of secondary metabolites, including pigments, enzymes, and anti-inflammatory compounds. They continue to be a crucial source of fresh chemical diversity and a crucial component of drug discovery. This review summarizes some uncommon sources of antifungal metabolites and highlights the importance of further research on these unusual habitats as a source of novel antimicrobial molecules.Peer reviewe

Genomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics Approaches to Improve Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Tomato Plant

To explore changes in proteins and metabolites under stress circumstances, genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics methods are used. In-depth research over the previous ten years has gradually revealed the fundamental processes of plants’ responses to environmental stress. Abiotic stresses, which include temperature extremes, water scarcity, and metal toxicity brought on by human activity and urbanization, are a major cause for concern, since they can result in unsustainable warming trends and drastically lower crop yields. Furthermore, there is an emerging reliance on agrochemicals. Stress is responsible for physiological transformations such as the formation of reactive oxygen, stomatal opening and closure, cytosolic calcium ion concentrations, metabolite profiles and their dynamic changes, expression of stress-responsive genes, activation of potassium channels, etc. Research regarding abiotic stresses is lacking because defense feedbacks to abiotic factors necessitate regulating the changes that activate multiple genes and pathways that are not properly explored. It is clear from the involvement of these genes that plant stress response and adaptation are complicated processes. Targeting the multigenicity of plant abiotic stress responses caused by genomic sequences, transcripts, protein organization and interactions, stress-specific and cellular transcriptome collections, and mutant screens can be the first step in an integrative approach. Therefore, in this review, we focused on the genomes, proteomics, and metabolomics of tomatoes under abiotic stress

Real-World Experience of Hemoxin R Plus (Nikosan K Plus): Retrospective Analysis on 150 Patients

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is amongst the most common genetic hematological disorders. Hand-foot syndrome (swelling), pain and anemia are some of the very common complications of the disease. In Sickle cell anemia, the number of healthy RBCs decrease which results in reduction of oxygen in the tissues. Majority of the SCD patients are from low socio-economic strata and can barely afford costly treatment modalities. Retrospective analysis was done on 150 patients who consumed a proprietary Ayurvedic medicine, Hemoxin R Plus (Nikosan K Plus). Objectives: Sickle cell anemia impacts quality of life of patients which include pains including joint pain, abdominal pain, and total body pain. It also leads to breathlessness, weakness or fatigue and hence difficulties in doing daily chores.  Our aim was to evaluate safety and efficacy of Hemoxin R Plus, an Ayurvedic medicine in improving quality of life in patients having SCA. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective analysis. Hospital records of the patients were used and reviewed for the analysis. The doctors who treated the patients collected the data from the medical records department. Wilcoxon signed rank test was applied for analysis. Parameters related to the quality of life were studied. The parameters considered were pain (whole body, abdominal, limbs/joints, back), fatigue, breathlessness, difficulty in doing daily activities and absenteeism (school/job). Results: For every parameter considered for analysis, the probability value (p value) was found to be <0.05, confirming the statistical significance in reduction of symptoms. Hemoxin R Plus was found to be safe in the dose administered, as there were no adverse events reported. Conclusion: Capsule Hemoxin R Plus can be used for of the management of sickle cell anemia in pain reduction and in improving the quality of life

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

Mapping of genomic regions associated with dwarfing and the determinate growth habit in horsegram (Macrotyloma uniflorum)

Horsegram (Macrotyloma uniflorum) - an important, self-pollinated food legume, however due to limited genomic and genetic resources the genetic improvement could not be achieved as compare to other major legumes. Our work aims at finding novel microsatellite markers and their use for the construction of a linkage map from 157 individuals of F9 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of horsegram. The determinate growth habit and plant height are important traits for its suitability for different cropping systems. The genotypic data were generated by screening 2 395 molecular markers, of which 600 (25.05 %) polymorphic markers were selected. Two-hundred eighty-seven (287) markers were mapped on ten linkage groups (LGs) at a log of odds (LOD) of 3.5 straddling 796.76 cM with 2.78 cM of marker density. For the identification of the quantitative trait loci (QTLs), the phenotypic data recorded on the RILs for the plant height and growth habit were analysed using the statistical tools JoinMap®and Windows QTL cartographer, based on the composite interval mapping (CIM) technique. Across the ten linkage groups, we detected four QTLs (LOD ≥ 2.5) for four traits. All the traits were major QTLs as indicated by the percentage of phenotypic variance (PVE) (≥ 10%) that ranged from 13.5% to 40.3%, therefore, this is very important information which can be used in marker-assisted selection (MAS). The present genomic information generated in this orphan crop, thus, provides the base for genetic improvements by devising molecular breeding strategies

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

Full-genome sequences of the first two SARS-CoV-2 viruses from India

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Since December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has globally affected 195 countries. In India, suspected cases were screened for SARS-CoV-2 as per the advisory of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The objective of this study was to characterize SARS-CoV-2 sequences from three identified positive cases as on February 29, 2020. METHODS: Throat swab/nasal swab specimens for a total of 881 suspected cases were screened by E gene and confirmed by RdRp (1), RdRp (2) and N gene real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions and next-generation sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis, molecular characterization and prediction of B- and T-cell epitopes for Indian SARS-CoV-2 sequences were undertaken. RESULTS: Three cases with a travel history from Wuhan, China, were confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2. Almost complete (29,851 nucleotides) genomes of case 1, case 3 and a fragmented genome for case 2 were obtained. The sequences of Indian SARS-CoV-2 though not identical showed high (~99.98%) identity with Wuhan seafood market pneumonia virus (accession number: NC 045512). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Indian sequences belonged to different clusters. Predicted linear B-cell epitopes were found to be concentrated in the S1 domain of spike protein, and a conformational epitope was identified in the receptor-binding domain. The predicted T-cell epitopes showed broad human leucocyte antigen allele coverage of A and B supertypes predominant in the Indian population. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: The two SARS-CoV-2 sequences obtained from India represent two different introductions into the country. The genetic heterogeneity is as noted globally. The identified B- and T-cell epitopes may be considered suitable for future experiments towards the design of vaccines and diagnostics. Continuous monitoring and analysis of the sequences of new cases from India and the other affected countries would be vital to understand the genetic evolution and rates of substitution of the SARS-CoV-2

Machine-OlF-Action: a unified framework for developing and interpreting machine-learning models for chemosensory research

Summary: Machine Learning-based techniques are emerging as state-of-the-art methods in chemoinformatics to selectively, effectively and speedily identify biologically relevant molecules from large databases. So far, a multitude of such techniques have been proposed, but unfortunately due to their sparse availability, and the dependency on high-end computational literacy, their wider adaptation faces challenges, at least in the context of G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs)-associated chemosensory research. Here, we report Machine-OlF-Action (MOA), a user-friendly, open-source computational framework, that utilizes user-supplied SMILES (simplified molecular input line entry system) of the chemicals, along with their activation status, to synthesize classification models. MOA integrates a number of popular chemical databases collectively harboring approximately 103 million chemical moieties. MOA also facilitates customized screening of user-supplied chemical datasets. A key feature of MOA is its ability to embed molecules based on the similarity of their local neighborhood, by utilizing a state-of-the-art model interpretability framework LIME. We demonstrate the utility of MOA in identifying previously unreported agonists for human and mouse olfactory receptors OR1A1 and MOR174-9 by leveraging the chemical features of their known agonists and non-agonists. In summary, here we develop an ML-powered software playground for performing supervisory learning tasks involving chemical compounds.</p