Acalypha indica aqueous leaf extract as potential nematicide against the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita: in vitro and molecular docking studies

Root-knot nematode (RKN) (Meloidogyne incognita) is a major plant parasitic nematode that severely damages crops, leading to significant yield losses and substantial economic impact globally. This study aims to investigate an environmentally sustainable biological strategy for mitigating parasitic populations of the root-knot nematode, M. incognita. Specifically, the research focuses on assessing the nematicidal efficacy of Acalypha indica against M. incognita mortality and second-stage juveniles’ (J2) hatching under controlled in vitro conditions. A. indica leaf aqueous extract was applied at varying concentrations (250, 500, 750, and 1000 ppm) to J2s and egg masses of M. incognita. Notably, at 1000 ppm, a significant increase in J2 mortality and hatching inhibition was observed, while 250 ppm concentration showed the least favorable outcome; with mortality rates ranging from 22–82%. Chemical analysis via gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) identified Benzoic acid, Cyclooctasiloxane, and 3-Isopropoxy-1,1,1,7,7,7-hexamethyl-3,5,5-tris (trimethylsiloxy) tetrasiloxane as predominant compounds. The nematicidal activity of A. indica leaf extract was further validated through in silico molecular docking, revealing that benzoic acid, Cyclooctasiloxane, and 3-Isopropoxy-1,1,1,7,7,7-hexamethyl-3,5,5-tris (trimethylsiloxy) tetrasiloxane bind to the ODR 3 protein of M. incognita with binding energies of −15.72, −8.91, and −7.35 kJ/mol, respectively. These findings hold promise for environmentally benign root-knot nematode management, contributing to improved soil health

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Background: Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. // Methods: We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung's disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. // Findings: We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung's disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middle-income countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in low-income countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. // Interpretation: Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Impact of promoter CD14 C&gt;T 159 gene single nucleotide polymorphism and outcome of sepsis

Introduction: A genetic polymorphism has been identified inside the CD14 Promoter sequence. It consists of a C to T transition at base pair -159 from the major transcription site. Subjects carrying the T allele have been shown to have significantly higher soluble CD14 levels than do carriers of the C allele. Consequently, genetic variations in CD14 particularly polymorphism located on the promoter region are thought to have functional effects and increased susceptibility to sepsis.Methods: Our study was a case control study in which a total of 85 samples were included out of which 50 were sepsis free controls and 35 cases of sepsis. Both the cases and controls were selected from Surgical Intensive Care Unit of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar. Age more than 80 years, cardiac failure, liver insufficiency and cancer patients were excluded from the study. 5ml of blood from peripheral vein was obtained from each subject in EDTA containing vials and DNA extraction was done by salting out method.Results: The TT genotype frequency was significantly higher in sepsis than in control (P=0.025) and appeared to be genetic risk factor for increased susceptibility to sepsis. The frequency of mutant T allele observed in cases was 36(51.4%) and 35(35%) in controls. This observation showed a highly statistically significant of rare allele T between cases and controls (P=0.033). Patients with increased Total Leucocytes Count (TLC) were more significantly associated with combined (CT+TT) against CC against those patients with normal TLC (P&lt;0.01). The cases had a higher frequency of the rare allele (CT+TT = 80%) than the controls (64%) and this difference showed statistically insignificant association with CT + TT combination against CC (P=0.11).Conclusion: The present study suggested that CD14-159C&gt;T may be a risk factor for the development of sepsis in Kashmiri Population.Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.15(4) 2016 p.538-545</jats:p

Pd-Catalysed [3 + 2]-cycloaddition towards the generation of bioactive bis-heterocycles/identification of COX-2 inhibitors <i>via in silico</i> analysis

Pd-catalysed [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of VECs and nitrile oxides to access bis-heterocycles was developed. In silico-based studies suggested interaction with COX receptors that may be corroborated biologically in the future.</jats:p

Properties of Carbon Dots versus Small Molecules from “Bottom-up” Synthesis

A major challenge in the “bottom-up” solvothermal synthesis of carbon dots (CDs) is the removal of small-molecule byproducts, noncarbonized polyamides, or other impurities that confound the optical properties. In previously reported benzene diamine-based CDs, the observed fluorescence signal already has been shown to arise from free small molecules, not from nanosized carbonized dots. Here we have unambiguously identified the small-molecule species in the synthesis of CDs starting with several isomers of benzene diamine by directly matching their NMR, mass spectrometry, and optical data with commercially available small organic molecules. By combining dialysis and chromatography, we have sufficiently purified the CD reaction mixtures to measure the CD size by TEM and STM, elemental composition, optical absorption and emission, and single-particle blinking dynamics. The results can be rationalized by electronic structure calculations on small model CDs. Our results conclusively show that the purified benzene diamine-based CDs do not emit red fluorescence, so the quest for full-spectrum fluorescence from isomers of a single precursor molecule remains open