RECENT ADVANCES IN HYDROGELS FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Hydrogels are three-dimensional polymeric network, capable of entrapping substantial amounts of fluids. Hydrogels are formed due to physical or chemical cross-linking in different synthetic and natural polymers. Recently, hydrogels have been receiving much attention for biomedical applications due to their innate structure and compositional similarities to the extracellular matrix. Hydrogels fabricated from naturally derived materials provide an advantage for biomedical applications due to their innate cellular interactions and cellular-mediated biodegradation. Synthetic materials have the advantage of greater tunability when it comes to the properties of hydrogels. There has been considerable progress in recent years in addressing the clinical and pharmacological limitations of hydrogels for biomedical applications. The primary objective of this article is to review the classification of hydrogels based on their physical and chemical characteristics. It also reviews the technologies adopted for hydrogel fabrication and the different applications of hydrogels in the modern era

Network Based Approach for Understanding the Chondrocyte Biology for Rheumatoid Arthritis

ABSTRACT: The major component of cartilage connective tissue, chondrocytes plays major role in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA),which is a chronic auto-immune disease of unknown etiology characterized by series of process such as inflammation, synovial hyperplasia and cartilage destruction leading to bone erosion. In the present work, role of chondrocytes which maintains the balance between synthesis and degradation of cartilage by osteoblast and osteoclast are focused. The key regulatory molecules in chondrocytes associated with pathophysiology of RA are extracted by integrating Biological network analysis and gene expression profiling data analysis. The expression data retrieved from gene expression omnibus included normal donor and diseased data set.By applying analytical and statistical measureshighly correlated differentially expressed genes were obtained.Clusteringof up and down networks resulted in three meaningful modular networks with seed genes ABO, AMPD3 and COA1. These seed genes were highly connected with the neighboring genes. So the biological analysis of modular network opens more ways for unraveling further more interactions to produce novel proteins related to RA

Drug Target Identification for Listeria monocytogenes by Subtractive Genomics Approach

We discover essential enzymes catalyzing critical metabolic reactions as potential drug targets, which may help to fight Listeria infections and their associated secondary infections extensively and effectively. A comparative metabolic pathway approach has been applied to identify and determine putative drug targets against Listeria monocytogenes. For this, enzymes unique to pathogenic pathways of L. monocytogenes EGD-e were determined using the KEGG database. They were further refined by selecting enzymes with sequences non-homologous to the host Homo sapiens and analysing their essentiality to the pathogen’s survival. We report 15 essential pathogen-host non-homologous proteins as putative drug targets that can be exploited for development of specific drug targets or vaccines against multidrug resistant strains of L. monocytogenes. Finally, four essential enzymes from the pathogen: UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 1-carboxyvinyltransferase, Acetate kinase, Phosphate acetyltransferase, and Aspartate kinase were reported as novel putative targets for vaccine and drug development against L. monocytogenes infections. Unravelling novel target proteins and their associated pathways by comparing metabolic pathway analysis between L. monocytogenes EGD-e and host H. sapiens, develops the novelty of the work towards broad spectrum putative drug targets. This research design yields putative drug target critical enzymes that turn out to be fatal to the pathogen without interacting with the host machinery

To study the painless labour by epidural analgesia and its effects on cardiotocographic parameters and labour

Background: Epidural analgesia is a central nerve block technique achieved by injection of a local anesthetic close to the nerves that transmit pain and is widely used as a form of pain relief in labor. The objective was to study the effect of epidural analgesia on cardiotocographic parameters and relief of pain, effect on course of labor and its outcome in terms of duration, any complications and mode of delivery.Methods: A prospective observational study was done on 100 subjects. They were randomly divided into study and control groups, study group (50) were given epidural analgesia after 3cm dilatation while control group (50) did not receive any analgesic. NST was taken before and after analgesia, course of labor, duration of labor, mode of delivery.Results: The study shows no significant effect of epidural analgesia on the duration of labor, mode of delivery, and CTG parameters.Conclusion: Epidural analgesia group shows better pain relief. It favors normal course of labor, no effect on cardiotocographic parameters. Subjects in study group were more satisfied

Relationship of degree of anemia as direct or indirect causes of heart failure and its impact on maternal and fetal outcome

Background: Objective of current study was to determine the impact of anemia as cause of heart failure in pregnancy and its associated maternal and fetal outcome.Methods: It was a prospective study conducted in department of obstetrics and gynecology GSVM medical college, Kanpur, from January 2012 to august 2013 with total number of subjects being 6800. All maternal and fetal records were reviewed.Results: Total number of antenatal patients admitted to our hospital during 20 month duration were 6800, out of which 48 (0.17%) had heart failure. 47.91% patients among them had severe anemia as direct cause of heart failure, whereas anemia was associated as indirect cause of heart failure in 52.08% of patients. Poor maternal and fetal outcome were observed in patient with increasing severity of anemia.Conclusions: With increase in degree of anemia susceptibility to heart failure increases and it was observed that there was increased incidence of adverse maternal and neonatal outcome in severe anemia when compared to mild and moderate anemia.

A rare case of uterus didelphys presented as secondary abdominal pregnancy

Uterus didelphys is a rare type of uterine malformation with poor obstetric outcome. We report a rare case of ruptured uterus didelphys presenting as secondary abdominal pregnancy which was managed by removal of ruptured uterus along with the omentum to which placenta was attached. There should be a high degree of suspicion for proper management of such cases as these patients carry great morbidity and mortality if left undiagnosed and untreated

Twelfth rib syndrome- an often missed differential diagnosis of hypogastric and lumbar pain: case series

The twelfth rib syndrome appears to be a fairly common and underdiagnosed chronic pain syndrome. The diagnosis of this syndrome is clinical, requires exclusion of specific etiologies, and should only be made when the patient's symptoms can be exactly reproduced by manipulation of the affected rib.  Patients with this syndrome can be over investigated and have even undergone surgical procedures when this diagnosis has been overlooked. We present here a case series of 27 women of twelfth rib syndrome over a period span of 18 months, many of whom had come to us after having prolonged and ineffective treatment for lumbar or hypogastric pain. Such patients were successfully managed with infiltration of local anaesthetics and steroid

Postbiotic production: harnessing the power of microbial metabolites for health applications

Postbiotics, which are bioactive substances derived from the metabolic processes of beneficial microbes, have received considerable attention in the field of microbiome science in recent years, presenting a promising path for exploration and innovation. This comprehensive analysis looks into the multidimensional terrain of postbiotic production, including an extensive examination of diverse postbiotic classes, revealing their sophisticated mechanisms of action and highlighting future applications that might significantly affect human health. The authors thoroughly investigate the various mechanisms that support postbiotic production, ranging from conventional fermentation procedures to cutting-edge enzyme conversion and synthetic biology approaches. The review, as an acknowledgment of the field’s developing nature, not only highlights current achievements but also navigates through the problems inherent in postbiotic production. In order to successfully include postbiotics in therapeutic interventions and the production of functional food ingredients, emphasis is given to critical elements, including improving yields, bolstering stability, and assuring safety. The knowledge presented herein sheds light on the expanding field of postbiotics and their potential to revolutionize the development of novel therapeutics and functional food ingredients

Safe practices for legitimate medical use of opioids: a study of trends in opioids prescription over a decade

Background: An unwavering availability of opioids is crucial for effective pain and palliative care and for managing opioid dependence. This study aims to study the pattern of morphine consumption and the use of safety protocols for prescribing opioids in a tertiary cancer hospital in India. Patients and methods: We studied the medical and pharmacy records retrospectively, to investigate the pattern of oral Morphine consumption and distribution from 2008 to 2020. Results: The number of new cancer patients visiting the hospital, the number of re-visits of these patients, and inpatient admissions to palliative care service increased unswervingly from 2008 to 2019 with a sharp fall in 2020 owing to the COVID pandemic. Annual oral morphine consumption showed a steady increase from 4.89 kgs in 2008 to 11.53 kgs in 2019 with a fall to 5.68 kgs in 2020. However, the trend for oral morphine dispensed per patient per visit showed a mild increase from 1.1 gram in 2008 to 2.06 grams in 2012, followed by a gradual decline to 0.89 grams in 2020. Opioid diversion incidence was found to be zero. Conclusions: Comprehensive interventions alongside safety protocols for prescriptions of opioids and effective integration of palliative care can help prevent opioid use disorders

Potential drug target identification in porphyromonas gingivalis using in-silico subtractive metabolic pathway analysis

Introduction: Porphyromonas Gingivalis (P. gingivalis) a primary periodontal disease pathogen. This bacterium affects sub-gingival tissue and leads to loss of teeth and alveolar bone destruction in the acute stage. In recent years, P. gingivalis is often connected with other diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease, though the aetiology is still unclear. Objective: The use of commonly available drugs to treat periodontitis results in various side effects, in particular multi-drug resistant strains. As the development of multidrug-resistant strains frequently urges the identification of novel drug targets, the aim of this study is to identify specific targets in the narrow spectrum to combat oral pathogens. Methodology: This study used a comparative and subtractive pathway analysis approach to identify potential drug targets specific to P. gingivalis. Results: The in-silico comparison of the P. gingivalis and Homo sapiens (H. sapiens) metabolic pathways resulted in 13 unique pathogen pathways. A homology search of the 67 enzymes in the unique bacterial pathway using the BLASTp program against the Homo sapiens proteome resulted in fifteen possible targets that are non-homologous to the human proteome. Thirteen genes among 15 potent target encoders are key DEG genes indispensable for P. gingivalis’s survival. A comprehensive analysis of the literature identified three potential therapeutic drug targets. Conclusions: The three most relevant drug targets are Arabinose-5-phosphate isomerase, UDP-2,3-diacylglucosamine hydrolase, and Undecaprenyl diphosphatase. Upon corroboration, these targets may give rise to narrow-spectrum antibiotics that can specificallytreat thedental infection