The disease burden of axial spondyloarthritis: through a gendered lens

Clinical Rheumatology - Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) affects patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Prior studies have documented gender differences in axSpA across the disease...     

A common tattoo chemical for energy storage: henna plant-derived naphthoquinone dimer as a green and sustainable cathode material for Li-ion batteries

The burgeoning energy demands of an increasingly eco-conscious population have spurred the need for sustainable energy storage devices, and have called into question the viability of the popular lithium ion battery. A series of natural polyaromatic compounds have previously displayed the capability to bind lithium via polar oxygen-containing functional groups that act as redox centers in potential electrodes. Lawsone, a widely renowned dye molecule extracted from the henna leaf, can be dimerized to bislawsone to yield up to six carbonyl/hydroxyl groups for potential lithium coordination. The facile one-step dimerization and subsequent chemical lithiation of bislawsone minimizes synthetic steps and toxic reagents compared to existing systems. We therefore report lithiated bislawsone as a candidate to advance non-toxic and recyclable green battery materials. Bislawsone based electrodes displayed a specific capacity of up to 130 mA h g⁻¹ at 20 mA g⁻¹ currents, and voltage plateaus at 2.1–2.5 V, which are comparable to modern Li-ion battery cathodes.

The burgeoning energy demands of an increasingly eco-conscious population have spurred the need for sustainable energy storage devices, and have called into question the viability of the popular lithium ion battery.     

Selenium reducing Citrobacter fruendii strain KP6 from Mandovi estuary and its potential application in selenium nanoparticle synthesis

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences - The present study foregrounds the isolation of selenium tolerant bacteria from Mandovi estuary of Goa, India,...     

Long-lasting partnership between insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction: role of metabolic memory

Background and Purpose

The persistence of deleterious effects of hyperglycaemia even after glucose normalization is referred to as ‘metabolic memory’. However, similar persistent effects of the metabolic consequences of a high fat diet (HFD) have not been described.

Experimental Approach

Rats were given a normal pellet diet (NPD) or a HFD for 3 months. The animals from the HFD group were then returned to the NPD to observe the long-term effects of insulin resistance. Endothelial dysfunction was assessed by carbachol-mediated vasorelaxation and eNOS phosphorylation.

Key Results

As expected, HFD consumption resulted in insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction. Phosphorylation of eNOS at S1177 was decreased in HFD rats, compared with that in the NPD group. Rats on 3 months of HFD showed glucose intolerance and impaired insulin sensitivity and were then switched back to NPD (REV group). Levels of cholesterol and triglyceride, and adiposity returned to normal in REV rats. However, endothelium-dependent vascular responses to carbachol which were impaired in HFD rats, continued to be impaired in REV rats. Similarly, decreased eNOS phosphorylation after HFD was not improved after 1 or 6 months of REV.

Conclusions and Implications

Our data indicate that returning to NPD did not improve the insulin sensitivity or the endothelial dysfunction induced by HFD. Although some biochemical parameters responsible for insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction were normalized, molecular and vascular abnormalities, involving NO, persisted for several months, highlighting the long-lasting effects of metabolic memory.     

Haploidentical Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Leukemia’s: Experience from a Cancer Center in India

There has been a surge in haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in India recently. However, there is a paucity of data on haploidentical HSCT from India. The report is an analysis of data of haploidentical HSCT performed at our center. Analysis of patients with acute leukemia or chronic myeloid leukemia who underwent haploidentical HSCT during 2014–2019 was performed. The graft versus host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis was post-transplant Cyclophosphamide with Mycophenolate-mofetil and Cyclosporine. All patients were transfused peripheral blood stem cells from donors. Overall survival (OS) was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Twenty-one patients underwent haploidentical HSCT. Fourteen-patients were males. The median age of patients was 15 years. Fludarabine with total body irradiation was the most common conditioning regimen (n = 15, 71.4%). The median duration for neutrophil and platelet engraftment was 14 days. Cumulative incidence of acute and chronic GVHD was 19%, and 38% respectively. The median follow-up was 26 months and the two-year OS was 38%. Twelve (57%) patients died during the study period, 8 patients (38%) died from transplant-related mortality (TRM), and 4 from disease relapse. Sepsis was the cause of death in six of the eight TRM. Nine out of 21 patients (42.8%) are leukemia-free on follow-up. Haploidentical HSCT is a promising modality of treatment in patients who have no suitable matched donors. Though the TRM remains high, good disease control was achieved in 42.8% of patients. Multi-drug resistant bacterial infection remains a challenge in performing haploidentical HSCT in developing countries.     

Abnormal haemoglobins and hereditary ovalocytosis in the Ulu Jempul District of Kuala Pilah, West Malaysia.

A survey of abnormal haemoglobins and hereditary ovalocytosis was carried out among 629 Malays of Minangkabau descent in the Ulu Jempul District of Kuala Pilah, in the state of Negri Sembilan in West Malaysia.. Several abnormal haemoglobins were found with the following frequencies: Hb E 5.25%, Hb CoSp 2.38%, Hb A2 indonesia 0.80%, a fast moving Hb with a Mobility between A and Bart's 0.64% and Hb Q 0.16%. Hereditary ovalocytosis was found in 13.2% of these people. None of the persons with hereditary ovalocytosis had any evidence of haemolysis.     

Detection of dimeric inhibin throughout the human menstrual cycle by two-site enzyme immunoassay

OBJECTIVE We have developed and validated a two-site immunoassay for the measurement of dimeric inhibin in plasma and subsequently measured dimeric inhibin levels in plasma through the normal female menstrual cycle. DESIGN Recombinant inhibin added to plasma samples was quantitatively recovered in both follicular and luteal phase, and serial dilutions of samples were tested for parallelism to similar dilutions of recombinant 32kDa inhibin. Daily samples were assayed from four women through a menstrual cycle. PATIENTS (a) Four groups of six women who (i) were in the follicular phase of a normal menstrual cycle, (ii) were in the luteal phase of a normal menstrual cycle, (iii) were post-menopausal and (iV) who had received hMG to induce superovulation. (b) Four healthy female volunteers aged 25–33. RESULTS Post-menopausal women had less than 2ng/l of inhibin whereas six women treated with hMG had dimeric inhibin concentrations up to 1125ng/l. During the early follicular phase, at the time of onset of menstruation, extremely low levels of dimeric inhibin were found (3-4ng/l (CI 2.2-5.0)) while in the late follicular phase, there was a marked increase in dimeric inhibin concentration. The concentration of dimeric inhibin was maximal (65.6 ng/l (CI 53.1-81,1)) in the mid-luteal phase. The overall pattern of dimeric inhibin concentration during the menstrual cycle was similar to that observed with previous inhibin assays although the magnitude of change was considerably greater. CONCLUSION The human ovary, In particular the corpus luteum, secretes significant amounts of dimeric and therefore biologically active inhibin.     

Peripheral virus-specific T-cell interleukin-10 responses develop early in acute hepatitis C infection and become dominant in chronic hepatitis

BACKGROUND /AIMS: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) has been ascribed pro-viral but anti-fibrotic properties in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In this study, we examined the role of HCV-specific T-cell IL-10 response in patients with acute and chronic HCV infection. METHODS: Peripheral HCV-specific T-cell IL-10 and IFNgamma responses were measured in cytokine Elispot assay using overlapping HCV-derived peptides in patients with chronic (n=61), resolved (n=15) and acute (n=8) hepatitis C, looking for their onset, quantity, breadth and durability relative to clinical and virological outcomes. The source and effect of HCV-specific IL-10 response were determined in depletion and IL-10 neutralization experiments. RESULTS: Both HCV-specific IL-10 and IFNgamma responses were detected early within 1-2 months of acute clinical hepatitis C. However, only HCV-specific IL-10 response correlated with elevated liver enzymes, increased viremia and suppressed HCV-specific CD4(+) T-cell proliferation in acute infection. While these associations were lost in established chronic infection, HCV-specific IL-10 responses were increased in patients without cirrhosis while IL-10 blockade enhanced antiviral effector IFNgamma responses. CONCLUSIONS: HCV-specific IL-10 Tr1 responses may play a dual role in HCV infection, dampening effector T-cells to promote viral persistence in acute infection but also protecting against progressive fibrosis in chronic infection.     

A modified olanzapine-based anti-emetic regimen for the control of nausea and vomiting in patients receiving weekly cisplatin

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy - Background There is limited data on specific antiemetic protocols for control of chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting (CINV) caused by weekly cisplatin...