О возможности синтеза ультрадисперсного нитрида алюминия плазмодинамическим методом

This paper presents the results on plasma dynamic synthesis of ultrafine aluminum nitride in system based on coaxial magnetoplasma accelerator. The synthesized product without additional preparation was studied by X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy methods. It was found that the synthesized product has almost 50 mass percent of the necessary phase. The most of particles have hexagonal structure with average sizes equal to 100-150 nm, which were attributed to the phase of hexagonal AlN

Roles of Non-Coding RNAs in Transcriptional Regulation

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are functional RNA molecules that are transcribed from mammalian genome but lack protein coding capacity. Nearly 80% of the human genome constitutes non-coding elements such as small non-coding RNAs, sncRNAs (miRNA, piRNA, SiRNA, SnRNA) and long non-coding RNAs, lncRNAs (linc RNA, NAT, eRNA, circ RNA, ceRNAs, PROMPTS). These ncRNAs have been extensively studied and are known to mediate the regulation of gene expression. In recent decades, lncRNAs have emerged as pivotal molecules that participate in the post-transcriptional regulation by acting as a signal, guide, scaffold and decoy molecules in addition to their role(s) in transcription. ncRNAs are known to play critical roles in defining DNA methylation patterns, imprinting as well as chromatin remodeling, thus having a substantial effect in epigenetic signaling. The expression of lncRNAs is regulated in a tissue specific and developmental stage specific manner and their mis-regulation is often associated with tumorigenesis. Henceforth, this chapter focuses mainly on the role(s) of ncRNAs in transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation and their relevance in cancers

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus co-infection in human immunodeficiency virus infected patients at a tertiary care hospital in South India

Background: About one third of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients are co infected with either hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) as the three viruses have similar routes of transmission that is through transfusion of blood and blood products, sharing of needles to inject drugs and unprotected sexual activity. The survival of HIV infected patients has been markedly improved with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). However several studies showed that the liver diseases caused by HBV or HCV have emerged as one of the leading causes of non AIDS related deaths in HIV patients. The objective of this work was to study the prevalence of HBV & HCV co-infection in HIV infected patients at a Tertiary care centre in South India.Methods: The study group includes 100 HIV seropositive individuals confirmed by three rapid tests as per NACO (National AIDS Control Organization) guidelines in ICTC (Integrated Counseling and Testing Centre), Department of Microbiology, Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. Age and sex matched 100 HIV seronegative individuals were also included in the study as controls. Both the groups were screened for detection of HBV and HCV markers by one rapid test and a solid phase enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (sandwich ELISA).Results: Out of 100 HIV positive patients in the study group 12(12%) were co infected with HBV and 2(2%) were co infected with HCV. Out of 12 HIV and HBV co infected patients 7(58.3%) were females and 5(41.7%) were males. The HIV &HCV co infected patients were both females. Co infection of HBV & HCV with HIV was found to be 0(0%). Co infection was most commonly seen in the age group 31-40 years followed by 21 – 39 years. In the control group out of 100 HIV negative individuals, 1(1%) was infected with HBV infection.Conclusions: The routine screening of HBV and HCV should be mandatory for HIV infected patients, as there is more chance of co infection with these Hepatitis viruses due to enhanced immunodeficiency by HIV and similar routes of transmission. Clear National policies should be established which should include clear economic and health care strategies to improve quality of living conditions, education and easy access to health care facilities.

Isolation and speciation of genus candida in patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy for head and neck tumours

Background: Fungal infections occur as a result of defect in the immune system. The use of wide-spectrum antibiotics, immunosuppressive therapy, HIV and an increasing incidence of diabetes are some of the causes that resulted in raising number of immunocompromised individuals, in the global scenario. Opportunistic fungal infections mainly oral candidiasis is common in patients undergoing chemotherapy (CT) or radiotherapy (RT) for Head & Neck tumors. Objectives: Isolation and speciation of Candida with antifungal susceptibility testing in patients undergoing CT and RT for Head and Neck tumors.Methods: Study group comprised of 100 saliva samples collected by oral rinse method, (50 chemotherapy and 50 radiotherapy) from inpatients of King George hospital, Visakhapatnam and 50 normal healthy individuals were taken as control group. Standard mycological tests for the Candida isolation, speciation and antifungal susceptibility were done.Results: In the study group out of the 100 patients, 38% were culture positive for Candida. The most commonly isolated species was C. albicans (60.5%) followed by non albicans species. Most of the candida species showed sensitivity to nystatin, amphotericin B, itraconazole and Ketoconazole. In control group 9 out of 50 samples (18%) were culture positive and all the isolates were Candida albicans.Conclusion: Increase in frequency of oral candidiasis in patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy was observed. The increase in positivity may be attributed to inadequate nutritional status and poor oral hygiene during chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Culture positivity is more in RT patients than in CT patients. Though C. albicans is the predominant isolate, non albicans species are also emerging. All the Candida species isolated from study group were sensitive to nystatin, amphotericin B, itraconazole and ketoconazole. In the study group all the Candida species were resistant to clotrimazole and fluconazole and in the control group all the C. albicans were sensitive to fluconazole.  

Synthesis of γ-, δ-, and ε-Lactams by Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of N-(tert-Butylsulfinyl)iminoesters

Highly enantiomerically enriched γ- and δ-lactams have been prepared by a simple and very efficient procedure that involves the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of N-(tert-butylsulfinyl)iminoesters followed by desulfinylation of the nitrogen atom and spontaneous cyclization to the desired lactams during the basic workup procedure. Five- and six-membered ring lactams bearing aromatic, heteroaromatic, and aliphatic substituents have been obtained in very high yields and ee’s up to >99%. A slight modification of the procedure also allowed the preparation of ε-lactams in good yields and very high enantioselectivities. Both enantiomers of the final lactams could be prepared with equal efficiency by changing the absolute configuration of the sulfinyl chiral auxiliary

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia mutation reduces endothelial TDP-43 and causes blood-brain barrier defects.

Mutations in the TARDBP gene encoding TDP-43 protein are linked to loss of function in neurons and familial frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We recently identified reduced nuclear TDP-43 in capillary endothelial cells (ECs) of donors with ALS-FTD. Because blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability increases in ALS-FTD, we postulated that reduced nuclear TDP-43 in ECs might contribute. Here, we show that nuclear TDP-43 is reduced in ECs of mice with an ALS-FTD–associated mutation in TDP-43 (TardbpG348C) and that this leads to cell-autonomous loss of junctional complexes and BBB integrity. Targeted excision of TDP-43 in brain ECs recapitulates BBB defects and loss of junctional complexes and ultimately leads to fibrin deposition, gliosis, phospho-Tau accumulation, and impaired memory and social interaction. Transcriptional changes in TDP-43–deficient ECs resemble diseased brain ECs. These data show that nuclear loss of TDP-43 in brain ECs disrupts the BBB and causes hallmarks of FTD