NobleBlocks

Government Medical College

UniversitySrinagar, India

Research output, citation impact, and the most-cited recent papers from Government Medical College (India). Aggregated across the NobleBlocks index of 300M+ scholarly works.

Total works
5.0K
Citations
83.9K
h-index
97
i10-index
2.0K
Also known as
Government Medical College

Top-cited papers from Government Medical College

Pathophysiology of diabetes: An overview
AgaS Sameer, Mujeeb Zafar Banday, Saniya Nissar
2020· Avicenna Journal of Medicine703doi:10.4103/ajm.ajm_53_20

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic heterogeneous metabolic disorder with complex pathogenesis. It is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels or hyperglycemia, which results from abnormalities in either insulin secretion or insulin action or both. Hyperglycemia manifests in various forms with a varied presentation and results in carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolic dysfunctions. Long-term hyperglycemia often leads to various microvascular and macrovascular diabetic complications, which are mainly responsible for diabetes-associated morbidity and mortality. Hyperglycemia serves as the primary biomarker for the diagnosis of diabetes as well. In this review, we would be focusing on the classification of diabetes and its pathophysiology including that of its various types.

Relationship Between Loneliness, Psychiatric Disorders and Physical Health ? A Review on the Psychological Aspects of Loneliness
Raheel Mushtaq
2014· JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH628doi:10.7860/jcdr/2014/10077.4828

Human beings are social species which require safe and secure social surroundings to survive. Satisfying social relationships are essential for mental and physical well beings. Impaired social relationship can lead to loneliness. Since the time of dawn, loneliness is perceived as a global human phenomenon. Loneliness can lead to various psychiatric disorders like depression, alcohol abuse, child abuse, sleep problems, personality disorders and Alzheimer's disease. It also leads to various physical disorders like diabetes, autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and cardiovascular diseases like coronary heart disease, hypertension (HTN), obesity, physiological aging, cancer, poor hearing and poor health. Left untended, loneliness can have serious consequences for mental and physical health of people. Therefore it is important to intervene at the right time to prevent loneliness, so that physical and mental health of patients is maintained.

Socioeconomic status scales-modified Kuppuswamy and Udai Pareekh's scale updated for 2019
Rabbanie Tariq Wani
2019· Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care437doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_288_19

Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the prime factors influencing the health status of a nation. It is the measure of the social standing of the individual or a family and has a wide impact on an individual/family's health, educational attainment, diet, lifestyle, etc., The per capita income of citizens is a major factor that decides the SES of the population. The affordability and utilization of the health facilities depend on the socioeconomic profile of the population. The periodic changes in the consumer price of goods globally as well as nationally due to inflation warrants that it is mandatory to constantly update the income-based socioeconomic scales so as the assessment is made correctly in practice. We are making an attempt to provide an updated Kuppuswamy and Udai Pareekh's socioeconomic scales for 2019.

Jasmonates: Multifunctional Roles in Stress Tolerance
Parvaiz Ahmad, Saiema Rasool, Alvina Gul, Subzar Ahmad Sheikh +4 more
2016· Frontiers in Plant Science385doi:10.3389/fpls.2016.00813

Jasmonates (JAs) [Jasmonic acid (JA) and methyl jasmonates (MeJAs)] are known to take part in various physiological processes. Exogenous application of JAs so far tested on different plants under abiotic stresses particularly salinity, drought, and temperature (low/high) conditions have proved effective in improving plant stress tolerance. However, its extent of effectiveness entirely depends on the type of plant species tested or its concentration. The effects of introgression or silencing of different JA- and Me-JA-related genes have been summarized in this review, which have shown a substantial role in improving crop yield and quality in different plants under stress or non-stress conditions. Regulation of JAs synthesis is impaired in stressed as well as unstressed plant cells/tissues, which is believed to be associated with a variety of metabolic events including signal transduction. Although, mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are important components of JA signaling and biosynthesis pathways, nitric oxide, ROS, calcium, ABA, ethylene, and salicylic acid are also important mediators of plant growth and development during JA signal transduction and synthesis. The exploration of other signaling molecules can be beneficial to examine the details of underlying molecular mechanisms of JA signal transduction. Much work is to be done in near future to find the proper answers of the questions like action of JA related metabolites, and identification of universal JA receptors etc. Complete signaling pathways involving MAPKs, CDPK, TGA, SIPK, WIPK, and WRKY transcription factors are yet to be investigated to understand the complete mechanism of action of JAs.

Changes in sleep pattern and sleep quality during COVID-19 lockdown
Vijay Krishnan, Ravi Gupta, Sandeep Grover, Aniruddha Basu +4 more
2020· Indian Journal of Psychiatry361doi:10.4103/psychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_523_20

INTRODUCTION: To mitigate the spread of the pandemic coronavirus infection (COVID-19), governments across the world have adopted "lockdowns" which have confined many individuals to their homes. This disrupts normal life routines, elements of which are important circadian cues. The pandemic is also associated with new stressors, altered roles, and uncertainties about health and economic security, which are also likely to affect sleep. The current study is an online survey of sleep experience, routines, physical activity, and symptoms of anxiety and depression, to study the alterations associated with the lockdown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The survey was conducted in early May 2020 using a questionnaire circulated through social media platforms. Questions related to demographic characteristics, current and previous sleep schedules, routine, and working patterns. Insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index - 4), Stress (Perceived Stress Scale - 4), anxiety and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire - 4) and physical activity (International Physical Activities Questionnaire) were assessed using standardized instruments. RESULTS: A total of 958 valid responses were received. Compared to the prelockdown period, there was a shift to a later bedtime and waking time, with a reduction in night-time sleep and an increase in day-time napping. These effects were visible across occupational groups, but mostly affected working individuals except health professionals. Sleep quality deteriorated across groups. Reductions in sleep duration were associated with depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 lockdown is associated with changes in sleep schedule and in the quantity and quality of night-time sleep. Although these changes are associated with elevated rates of emotional symptoms, it is unclear from these cross-sectional results, whether sleep deterioration produces psychological distress, or vice versa.

Machine learning based approaches for detecting COVID-19 using clinical text data
Akib Mohi Ud Din Khanday, Syed Tanzeel Rabani, Qamar Rayees Khan, Nusrat Rouf +1 more
2020· International Journal of Information Technology334doi:10.1007/s41870-020-00495-9

Technology advancements have a rapid effect on every field of life, be it medical field or any other field. Artificial intelligence has shown the promising results in health care through its decision making by analysing the data. COVID-19 has affected more than 100 countries in a matter of no time. People all over the world are vulnerable to its consequences in future. It is imperative to develop a control system that will detect the coronavirus. One of the solution to control the current havoc can be the diagnosis of disease with the help of various AI tools. In this paper, we classified textual clinical reports into four classes by using classical and ensemble machine learning algorithms. Feature engineering was performed using techniques like Term frequency/inverse document frequency (TF/IDF), Bag of words (BOW) and report length. These features were supplied to traditional and ensemble machine learning classifiers. Logistic regression and Multinomial Naïve Bayes showed better results than other ML algorithms by having 96.2% testing accuracy. In future recurrent neural network can be used for better accuracy.

Neurodevelopmental disorders in children aged 2–9 years: Population-based burden estimates across five regions in India
Narendra K. Arora, M. K. C. Nair, Sheffali Gulati, Vaishali Deshmukh +4 more
2018· PLoS Medicine333doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002615

BACKGROUND: Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) compromise the development and attainment of full social and economic potential at individual, family, community, and country levels. Paucity of data on NDDs slows down policy and programmatic action in most developing countries despite perceived high burden. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We assessed 3,964 children (with almost equal number of boys and girls distributed in 2-<6 and 6-9 year age categories) identified from five geographically diverse populations in India using cluster sampling technique (probability proportionate to population size). These were from the North-Central, i.e., Palwal (N = 998; all rural, 16.4% non-Hindu, 25.3% from scheduled caste/tribe [SC-ST] [these are considered underserved communities who are eligible for affirmative action]); North, i.e., Kangra (N = 997; 91.6% rural, 3.7% non-Hindu, 25.3% SC-ST); East, i.e., Dhenkanal (N = 981; 89.8% rural, 1.2% non-Hindu, 38.0% SC-ST); South, i.e., Hyderabad (N = 495; all urban, 25.7% non-Hindu, 27.3% SC-ST) and West, i.e., North Goa (N = 493; 68.0% rural, 11.4% non-Hindu, 18.5% SC-ST). All children were assessed for vision impairment (VI), epilepsy (Epi), neuromotor impairments including cerebral palsy (NMI-CP), hearing impairment (HI), speech and language disorders, autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), and intellectual disability (ID). Furthermore, 6-9-year-old children were also assessed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disorders (LDs). We standardized sample characteristics as per Census of India 2011 to arrive at district level and all-sites-pooled estimates. Site-specific prevalence of any of seven NDDs in 2-<6 year olds ranged from 2.9% (95% CI 1.6-5.5) to 18.7% (95% CI 14.7-23.6), and for any of nine NDDs in the 6-9-year-old children, from 6.5% (95% CI 4.6-9.1) to 18.5% (95% CI 15.3-22.3). Two or more NDDs were present in 0.4% (95% CI 0.1-1.7) to 4.3% (95% CI 2.2-8.2) in the younger age category and 0.7% (95% CI 0.2-2.0) to 5.3% (95% CI 3.3-8.2) in the older age category. All-site-pooled estimates for NDDs were 9.2% (95% CI 7.5-11.2) and 13.6% (95% CI 11.3-16.2) in children of 2-<6 and 6-9 year age categories, respectively, without significant difference according to gender, rural/urban residence, or religion; almost one-fifth of these children had more than one NDD. The pooled estimates for prevalence increased by up to three percentage points when these were adjusted for national rates of stunting or low birth weight (LBW). HI, ID, speech and language disorders, Epi, and LDs were the common NDDs across sites. Upon risk modelling, noninstitutional delivery, history of perinatal asphyxia, neonatal illness, postnatal neurological/brain infections, stunting, LBW/prematurity, and older age category (6-9 year) were significantly associated with NDDs. The study sample was underrepresentative of stunting and LBW and had a 15.6% refusal. These factors could be contributing to underestimation of the true NDD burden in our population. CONCLUSIONS: The study identifies NDDs in children aged 2-9 years as a significant public health burden for India. HI was higher than and ASD prevalence comparable to the published global literature. Most risk factors of NDDs were modifiable and amenable to public health interventions.

Acute mesenteric ischemia: updated guidelines of the World Society of Emergency Surgery
Miklosh Bala, Fausto Catena, Jeffry L. Kashuk, Belinda De Simone +4 more
2022· World Journal of Emergency Surgery309doi:10.1186/s13017-022-00443-x

Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is a group of diseases characterized by an interruption of the blood supply to varying portions of the intestine, leading to ischemia and secondary inflammatory changes. If untreated, this process may progress to life-threatening intestinal necrosis. The incidence is low, estimated at 0.09-0.2% of all acute surgical admissions, but increases with age. Although the entity is an uncommon cause of abdominal pain, diligence is required because if untreated, mortality remains in the range of 50%. Early diagnosis and timely surgical intervention are the cornerstones of modern treatment to reduce the high mortality associated with this entity. The advent of endovascular approaches in parallel with modern imaging techniques is evolving and provides new treatment options. Lastly, a focused multidisciplinary approach based on early diagnosis and individualized treatment is essential. Thus, we believe that updated guidelines from World Society of Emergency Surgery are warranted, in order to provide the most recent and practical recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of AMI.

Jasmonic Acid Modulates the Physio-Biochemical Attributes, Antioxidant Enzyme Activity, and Gene Expression in Glycine max under Nickel Toxicity
Geetika Sirhindi, Mudaser Ahmad Mir, Elsayed Fathi Abd Allah, Parvaiz Ahmad +1 more
2016· Frontiers in Plant Science308doi:10.3389/fpls.2016.00591

In present study, we evaluated the effects of Jasmonic acid (JA) on physio-biochemical attributes, antioxidant enzyme activity, and gene expression in soybean (Glycine max L.) plants subjected to nickel (Ni) stress. Ni stress decreases the shoot and root length and chlorophyll content by 37.23, 38.31, and 39.21%, respectively, over the control. However, application of JA was found to improve the chlorophyll content and length of shoot and root of Ni-fed seedlings. Plants supplemented with JA restores the chlorophyll fluorescence, which was disturbed by Ni stress. The present study demonstrated increase in proline, glycinebetaine, total protein, and total soluble sugar (TSS) by 33.09, 51.26, 22.58, and 49.15%, respectively, under Ni toxicity over the control. Addition of JA to Ni stressed plants further enhanced the above parameters. Ni stress increases hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by 68.49%, lipid peroxidation (MDA) by 50.57% and NADPH oxidase by 50.92% over the control. Supplementation of JA minimizes the accumulation of H2O2, MDA, and NADPH oxidase, which helps in stabilization of biomolecules. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) increases by 40.04, 28.22, 48.53, and 56.79%, respectively, over the control in Ni treated seedlings and further enhancement in the antioxidant activity was observed by the application of JA. Ni treated soybean seedlings showed increase in expression of Fe-SOD by 77.62, CAT by 15.25, POD by 58.33, and APX by 80.58% over the control. Nevertheless, application of JA further enhanced the expression of the above genes in the present study. Our results signified that Ni stress caused negative impacts on soybean seedlings, but, co-application of JA facilitate the seedlings to combat the detrimental effects of Ni through enhanced osmolytes, activity of antioxidant enzymes and gene expression.

Toll‐Like Receptors (TLRs): Structure, Functions, Signaling, and Role of Their Polymorphisms in Colorectal Cancer Susceptibility
Syed Sameer Aga, Saniya Nissar
2021· BioMed Research International300doi:10.1155/2021/1157023

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the important mediators of inflammatory pathways in the gut which play a major role in mediating the immune responses towards a wide variety of pathogen-derived ligands and link adaptive immunity with the innate immunity. Numerous studies in different populations across the continents have reported on the significant roles of TLR gene polymorphisms in modulating the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). CRC is one of the major malignancies affecting the worldwide population and is currently ranking the third most common cancer in the world. In this review, we have attempted to discuss the structure, functions, and signaling of TLRs in comprehensive detail together with the role played by various TLR gene SNPs in CRC susceptibility.

A comprehensive review on gelatin: Understanding impact of the sources, extraction methods, and modifications on potential packaging applications
Jahangir A. Rather, Najmeenah Akhter, Qazi Showkat Ashraf, Shabir Ahmad Mir +4 more
2022· Food Packaging and Shelf Life276doi:10.1016/j.fpsl.2022.100945

Gelatin is one of the most widely used hydrocolloids; mammalian, poultry, and fish wastes are an exciting source for gelatin production. The market size of gelatin will reach 5.0 billion USD by 2025 due to the consumption perspective of gelatin in today's market. The gelatin market is predicted to reach 6.7 billion USD at the end of 2027 with a 9.29 CAGR rate, being a vital constituent of the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and packaging industries owing to its foaming, emulsifying, gelling, and filmogenic properties. In the packaging sector, gelatin-based films and coatings are gaining importance owing to their eco-friendly nature. The gelatin source, amino acid composition, and extraction method play a prominent role in its packaging properties. In order to improve the packaging properties of gelatin further, physical, chemical, enzymatic, and irradiation-based modifications play an significant role. This paper reviews the impact of sources, extraction, and gelatin modifications on improvements of gelatin as packaging material, and provides detailed information on gelatin films/coatings in the shelf-life extension of food products.

Salicylic acid as a peeling agent: a comprehensive review
Tasleem Arif
2015· Clinical Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology273doi:10.2147/ccid.s84765

Salicylic acid has been used to treat various skin disorders for more than 2,000 years. The ability of salicylic acid to exfoliate the stratum corneum makes it a good agent for peeling. In particular, the comedolytic property of salicylic acid makes it a useful peeling agent for patients with acne. Once considered as a keratolytic agent, the role of salicylic acid as a desmolytic agent, because of its ability to disrupt cellular junctions rather than breaking or lysing intercellular keratin filaments, is now recognized and is discussed here. Salicylic acid as a peeling agent has a number of indications, including acne vulgaris, melasma, photodamage, freckles, and lentigines. The efficacy and safety of salicylic acid peeling in Fitzpatrick skin types I-III as well as in skin types V and VI have been well documented in the literature. This paper reviews the available data and literature on salicylic acid as a peeling agent and its possible indications. Its properties, efficacy and safety, the peeling procedure, and possible side effects are discussed in detail. An account of salicylism is also included.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in India
ManojV Murhekar, Tarun Bhatnagar, Sriram Selvaraju, Kiran Rade +4 more
2020· The Indian Journal of Medical Research225doi:10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_3290_20

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Population-based seroepidemiological studies measure the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a country. We report the findings of the first round of a national serosurvey, conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among adult population of India. METHODS: From May 11 to June 4, 2020, a randomly sampled, community-based survey was conducted in 700 villages/wards, selected from the 70 districts of the 21 States of India, categorized into four strata based on the incidence of reported COVID-19 cases. Four hundred adults per district were enrolled from 10 clusters with one adult per household. Serum samples were tested for IgG antibodies using COVID Kavach ELISA kit. All positive serum samples were re-tested using Euroimmun SARS-CoV-2 ELISA. Adjusting for survey design and serial test performance, weighted seroprevalence, number of infections, infection to case ratio (ICR) and infection fatality ratio (IFR) were calculated. Logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with IgG positivity. RESULTS: Total of 30,283 households were visited and 28,000 individuals were enrolled. Population-weighted seroprevalence after adjusting for test performance was 0.73 per cent [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.34-1.13]. Males, living in urban slums and occupation with high risk of exposure to potentially infected persons were associated with seropositivity. A cumulative 6,468,388 adult infections (95% CI: 3,829,029-11,199,423) were estimated in India by the early May. The overall ICR was between 81.6 (95% CI: 48.3-141.4) and 130.1 (95% CI: 77.0-225.2) with May 11 and May 3, 2020 as plausible reference points for reported cases. The IFR in the surveyed districts from high stratum, where death reporting was more robust, was 11.72 (95% CI: 7.21-19.19) to 15.04 (9.26-24.62) per 10,000 adults, using May 24 and June 1, 2020 as plausible reference points for reported deaths. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was low among the adult population in India around the beginning of May 2020. Further national and local serosurveys are recommended to better inform the public health strategy for containment and mitigation of the epidemic in various parts of the country.

Modified Kuppuswamy socioeconomic scale updated for the year 2021
Sheikh Mohd Saleem, Shah Sumaya Jan
2021· Indian Journal of Forensic and Community Medicine221doi:10.18231/j.ijfcm.2021.001

Socioeconomic status (SES) is one among important indicators to evaluate the health status and nutritional status of a family. It is a position attained by any individual within a system of hierarchical social structure. Various attempts have been done in past by eminent scholars and medical scientists to formulate a group of composite indexes to determine SES of an individual or a family living in urban or rural areas. The scales have included various composite indexes to take into account details pertaining to an individual or any family. Among all the available SES, the most widely used and popular scale in our country is “Modified Kuppuswamy SES” which is mostly used for urban areas. In this paper, we have aimed at revising and providing an “Updated Modified Kuppuswamy SES” for the year 2021. The scale was initially developed by Kuppuswamy in the year 1976 including index parameters like education, occupation, and total income which was further modified in later years to include head of families educational status, occupational status and overall aggregate income of the whole family, pooled from all sources. The Kuppuswamy SES has included 3 parameters and each parameter is further classified into subgroups and scores have been allotted to each subgroup which have been defined later in this paper. The total score of Kuppuswamy SES ranges from 3-29 and it classifies families into 5 groups, “upper class, upper middle class, lower middle class, upper lower and lower socio-economic class.” Due to limitations, the Kuppuswamy SES needs regular update for income levels which is based on changing CPI values which makes the scale vulnerable to fluctuations over time.

Vitamin E in dermatology
MohammadAbid Keen, Iffat Hassan
2016· Indian Dermatology Online Journal214doi:10.4103/2229-5178.185494

Vitamin E is an important fat-soluble antioxidant and has been in use for more than 50 years in dermatology. It is an important ingredient in many cosmetic products. It protects the skin from various deleterious effects due to solar radiation by acting as a free-radical scavenger. Experimental studies suggest that vitamin E has antitumorigenic and photoprotective properties. There is a paucity of controlled clinical studies providing a rationale for well-defined dosages and clinical indications of vitamin E usage in dermatological practice. The aim of this article is to review the cosmetic as well as clinical implications of vitamin E in dermatology.

SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in India, August–September, 2020: findings from the second nationwide household serosurvey
Manoj Murhekar, Tarun Bhatnagar, Sriram Selvaraju, V. Saravanakumar +4 more
2021· The Lancet Global Health209doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(20)30544-1

BACKGROUND: The first national severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serosurvey in India, done in May-June, 2020, among adults aged 18 years or older from 21 states, found a SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody seroprevalence of 0·73% (95% CI 0·34-1·13). We aimed to assess the more recent nationwide seroprevalence in the general population in India. METHODS: We did a second household serosurvey among individuals aged 10 years or older in the same 700 villages or wards within 70 districts in India that were included in the first serosurvey. Individuals aged younger than 10 years and households that did not respond at the time of survey were excluded. Participants were interviewed to collect information on sociodemographics, symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, exposure history to laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, and history of COVID-19 illness. 3-5 mL of venous blood was collected from each participant and blood samples were tested using the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay. Seroprevalence was estimated after applying the sampling weights and adjusting for clustering and assay characteristics. We randomly selected one adult serum sample from each household to compare the seroprevalence among adults between the two serosurveys. FINDINGS: Between Aug 18 and Sept 20, 2020, we enrolled and collected serum samples from 29 082 individuals from 15 613 households. The weighted and adjusted seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in individuals aged 10 years or older was 6·6% (95% CI 5·8-7·4). Among 15 084 randomly selected adults (one per household), the weighted and adjusted seroprevalence was 7·1% (6·2-8·2). Seroprevalence was similar across age groups, sexes, and occupations. Seroprevalence was highest in urban slum areas followed by urban non-slum and rural areas. We estimated a cumulative 74·3 million infections in the country by Aug 18, 2020, with 26-32 infections for every reported COVID-19 case. INTERPRETATION: Approximately one in 15 individuals aged 10 years or older in India had SARS-CoV-2 infection by Aug 18, 2020. The adult seroprevalence increased approximately tenfold between May and August, 2020. Lower infection-to-case ratio in August than in May reflects a substantial increase in testing across the country. FUNDING: Indian Council of Medical Research.

Thiamine deficiency disorders: a clinical perspective
Taryn J. Smith, Casey R. Johnson, Roshine Mary Koshy, Sonja Y. Hess +3 more
2020· Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences208doi:10.1111/nyas.14536

Thiamine is an essential water-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in energy metabolism. Thiamine deficiency presents many challenges to clinicians, in part due to the broad clinical spectrum, referred to as thiamine deficiency disorders (TDDs), affecting the metabolic, neurologic, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal systems. Concurrent illnesses and overlapping signs and symptoms with other disorders can further complicate this. As such, TDDs are frequently misdiagnosed and treatment opportunities missed, with fatal consequences or permanent neurologic sequelae. In the absence of specific diagnostic tests, a low threshold of clinical suspicion and early therapeutic thiamine is currently the best approach. Even in severe cases, rapid clinical improvement can occur within hours or days, with neurological involvement possibly requiring higher doses and a longer recovery time. Active research aims to help better identify patients with thiamine-responsive disorders and future research is needed to determine effective dosing regimens for the various clinical presentations of TDDs. Understanding the clinical diagnosis and global burden of thiamine deficiency will help to implement national surveillance and population-level prevention programs, with education to sensitize clinicians to TDDs. With concerted effort, the morbidity and mortality related to thiamine deficiency can be reduced.

Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Elaeagnus angustifolia L. leaf extracts and their multiple in vitro biological applications
Javed Iqbal, Banzeer Ahsan Abbasi, Tabassum Yaseen, Syeda Anber Zahra +4 more
2021· Scientific Reports204doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99839-z

Abstract Due to their versatile applications, ZnONPs have been formulated by several approaches, including green chemistry methods. In the current study, convenient and economically viable ZnONPs were produced using Elaeagnus angustifolia (EA) leaf extracts. The phytochemicals from E. angustifolia L. are believed to serve as a non-toxic source of reducing and stabilizing agents. The physical and chemical properties of ZnONPs were investigated employing varying analytical techniques (UV, XRD, FT-IR, EDX, SEM, TEM, DLS and Raman). Strong UV–Vis absorption at 399 nm was observed for green ZnONPs. TEM, SEM and XRD analyses determined the nanoscale size, morphology and crystalline structure of ZnONPs, respectively. The ZnONPs were substantiated by evaluation using HepG2 (IC 50 : 21.7 µg mL −1 ) and HUH7 (IC 50 : 29.8 µg mL −1 ) cancer cell lines and displayed potential anticancer activities. The MTT cytotoxicity assay was conducted using Leishmania tropica “KWH23” (promastigotes: IC 50 , 24.9 µg mL −1 ; and amastigotes: IC 50 , 32.83 µg mL −1 ). ZnONPs exhibited excellent antimicrobial potencies against five different bacterial and fungal species via the disc-diffusion method, and their MIC values were calculated. ZnONPs were found to be biocompatible using human erythrocytes and macrophages. Free radical scavenging tests revealed excellent antioxidant activities. Enzyme inhibition assays were performed and revealed excellent potential. These findings suggested that EA@ZnONPs have potential applications and could be used as a promising candidate for clinical development.

Hydrogen sulfide alleviates chromium stress on cauliflower by restricting its uptake and enhancing antioxidative system
Rehan Ahmad, Shafaqat Ali, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Dawood +4 more
2019· Physiologia Plantarum187doi:10.1111/ppl.13001

The present study evaluated the physiological and biochemical mechanisms through which exogenous sodium hydrosulfide (H 2 S donor) mitigates chromium (Cr) stress in cauliflower. The different levels of Cr included 0, 10, 100 and 200 µM. Results reported that Cr exposure reduced growth and biomass, chlorophyll (Chl) contents, gas exchange parameters and enzymatic antioxidants. Chromium stress enhanced the production of electrolyte leakage (EL), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents and increased Cr content in the roots, stem, leaf and flowers. Exogenous H 2 S improved the physiological and biochemical attributes of Cr‐stressed cauliflower. Hydrogen sulfide decreased Cr content in different parts of Cr‐stressed plants, whereas it increased the Chl contents and gas exchange attributes. H 2 S reduced the EL, H 2 O 2 and MDA concentrations, enhancing the antioxidant enzymes activities in Cr‐stressed roots and leaves compared to the Cr treatments alone. Collectively, our results provide an insight into the protective role of H 2 S in Cr‐stressed cauliflower and suggest H 2 S as a potential candidate in reducing Cr toxicity in cauliflower and other crops.

Transmission of Hepatitis E Virus in Developing Countries
Mohammad Sultan Khuroo, Mohammad Khuroo, Mehnaaz Khuroo, Mehnaaz Khuroo +1 more
2016· Viruses181doi:10.3390/v8090253

family, has marked heterogeneity. While all five HEV genotypes can cause human infections, genotypes HEV-1 and -2 infect humans alone, genotypes HEV-3 and -4 primarily infect pigs, boars and deer, and genotype HEV-7 primarily infects dromedaries. The global distribution of HEV has distinct epidemiological patterns based on ecology and socioeconomic factors. In resource-poor countries, disease presents as large-scale waterborne epidemics, and few epidemics have spread through person-to-person contact; however, endemic diseases within these countries can potentially spread through person-to-person contact or fecally contaminated water and foods. Vertical transmission of HEV from infected mother to fetus causes high fetal and perinatal mortality. Other means of transmission, such as zoonotic transmission, can fluctuate depending upon the region and strain of the virus. For instance, zoonotic transmission can sometimes play an insignificant role in human infections, such as in India, where human and pig HEV infections are unrelated. However, recently China and Southeast Asia have experienced a zoonotic spread of HEV-4 from pigs to humans and this has become the dominant mode of transmission of hepatitis E in eastern China. Zoonotic HEV infections in humans occur by eating undercooked pig flesh, raw liver, and sausages; through vocational contact; or via pig slurry, which leads to environmental contamination of agricultural products and seafood. Lastly, blood transfusion-associated HEV infections occur in many countries and screening of donors for HEV RNA is currently under serious consideration. To summarize, HEV genotypes 1 and 2 cause epidemic and endemic diseases in resource poor countries, primarily spreading through contaminated drinking water. HEV genotypes 3 and 4 on the other hand, cause autochthonous infections in developed, and many developing countries, by means of a unique zoonotic food-borne transmission.