Green tea polyphenols in cardiometabolic health: A critical appraisal on phytogenomics towards personalized green tea

Cardiovascular disease is a chronic multifactorial health complication that is either directly or indirectly associated with pathophysiological mechanisms, including pro-oxidation, pro-inflammation, vascular and endothelial dysfunction, impaired platelet function, thrombosis, and others. The therapeutic options to circumvent cardiovascular complications include several phytomedicines, including green tea polyphenols. However, while many experimental and clinical studies report distinct mechanisms by which the polyphenols of green tea elicit a beneficial role in cardiometabolic health, the translation and applications of green tea polyphenols in clinics have yet to gain their optimal use on the broader population. This review critically appraises the various reported mechanisms of green tea polyphenols in modulating cardio-metabolic health and associated phyto-genomic challenges. Further, our review highlights the probability of gene polymorphic associated therapeutic variations in individuals using green tea for cardio-metabolic effects and the necessity to personalize green tea for clinical use, thereby improvising the risk-benefit ratio

Synthesis, Structural and Optical Properties of PVP Encapsulated CdS Nanoparticles

Highly monodispersed CdS nanoparticles using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as the capping agent were synthesised by chemical coprecipitation method. The surface‐modified cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were found to be remarkably stable. In the presence of PVP, cubic phase with small grain size of CdS were observed in XRD. The peaks were identified to originate from (111), (220) and (311) planes of CdS, respectively. The crystallite size of the synthesised CdS nanoparticles was about 3 nm calculated from the (111) plane of XRD pattern and it was also confirmed through HRTEM. Morphology and elemental mapping of the synthesised nanoparticles were studied by SEM and EDX analyses. Increase in the band gap with decrease in the particle size was observed from the reflectance mode UV spectrum, which confirms the quantum confinement effect. From the photoluminescence studies, enhanced near‐band‐edge blue light emission and significantly reduced defect‐related green emission were observed. Longitudinal optical (LO) phonon modes, corresponds to pure CdS were observed in Raman spectrum

ENGINEERING CONCEPTS IN ANALYSING LUMBOSACRAL LOAD IN POST-OPERATIVE SCOLIOTIC PATIENTS

Lumbosacral alignment plays a major role in the mechanical low back pain in normal population. Malalignment causes increased strain to the muscles and ligaments around it which eventually leads to mechanical low back pain and discomfort. The level of strain a ligament receives in the lumbosacral junction depends upon the lumbosacral angle and the load exerted on it. If there is an easy way to find the load exerted at the lumbosacral junction, then it would be trouble free for the physicians to examine. Hence, the treatment can be planned accordingly. This study analysis the angle, net force produced and stress faced by the ligaments around the lumbosacral joint in postoperative scoliosis patients using radiographic images. Study design was analytical, observational cross sectional study. Radiographs of 30 patients were collected and one sample ‘t ’test was used for data analysis with ‘p ’value set as 0.05 as level of significance .The mean lumbosacral angle of the postoperative scoliotic patients was found to be 45.56 degrees and the standard deviation was ± 8.7156. The results suggest that patients who underwent scoliosis correction surgery did not have an optimal lumbosacral angle of 30 degrees

Sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) â a review and proposed strategies toward a better understanding of pathogenesis, early diagnosis, and therapy

Sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) is one of the leading causes of currently incurable canine vision loss diagnosed by veterinary ophthalmologists. The disease is characterized by acute onset of blindness due to loss of photoreceptor function, extinguished electroretinogram with an initially normal appearing ocular fundus, and mydriatic pupils which are slowly responsive to bright white light, unresponsive to red, but responsive to blue light stimulation. In addition to blindness, the majority of affected dogs also show systemic abnormalities suggestive of hyperadrenocorticism, such as polyphagia with resulting obesity, polyuria, polydipsia, and a subclinical hepatopathy. The pathogenesis of SARDS is unknown, but neuroendocrine and autoimmune mechanisms have been suggested. Therapies that target these disease pathways have been proposed to reverse or prevent further vision loss in SARDSâ affected dogs, but these treatments are controversial. In November 2014, the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists' Vision for Animals Foundation organized and funded a Think Tank to review the current knowledge and recently proposed ideas about disease mechanisms and treatment of SARDS. These panel discussions resulted in recommendations for future research strategies toward a better understanding of pathogenesis, early diagnosis, and potential therapy for this condition.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/122446/1/vop12291.pd

Rare association of thymoma, myasthenia gravis and sarcoidosis : a case report

case repor

Oxacycle fused [1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene derivatives: synthesis, electronic structure, electrochemical properties, ionisation potential, and crystal structure

The molecular properties of [1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (BTBT) are vulnerable to the structural modifications which in turn are decided by the functionalization of the backbone. Hence versatile synthetic strategies are needed to discover the properties of this molecule. To address this, we have attempted heteroatom (oxygen) functionalization of BTBT by a concise and easily scalable synthesis. Four-fold hydroxy substituted BTBT is the key intermediate, from which the compounds 2,3,7,8- bis(ethylenedioxy)-[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene and 2,3,7,8- bis(methylenedioxy)-[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene are synthesized. The difference in ether functionalities on the BTBT scaffold influences the ionisation potential values substantially. The crystal structure reveals the transformation of the herringbone motif in bare BTBT towards π stacked columns in the newly synthesized derivatives. The results are further elaborated with the aid of quantum chemical calculations

A new route to tricyclane sesquiterpenoids: total synthesis of α-ekasantalic acid

YesChemical manipulation of the cycloadduct of citraconic anhydride and cyclopentadiene enables a new synthetic route to tricyclane sesquiterpenoids. This methodology is applied to the first total synthesis of α-ekasantalic acid.Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport for financial support (grant number TME2011-00267 (LL))

An in vivo screen identifies ependymoma oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes

Cancers are characterized by non-random chromosome copy number alterations that presumably contain oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes (TSGs). The affected loci are often large, making it difficult to pinpoint which genes are driving the cancer. Here we report a cross-species in vivo screen of 84 candidate oncogenes and 39 candidate TSGs, located within 28 recurrent chromosomal alterations in ependymoma. Through a series of mouse models, we validate eight new ependymoma oncogenes and ten new ependymoma TSGs that converge on a small number of cell functions, including vesicle trafficking, DNA modification and cholesterol biosynthesis, identifying these as potential new therapeutic targets.We are grateful to F.B. Gertler (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and S. Gupton (University of North Carolina) for the generous gift of the VAMP7-phlorin construct and the staffs of the Hartwell Center for Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, the Small Animal Imaging Center, the Animal Resources Center, the Cell and Tissue Imaging Center, and the Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Shared Resource at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for technical assistance. This work was supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health (R01CA129541, P01CA96832 and P30CA021765, R.J.G.), by the Collaborative Ependymoma Research Network (CERN) and by the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC)

Recovery of dialysis patients with COVID-19 : health outcomes 3 months after diagnosis in ERACODA

Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related short-term mortality is high in dialysis patients, but longer-term outcomes are largely unknown. We therefore assessed patient recovery in a large cohort of dialysis patients 3 months after their COVID-19 diagnosis. Methods. We analyzed data on dialysis patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from 1 February 2020 to 31 March 2021 from the European Renal Association COVID-19 Database (ERACODA). The outcomes studied were patient survival, residence and functional and mental health status (estimated by their treating physician) 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. Complete follow-up data were available for 854 surviving patients. Patient characteristics associated with recovery were analyzed using logistic regression. Results. In 2449 hemodialysis patients (mean ± SD age 67.5 ± 14.4 years, 62% male), survival probabilities at 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis were 90% for nonhospitalized patients (n = 1087), 73% for patients admitted to the hospital but not to an intensive care unit (ICU) (n = 1165) and 40% for those admitted to an ICU (n = 197). Patient survival hardly decreased between 28 days and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. At 3 months, 87% functioned at their pre-existent functional and 94% at their pre-existent mental level. Only few of the surviving patients were still admitted to the hospital (0.8-6.3%) or a nursing home (∼5%). A higher age and frailty score at presentation and ICU admission were associated with worse functional outcome. Conclusions. Mortality between 28 days and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis was low and the majority of patients who survived COVID-19 recovered to their pre-existent functional and mental health level at 3 months after diagnosis