Correction: Pharmacophore-based approaches in the rational repurposing technique for FDA approved drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2 Mpro

Correction for ‘Pharmacophore-based approaches in the rational repurposing technique for FDA approved drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2 M^pro’ by Vishal M. Balaramnavar et al., RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 40264–40275, DOI: 10.1039/D0RA06038K.

The authors regret that the name of one of the authors (Talha Jawaid) was shown incorrectly in the original article. The corrected author list is as shown above.The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers.     

Gender and Racial Disparity among Addiction Psychiatry Fellows in the United States

Psychiatric Quarterly - The United States (US) has a culturally diverse population. However, the percentage of underrepresented minorities (URMs) and women in healthcare does not fully reflect...     

Peripheral neuropathy in patients with diabetes mellitus presenting as Bell's palsy

The aim of this study is to evaluate the peripheral nerves in diabetes mellitus with or without peripheral facial paralysis (PFP). A total of 49 diabetic patients with PFP within the last year (23 females, mean age 60.3 +/- 9.3), and 83 diabetic patients without PFP (41 females, mean age 59.5 +/- 9.9) were enrolled. The neurological examination, eye-blinking response, needle EMG and electrophysiological parameters of peripheral nerves were evaluated. The neuropathic pain, other positive and negative sensory symptoms were statistically more frequent in controls than the PFP group, while no difference was noted in total neuropathy score. Sural sensorial nerve action potential amplitudes were same in both groups, but median nerve amplitudes were significantly lower in the PFP group. It is suggested that PFP is not a part of multifocal neuropathy in diabetes mellitus. However, at least some parts of the nerve conduction studies were involved, focal neuropathies were more frequent while sensory neuropathies with small nerve fiber involvement were less frequent in diabetes patients with PFP.     

Polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene in Turkish women with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia

The genetic background predisposing pregnant women to pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (PE/E) is still unknown. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether there is an association between the TNF-alpha-308 and 850 polymorphisms and PE or eclampsia. In this study, 40 cases of eclampsia, 113 cases of PE and 80 normotensive control cases were genotyped for the TNF-alpha-G-308A and C-850 polymorphisms. At position 308, the replacement of Guanine with Adenosine was denoted as TNF2. We found a significant difference between the TNF2 allele frequencies of the eclamptic, pre-eclamptic and normotensive controls. TNF2 (AA) polymorphism frequency was significantly higher among the eclamptics and pre-eclamptics (control : 5%, PE : 13.3%, E : 12.9%). A significantly different genotype distribution of C-850T polymorphism was observed between the PE/E and control groups, with the frequency of the variant TT genotype being significantly reduced in the preeclamptics (PE : 17% ; E : 17.5%) when compared with the control group (24.3%). We have demonstrated an association between TNF-alpha polymorphisms and pre-eclampsia susceptibility. However, it is not known whether C-850T polymorphism has a functional effect on the TNF-alpha gene. In addition, it was not possible to determine whether this polymorphism promotes the progression from PE to eclampsia because of no statistically significant difference between eclampsia and the controls.     

Lower vitamin D level is associated with poor coronary collateral circulation

Objectives. Vitamin D regulates calcium and bone homeostasis, and parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion. Cross-sectional associations between lower vitamin D levels and cardiovascular diseases have been reported, but the relationship between vitamin D levels and collateral arteries in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been reported before. Design. Two hundred and fourteen patients with above 95% stenosis in at least one epicardial coronary artery were consecutively recruited after coronary angiography (CAG) during the winter season. The coronary collateral circulation (CCC) was graded using Rentrop classification. Poor CCC group included patients with Rentrop Grade 0–1 CCC and control group included patients with Rentrop Grade 2–3 CCC. Vitamin D and PTH levels were measured on the day of CAG. Results. In the poor CCC group, vitamin D levels were lower (34 ± 25 pmol/L vs. 49 ± 33 pmol/L; p = 0.01) and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (< 37 pmol/L) was higher (67% vs. 43%; p = 0.01) compared to the controls. PTH levels, calcium, and phosphate levels were not significantly different between the groups. Female gender, lower HDL cholesterol, and lower vitamin D levels were independently correlated with poor CCC in the study population. Conclusion. Lower vitamin D levels may be associated with poor collateral development in patients with stable CAD.     

Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans endocarditis in a patient with a prosthetic aortic valve

Summary Bacterial endocarditis caused by Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans is a rare disease. A 48-year-old man who had a Starr-Edwards aortic valve prosthesis inserted in 1972 was admitted for evaluation of confusion, headaches, anorexia, weight loss, diarrhea and weakness. Six blood cultures yielded gram-negative organisms which were subsequently identified as A. actinomycetemcomitans. Treatment with ampicillin and gentamicin resulted in cure which has been maintained after an observation period of eleven months. This represents the second report of A. actinomycetemcomitans endocarditis in a patient with a prosthetic valve.

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Endokarditis infolge Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans bei einem Patienten mit Aortenklappenersatz

Zusammenfassung Bakterielle Endokarditis durch Befall mit Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans ist eine seltene Erkrankung. Ein 48jähriger Mann, dem 1972 eine künstliche Aortenklappe vom Typ Starr-Edwards eingesetzt worden war, wurde zur klinischen Beurteilung eines aus Verwirrung, Kopfschmerzen, Anorexie, Gewichtsverlust, Diarrhoe und Schwäche bestehenden Syndroms stationär aufgenommen. Sechs Blutkulturen wiesen gramnegative Organismen aus, die nachfolgend als A. actinomycetemcomitans identifiziert wurden. Eine Behandlung mit Ampicillin und Gentamycin führte zur Heilung, die nach einer Beobachtungsdauer von elf Monaten anhielt. Dies ist der zweite Bericht über Endokarditis infolge A. actinomycetemcomitans bei einem Patienten mit Klappenersatz.

     

Aminoglycoside resistance patterns in Turkey

Resistance of gram-negative aerobic bacteria to aminoglycoside antibiotics differs by region and country. It is known that 54% of gram-negative bacilli in Turkey are resistant to gentamicin, 32% to netilmicin, 35% to tobramycin, and only 0.9% to amikacin. Resistance to these antibiotics is generally caused by aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes. The resistance mechanisms of 300 aminoglycoside-resistant gram-negative bacteria were evaluated by determination of susceptibility to selected aminoglycosides. Comparison of strains isolated from community acquired infections and hospital acquired infections was made. Of the strains from community, 45.4% had an aminoglycoside resistance pattern indicative of 2'-adenyltransferase [ANT(2')]. This was found in 44.4% of the hospital isolates. In both groups the second common enzyme was the 3-acetyltransferase [AAC(3)-II], in 20.8% and 23.3% respectively. Overall, most strains had an aminoglycoside resistance pattern indicative of ANT(2'), followed by AAC(3)-II and AAC(3)-I. Among bacteria tested, AAC(3)-II was the most common enzyme in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The results of this study suggest that local antibiotic prescribing patterns play an important role in regional resistance mechanisms.     

Epigenetic Mechanisms Underlying the Pathogenesis of Neurogenetic Diseases

There have been considerable advances in uncovering the complex genetic mechanisms that underlie nervous system disease pathogenesis, particularly with the advent of exome and whole genome sequencing techniques. The emerging field of epigenetics is also providing further insights into these mechanisms. Here, we discuss our understanding of the interplay that exists between genetic and epigenetic mechanisms in these disorders, highlighting the nascent field of epigenetic epidemiology—which focuses on analyzing relationships between the epigenome and environmental exposures, development and aging, other health-related phenotypes, and disease states—and next-generation research tools (i.e., those leveraging synthetic and chemical biology and optogenetics) for examining precisely how epigenetic modifications at specific genomic sites affect disease processes.     

Double cascade dressed MOSFET from doped Eu3+and Pr3+ in a host YPO4

In this paper, we study double cascade dressed optical metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) by exploiting enhancement and suppression for mixed-phase (hexagonal + tetragonal) of Eu³⁺:YPO₄ and different phases (hexagonal + tetragonal and pure tetragonal) of Pr³⁺:YPO₄ crystals. We report variation of fine structure energy levels in different doped ions (Eu³⁺ and Pr³⁺) in the host YPO crystal. We compared multi-level energy transition from a single dressing laser with single level energy transition from double cascade dressing lasers. Gate delay facilitates multi-energy level dressed transition and is modeled through a Hamiltonian. Based on the results of double cascade dressing, we have realized MOSFET for logic gates (inverter and logic not and gate) with a switching contrast of about 92% using a mixed phase of Pr³⁺:YPO₄.

By changing different parameters of single and double lasers, we observed the dressed energy level transition from single to multi-level with a single laser. Each sample responded based on their ions'' structure and phase symmetry in the host YPO crystal.