Status and diversity of Jellyfishes around Indian Coastal waters

Jellyfish is a common word used for any gelatinous animal in marine waters. These include a wide variety of stinging and non-stinging jellyfishes. Jellyfishes are the oldest animal on planet earth from Pre-Cambrian period, and passed through 500 million years of natural selection. The term jellyfish generally refers to gelatinous zooplankton including medusae of the phylum Cnidaria(scyphomedusae, hydromedusae, cubomedusae and siphonophores) and planktonic members of the phylum Ctenophora, Salps and Pyrosomes etc. The true jellyfishes are coming under the three Cnidarian classes viz., Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa and Cubozoa and seasonally swarm in the coastal waters

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Efficient Green Protocol for the Synthesis of Novel Dihydroindeno[1,2-<i>b</i>]pyrroles

<div><p></p><p>A simple and ecofriendly protocol has been developed for the expedient synthesis of novel dihydroindeno[1,2-b]pyrrol-4(3aH)-ones from the reaction of ninhydrin and (E)-N-methyl-1-(methylthio)-2-nitroethenamine or (E)-N-(1-(methylthio)-2-nitrovinyl)anilines.</p></div

Synthesis of Novel Dispiro 1,4-Benzothiazine Hybrid Heterocycles Through 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition

<div><p></p><p>The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides generated in situ from the reaction of acenaphthylene-1,2-dione or isatins and α-amino acids to (E)-methyl/ethyl 2-(3-oxo-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[b][1,4]thiazin-2-ylidene)acetate led to the stereoselective formation of novel dispiro 1,4-benzothiazine hybrid heterocycles in good yields.</p></div

2‑Oxo Driven Unconventional reactions: Microwave Assisted Approaches to Tetrahydro­furo[3,2‑<i>d</i>]­oxazoles and Furanones

A highly efficient, novel, microwave-assisted, metal-free, diastereoselective synthesis of tetrahydro­furo­[3,2-<i>d</i>]­oxazole is disclosed. The synthesis of napthoxazoles is achieved for the first time without the aid of an external catalyst. On the contrary, our reactions generated naphthofuranones when treated in the presence of metals in microwave/thermal conditions. The unusual behavior of our reactions has further been explored in the generation of furanones from tetrahydro­furo­[3,2-<i>d</i>]­oxazole through the use of metals

A One-Pot Multicomponent 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition Strategy: Combinatorial Synthesis of Dihydrothiophenone-Engrafted Dispiro Hybrid Heterocycles

The combinatorial syntheses of a library of novel dihydrothiophenone-engrafted dispiro oxindole/indenoquinoxaline–pyrrolidine/pyrrolothiazole/indolizine hybrid heterocycles have been realized through a chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective multicomponent 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition strategy

Divergent Reactivity of Amino Acid Alkyl Ester Hydrochlorides with 2‑Oxoaldehydes: Role of Selenium Dioxide To Promote Regioselective Synthesis of Imidazoles

Novel amino acid substituted imidazoles engendered from amino acid alkyl ester hydrochlorides and 2-oxoaldehydes as a result of selenium dioxide promoted unconventional reaction in a basic environment is presented for the first time. Despite the nature of the 2-oxoaldehydes/amino acids used, the imidazoles generated had a functional core structure, and all of the reactions meticulously retained regioselectivity. The imperative feature of these reactions was the uniqueness of selenium dioxide in fixing two nitrogen atoms from amino acids through an in situ generated ArCOCHN₁N₂ system