Dual PPAR delta/gamma agonist offer therapeutic potential for Alzheimer's disease

The increasing incidence of Alzheimer's disease(AD)in the aging population,indicates the critical need for the development of novel targeted molecular therapies for ameliorating AD pathology.Moreover,clinical and preclinical evidence demonstrates that peroxisomal proliferator activating receptors(PPAR)agonists regulate energy and lipid homeostasis in models of diabetes,as well as improve spatial memory in animal models of AD(Khan et al.,2019).

Assessment of groundwater quality with special emphasis on nitrate contamination in parts of Gautam Budh Nagar district,Uttar Pradesh, India

Progressive developments in industrial and agricultural activities are causing a critical stress on groundwater quality in developing countries.The objective of this paper is to assess and evaluate the contamination level of groundwater caused by leachate in 11 villages of the Gautam Budh Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh,India.We systematically sampled 22 groundwater samples and 13 leachate samples to ascertain the source of pollution on groundwater quality.The standard analytical methods given by the American Public Health Association(APHA)(Standard methods for examination of water and wastewater,23rd edn.APHA,AWWA,WPCF,Washington,2017)were used for quantitative estimation of hydrochemical parameters of collected samples.The results of the analysis of groundwater samples indicate that pH values range from 7.31 to 8.97.The mean magnesium concentration in groundwater samples is 58.93±21.44 mg/L.Out of the groundwater samples taken,approximately 41%and 73%of samples analysis results have been found beyond the acceptable limit with respect to the parameters of turbidity and total dissolved solids,respectively,according to the Bureau of Indian Standards(Indian standard specification for drinking water(IS:10500).BIS,Manak Bhawan,New Delhi,2012)for drinking water.Around 95.4%of groundwater samples and 92.3%of leachate samples have high nitrate concentrations above the standard limit of BIS(45 mg/L),respectively.The Piper plot shows that 50%of the samples belong to the Ca^2+-Mg^2+-HCO3^-type.Ternary and Durov's diagrams indicate that the mean concentrations of ions are in the order of Na^+>Mg^2+>Ca^2+>K^+(for cations)and HCO3^->NO3^->C1^->SO42^->CO32^->F-(for anions)in groundwater of the study area.The spatial variation of the hydrochemical parameters shows that groundwater is heavily contaminated with respect to nitrate.Analytical results indicate that the groundwater of villages Achheja,Bisrakh road,Dujana,Badalpur and Sadopur is not suitable for drinking.

Transport properties of topological insulators films and nanowires

The last several years have witnessed the rapid developments in the study and understanding of topological insulators. In this review, after a brief summary of the history of topological insulators, we focus on the recent progress made in transport experiments on topological insulator films and nanowires. Some quantum phenomena, including the weak antilocalization, the Aharonov-Bobm effect, and the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, observed in these nanostructures are described. In addition, the electronic transport evidence of the superconducting proximity effect as well as an anomalous resistance enhancement in topological insulator/superconductor hybrid structures is included.

Surface Photografting of Novel Sulfobetaine Copolymers on Silica

A couple of novel sulfobetaine copolymer is developed via Michael-type addition reaction. The comonomers, diamines and maleimide react via Michael reaction through UV irradiation using AIBN as photoinitiator producing polyamine chain. Further, sulfobetaine copolymers were obtained on treatment of the polyamine with sulfopropylating agent, 1,3-propane sultone. These novel sulfobetaine polymers were grafted on silica surface to produce responsive biocompatible surface. This easy straightforward, catalyst free facile protocol for synthesis of polymer grafted surface is useful for developing biomedical devices. Additionally, both the copolymers show fluorescence characteristics.

Selective Recognition and Detection of L-Aspartic Acid by Molecularly Imprinted Polymer in Aqueous Solution

Molecularly imprinted polymers selective for L-aspartic acid (LAA) have been prepared using the carboxy-betaine polymer bearing zwitterionic centres along the backbone. LAA is well known to promote good me-tabolism, treat fatigue and depression along with its significance in accurate age estimation in the field of forensic science and is an important constituent of ‘aspartame’, the low calorie sweetener. In order to study the intermolecular interactions in the prepolymerization mixture between the monomer and the template (LAA)/non-template (DAA), a computational approach was developed. It was based on the binding energy of the complex between the template and functional monomer. The results demonstrate that electrostatic in-teractions primarily guide the imprinting protocol. The MIP was able to selectively and specifically take up LAA from aqueous solution, human blood serum and certain pharmaceutical samples quantitatively. Hence, a facile, specific and selective technique to detect the amino acid, LAA in the presence of various interfer-rants, in different kinds of matrices is presented.

Isolation of <i>Campylobacters</i>from Intestinal Tract of Poultry in Northern Region of India

Campylobacter is one of the most common food-borne bacterial enteropathogens. We planned to investigate the prevalence and antibiotic resistogram of Campylobacter in poultry in and around Chandigarh. Poultry samples (n = 127) were obtained from slaughter houses/retail outlets and cultured microaerophilically on Campylobacter media. The isolates were identified phenotypically and by molecular investigation. Identification of specific genes to look for resistance to nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, tetracyclin and streptomycin was also done. Campylobacter was isolated from 57/127 (44.9%) of the samples. The most frequent serotypes identified were B: 2, S: 27, Z5: 52 and Z7: 57. All culture isolates (100%) were reconfirmed as Campylobacter by 16S rRNA polymerase chain reaction. Molecular identification of isolates revealed the presence of C. jejuni in 45 (79.0%), C. coli in 1 (1.8%) and co-infection of C. coli and C. jejuni in 11 (19.3%). No C. lari and C. upsaliensis were detected. Antibiogram typing showed nalidixic acid resistance in 36.8%, ciprofloxacin resistance in 35.0% and 31.5% resistance for both streptomycin and tetracyclin. A high level of Campylobacter prevalence was found among the poultry with C. jejuni being the most commonly isolated species. Resistance to major antibiotics among Campylobacter isolates from poultry was also very high. The study of prevalence of Campylobacter in poultry and its resistance to major antibiotics will help to plan risk burden strategies throughout the food chain.

Low Prevalence of Campylobacteriosis in the Northern Region of India

Campylobacter is one of the most common bacterial enteropathogens of food borne origin in industrialized countries with C. jejuni being the most common species followed by C. coli. The prevalence of Campylobacters in and around Chandigarh, India was studied by phenotypic and genotypic methods. Fecal samples from 1145 diarrheal patients and 102 healthy subjects from hospital and community were cultured on Campylobacter media and identified by Gram stain, biochemical investigations and serotyping. Molecular identification of Campylobacter isolates was done using specific primers to unique regions of 16S rRNA, Campylobacter jejuni (hipO), Campylobacter coli (aspK), Campylobacter lari (glyA) and Campylobacter upsaliensis (lpxA) genes. Identification of specific genes to look for resistance to nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, tetracyclin and streptomycin was also done. Campylobacters were isolated from 2.6% of patients with diarrhea. Campylobacteriosis was more prevalent in children ≤5 years old and during summer season. The most frequent serotypes were S:27, B:2, Z5:52 and V:32. All the Campylobacters isolated by culture were confirmed genotypically by identification of 16S rRNA, hipO and aspK genes. Of the 30 isolates, 27 were C. jejuni and 3 were C. coli. No C. lari or C. upsaliensis were detected. Antibiotic resistance was 40% for nalidixic acid, 23.3% for ciprofloxacin, 50% for tetracyclin and 20% for streptomycin. Campylobacter prevalence is low in the region with C. jejuni being the most common species. A high degree of resistance was found for nalidixic acid and tetracyclin but moderate for ciprofloxacin and streptomycin.

Surveillance for Antibiotic Resistance in <i>Clostridium difficile</i>Strains Isolated from Patients in a Tertiary Care Center

Clostridium difficile is the major etiological agent of nosocomial diarrhea primarily precipitated by antimicrobial therapy. We prospectively investigated the antibiogram profile of C. difficile strains isolated from patients reporting to a tertiary care hospital in North India. Fecal samples obtained from 1110 suspected cases of C. difficile infection were cultured for isolation of C. difficile. Colonies suspected as those of C. difficile were identified by phenotypic and molecular methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility of C. difficile isolates for different classes of antibiotics was determined using the Epsilon test for vancomycin, metronidazole, clindamycin and ciprofloxacin. The fecal samples cultured for C. difficile belonged to 709 (63.9%) males and 401 (36.1%) females. The mean age of the patients was 38.7 years. C. difficile was cultured from 174 (15.7%) of the total samples. Antibiotic resistance was largely observed towards clindamycin (57.5%) and ciprofloxacin (38.5%) but was significantly low towards metronidazole (1.72%) and nil (0%) towards vancomycin. C. difficile isolates had a high degree of resistance towards clindamycin and ciprofloxacin with low level of resistance to metronidazole and none towards vancomycin. Antibiogram surveillance of C. difficile will help for clinical practice and add to the epidemiological data of the organisms.

Broad Ligament Pregnancy:Facing the Battle Unarmed

Broad ligament pregnancy is defined as gestation that grows in the space formed by anterior and posterior peritoneal folds of the broad ligament.We report a case of 30 years old lady admitted to our hospital with the diagnosis of gravida 2,para 1,live birth 1,with 24 weeks of gestation with low lying placenta with anhydramnios.She was taken up for lower segment cesarian section at 28 weeks gestation in view of low lying placenta with chorioamnionitis.The broad ligament pregnancy was diagnosed peroperatively after identifying the anatomical relationship of the pregnancy.Sac was excised and margins secured after extraction of the baby and placenta.Patient had an uneventful postoperative period.Broad ligament pregnancy may be missed in antenatal period but in cases of displaced cervix,early onset unexplained anhydramnios,and failed induction of labor,it may raise high suspicion.Laparotomy/laparoscopic management is the mainstay of management of broad ligament pregnancy.

Transition metal impurities in silicon:computational search for a semiconductor qubit

Semiconductors offer a promising platform for physical implementation of qubits,but their broad adoption is presently hindered by limited scalability and/or very low operating temperatures.Learning from the nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond,our goal is to find equivalent optically active point defect centers in crystalline silicon,which could be advantageous for their scalability and integration with classical devices.Transition metal(TM)impurities in silicon are common paramagnetic deep defects,but a comprehensive theoretical study of the whole 3d series that considers generalized Koopmans’condition is missing.We apply the HSE06(+U)method to examine their potential as optically active spin qubits and identify seven TM impurities that have optically allowed triplet–triplet transitions within the silicon band gap.These results provide the first step toward silicon-based qubits with higher operating temperatures for quantum sensing.Additionally,these point defects could lead to spin-photon interfaces in silicon-based qubits and devices for mid-infrared free-space communications.