Post traumatic stress symptoms and heart rate variability in Bihar flood survivors following yoga: a randomized controlled study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An earlier study showed that a week of yoga practice was useful in stress management after a natural calamity. Due to heavy rain and a rift on the banks of the Kosi river, in the state of Bihar in north India, there were floods with loss of life and property. A week of yoga practice was given to the survivors a month after the event and the effect was assessed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-two volunteers (group average age ± S.D, 31.5 ± 7.5 years; all of them were males) were randomly assigned to two groups, yoga and a non-yoga wait-list control group. The yoga group practiced yoga for an hour daily while the control group continued with their routine activities. Both groups' heart rate variability, breath rate, and four symptoms of emotional distress using visual analog scales, were assessed on the first and eighth day of the program.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was a significant decrease in sadness in the yoga group (p < 0.05, paired t-test, post data compared to pre) and an increase in anxiety in the control group (p < 0.05, paired t-test, post data compared to pre).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A week of yoga can reduce feelings of sadness and possibly prevent an increase in anxiety in flood survivors a month after the calamity.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Clinical Trials Registry of India: CTRI/2009/091/000285</p

Studies on the Biosynthesis of Menaquinone (Vitamin K) and on the Catabolism of Pseudouridine

The present work describes studies aimed at characterizing enzymes involved in bacterial metabolic pathways using a variety of biochemical methods, analytical techniques and structural studies. The first study explains the structural and biochemical characterization of a C-glycosidase involved in pseudouridine catabolic pathway. Our studies suggested that its mechanism is significantly different from the previously reported glycosidases. The second study describes the discovery and mechanistic characterization of a radical SAM enzyme involved in a new menaquinone biosynthetic pathway. This enzyme represents a unique reaction motif in radical SAM enzymology. Pseudouridine (Ψ), the most abundant modification in RNA, is synthesized using Ψ synthase. Recently, a pathway for the degradation of Ψ was described in Escherichia coli. In this pathway, Ψ is first converted to Ψ 5′-monophosphate (ΨMP) by Ψ kinase and then ΨMP is degraded by ΨMP glycosidase to uracil and ribose 5- phosphate. The structural studies on the ΨMP glycosidase and its mutant (K166A) suggested that the reaction utilizes a Lys166-substrate adduct during catalysis. Biochemical studies on ΨMP glycosidase further confirmed the existence of a lysine adduct and allowed us to identify roles for specific active site residues. ΨMP glycosidase catalyzes the cleavage of the C−C glycosidic bond through a novel ribose ring-opening mechanism. This is the first mechanistically characterized C-glycosidase. Menaquinone (MK, vitamin K2) is a lipid soluble molecule that participates in the bacterial electron transport chain. In mammalian cells, MK functions as an essential vitamin for the activation of various proteins involved in blood clotting and bone metabolism. Recently, a new pathway for the biosynthesis of this cofactor was discovered in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) in which chorismate is converted to aminofutalosine in a reaction catalyzed by MqnA and an unidentified enzyme. Here, we reconstitute the biosynthesis of aminofutalosine and demonstrate that the missing enzyme (aminofutalosine synthase, MqnE) is a radical SAM enzyme that catalyzes the addition of the adenosyl radical to the double bond of 3-[(1-carboxyvinyl) oxy] benzoic acid. This is a new reaction type in the radical SAM superfamily. The substrate analogs based mechanistic investigation suggested that MqnE catalyzes a unique radical rearrangement reaction, unprecedented in biological chemistry

Post-translational thioamidation of methyl-coenzyme M reductase, a key enzyme in methanogenic and methanotrophic Archaea.

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR), found in strictly anaerobic methanogenic and methanotrophic archaea, catalyzes the reversible production and consumption of the potent greenhouse gas methane. The α subunit of MCR (McrA) contains several unusual post-translational modifications, including a rare thioamidation of glycine. Based on the presumed function of homologous genes involved in the biosynthesis of thioviridamide, a thioamide-containing natural product, we hypothesized that the archaeal tfuA and ycaO genes would be responsible for post-translational installation of thioglycine into McrA. Mass spectrometric characterization of McrA from the methanogenic archaeon Methanosarcina acetivorans lacking tfuA and/or ycaO revealed the presence of glycine, rather than thioglycine, supporting this hypothesis. Phenotypic characterization of the ∆ycaO-tfuA mutant revealed a severe growth rate defect on substrates with low free energy yields and at elevated temperatures (39°C - 45°C). Our analyses support a role for thioglycine in stabilizing the protein secondary structure near the active site

Current Scenario of Regenerative Medicine: Role of Cell, Scaffold and Growth Factor

Impairment of the clinical tissue-implantation is due to the lack of a suitable organ donor and immunogenic rejection, which leads to the cause for the enormous loss of human life. The introduction of artificial regeneration of tissues by Langer and Vacanti in 1993, has revolutionized in the field of surgical organ transplantation, to alleviate the problem of tissue injury-related death. There is no doubt that the term “regenerative medicine” to open a new space of tissue reconstruction, but the complications that arise due to the proper machinery of the cell, supporting biomaterials and growth factors has yet to be resolved to expand its application in a versatile manner. The chapter would provide a significant overview of the artificial tissue regeneration while a triangular relationship between cells, matrixes, and growth factors should be established mentioning the necessity of biomedical tools as an alternative to organ transplantation

Hyaluronic Acid Derivatives for Targeted Cancer Therapy

Targeted therapeutics are considered next generation cancer therapy because they overcome many limitations of traditional chemotherapy. Cancerous cells may be targeted by various hyaluronic acid modified nanovehicles that kill these cells. Particularly, hyaluronic acid and its derivatives bind with high affinity to cell surface protein, CD44 enriched tumor cells. Moreover, these molecules have the added advantage of being biocompatible and biodegradable, and may be conjugated with a variety of drugs and drug carriers for developing various formulations as anti-cancer therapies such as nanogels, self-assembled and metallic nanoparticulates. In this chapter, we have covered various aspects of hyaluronic acid-modified delivery systems including strategies for synthesis, characterization, and biocompatibility. Next, the use of hyaluronic acid-modified systems as anti-cancer therapies is discussed. Finally, the delivery of small molecules, and other pharmaceutical agents are also elaborated in this chapter

In vitro biosynthetic studies of bottromycin expand the enzymatic capabilities of the YcaO superfamily

The bottromycins belong to the ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptide (RiPP) family of natural products. Bottromycins exhibit unique structural features, including a hallmark macrolactamidine ring and thiazole heterocycle for which divergent members of the YcaO superfamily have been biosynthetically implicated. Here we report the in vitro reconstitution of two YcaO proteins, BmbD and BmbE, responsible for the ATP-dependent cyclodehydration reactions that yield thiazoline- and macrolactamidine-functionalized products, respectively. We also establish the substrate tolerance for BmbD and BmbE and systematically dissect the role of the follower peptide, which we show serves a purpose similar to canonical leader peptides in directing the biosynthetic enzymes to the substrate. Lastly, we leverage the expanded capabilities of YcaO proteins to conduct an extensive bioinformatic survey to classify known YcaO chemistry. This analysis predicts new functions remain to be uncovered within the superfamily

Research on Traditional Medicine: What Has Been Done, the Difficulties, and Possible Solutions

Traditional medicine (TM) is being used more frequently all over the world. However most often these are choices made by the patient. Integrating TM into mainstream health care would require research to understand the efficacy, safety, and mechanism of action of TM systems. This paper describes research done on TM and difficulties encountered in researching TM, especially when an attempt is made to conform to the model for conventional medicine. The research articles were PubMed searched and categorized as experimental, quasiexperimental, reviews, descriptive, historical, interviews, case histories, and abstract not available. The last part of the report provides suggestions to make research on TM more acceptable and useful, with the ultimate goal of integrating TM into mainstream healthcare with sufficient knowledge about the efficacy, safety, and mechanism of action of TM systems

Antibacterial efficacy of Jackfruit rag extract against clinically important pathogens and validation of its antimicrobial activity in Shigella dysenteriae infected Drosophila melanogaster infection model

513-522Exploration of alternative sources of antibacterial compounds is an important and possibly an effective solution to the current challenges in antimicrobial therapy. Plant derived wastes may offer one such alternative. Here, we investigated the antibacterial property of extract derived from a part of the Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) called ‘rag’, generally considered as fruit waste. Morpho-physical characterization of the Jackfruit rag extract (JFRE) was performed using Gas-chromatography, where peaks indicative of furfural; pentanoic acid; and hexadecanoic acid were observed. In vitro biocompatibility of JFRE was performed using the MTT assay, which showed comparable cellular viability between extract-treated and untreated mouse fibroblast cells. Agar well disc diffusion assay exhibited JFRE induced zones of inhibition for a wide variety of laboratory and clinical strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Analysis of electron microscope images of bacterial cells suggests that JFRE induces cell death by disintegration of the bacterial cell wall and precipitating intracytoplasmic clumping. The antibacterial activity of the JFREs was further validated in vivo using Shigella dysenteriae infected fly model, where JFRE pre-fed flies infected with S. dysenteriae had significantly reduced mortality compared to controls. JFRE demonstrates broad antibacterial property, both in vitro and in vivo, possibly by its activity on bacterial cell wall