Understanding and emphasizing the concepts of Swasthavritta to combat Sthaulya w.s.r. to Obesity

Modernization and sedentary lifestyles have led to a rapid rise in metabolic disorders, with obesity, or Sthaulya in Ayurveda, becoming a significant global health concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that obesity affects approximately half a billion people worldwide, making it a public health priority, especially in developing countries like India, where lifestyle disorders are prevalent. Obesity, a multifactorial nutritional metabolic disease, results from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, leading to excessive adipose tissue growth and severe health complications such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers. Current treatments, including pharmacological interventions, often come with side effects, highlighting the need for preventive strategies. Ayurveda, a holistic health science, addresses both the prevention and treatment of obesity through Swasthavritta, which aims to maintain health and treat diseases by restoring homeostasis among the Tridosha, Saptadhatu, Agni, and Mala etc. This review explores the etiopathology of Sthaulya, its symptoms, and preventive measures such as Nidan Parivarjan (avoiding causative factors), Dinacharya (daily regimen), diet, and non-pharmacological methods like exercise and yogic practices. Emphasizing the principles of Swasthavritta, the review suggests that adopting an Ayurvedic lifestyle can significantly reduce the risk of obesity and its associated health issues, providing a comprehensive management protocol through diet, lifestyle modifications, and therapeutic interventions. This paper aims to offer insights into the aetiology, pathogenesis, and effective management strategies for obesity through Ayurveda and Yoga, addressing the global demand for sustainable obesity prevention and treatment methods

Multilocus Phylogenetic Study of the Scheffersomyces Yeast Clade and Characterization of the N-Terminal Region of Xylose Reductase Gene

Many of the known xylose-fermenting (X-F) yeasts are placed in the Scheffersomyces clade, a group of ascomycete yeasts that have been isolated from plant tissues and in association with lignicolous insects. We formally recognize fourteen species in this clade based on a maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetic analysis using a multilocus dataset. This clade is divided into three subclades, each of which exhibits the biochemical ability to ferment cellobiose or xylose. New combinations are made for seven species of Candida in the clade, and three X-F taxa associated with rotted hardwood are described: Scheffersomyces illinoinensis (type strain NRRL Y-48827T  =  CBS 12624), Scheffersomyces quercinus (type strain NRRL Y-48825T  =  CBS 12625), and Scheffersomyces virginianus (type strain NRRL Y-48822T  =  CBS 12626). The new X-F species are distinctive based on their position in the multilocus phylogenetic analysis and biochemical and morphological characters. The molecular characterization of xylose reductase (XR) indicates that the regions surrounding the conserved domain contain mutations that may enhance the performance of the enzyme in X-F yeasts. The phylogenetic reconstruction using XYL1 or RPB1 was identical to the multilocus analysis, and these loci have potential for rapid identification of cryptic species in this clade

Eugene – A Domain Specific Language for Specifying and Constraining Synthetic Biological Parts, Devices, and Systems

BACKGROUND: Synthetic biological systems are currently created by an ad-hoc, iterative process of specification, design, and assembly. These systems would greatly benefit from a more formalized and rigorous specification of the desired system components as well as constraints on their composition. Therefore, the creation of robust and efficient design flows and tools is imperative. We present a human readable language (Eugene) that allows for the specification of synthetic biological designs based on biological parts, as well as provides a very expressive constraint system to drive the automatic creation of composite Parts (Devices) from a collection of individual Parts. RESULTS: We illustrate Eugene's capabilities in three different areas: Device specification, design space exploration, and assembly and simulation integration. These results highlight Eugene's ability to create combinatorial design spaces and prune these spaces for simulation or physical assembly. Eugene creates functional designs quickly and cost-effectively. CONCLUSIONS: Eugene is intended for forward engineering of DNA-based devices, and through its data types and execution semantics, reflects the desired abstraction hierarchy in synthetic biology. Eugene provides a powerful constraint system which can be used to drive the creation of new devices at runtime. It accomplishes all of this while being part of a larger tool chain which includes support for design, simulation, and physical device assembly

Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF): The ‘Kyoto Consensus’-Steps From Asia

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a condition associated with high mortality in the absence of liver transplantation. There have been various definitions proposed worldwide. The first consensus report of the working party of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) set in 2004 on ACLF was published in 2009, and the APASL ACLF Research Consortium (AARC) was formed in 2012. The AARC database has prospectively collected nearly 10,500 cases of ACLF from various countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This database has been instrumental in developing the AARC score and grade of ACLF, the concept of the \u27Golden Therapeutic Window\u27, the \u27transplant window\u27, and plasmapheresis as a treatment modality. Also, the data has been key to identifying pediatric ACLF. The European Association for the Study of Liver-Chronic Liver Failure (EASL CLIF) and the North American Association for the Study of the End Stage Liver Disease (NACSELD) from the West added the concepts of organ failure and infection as precipitants for the development of ACLF and CLIF-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) and NACSELD scores for prognostication. The Chinese Group on the Study of Severe Hepatitis B (COSSH) added COSSH-ACLF criteria to manage hepatitis b virus-ACLF with and without cirrhosis. The literature supports these definitions to be equally effective in their respective cohorts in identifying patients with high mortality. To overcome the differences and to develop a global consensus, APASL took the initiative and invited the global stakeholders, including opinion leaders from Asia, EASL and AASLD, and other researchers in the field of ACLF to identify the key issues and develop an evidence-based consensus document. The consensus document was presented in a hybrid format at the APASL annual meeting in Kyoto in March 2024. The \u27Kyoto APASL Consensus\u27 presented below carries the final recommendations along with the relevant background information and areas requiring future studies

Experiences and Affordances of Voice Interaction on Children

With the world pacing towards artificial intelligence, it is crucial to understand how humans react to these technologies and what their apprehensions are, regarding the use of these technologies. Voice is the most powerful tool for use in human computer interaction because it is the most natural and significant means of human communication. Voice applications based on voice interfaces, voice recognition, and voice dialogue management can help users to be focused on their current work without extra effort for hands or eyes, and without extra learning time. While adults have a fair idea about the technology around them, children are still trying to figure it out. It is important to understand their reactions and opinions regarding the use of these technologies. The research involved talking to children and trying to understand how they express their queries while talking to intelligent assistants as compared to a human. Their conversations change when people, place and settings around them change and while expressing, conversations and actions play an important role in conveying thoughts. It is important to encourage conversation between children by urging them to ask questions about various topics and engage in interesting conversations. Observing and understanding these conversation patterns can help to create a set of guidelines to be followed while designing for experience through conversations between kids and intelligent assistants