Observation of the effect of gravity on the motion of antimatter

Einstein's general theory of relativity from 19151 remains the most successful description of gravitation. From the 1919 solar eclipse2 to the observation of gravitational waves3, the theory has passed many crucial experimental tests. However, the evolving concepts of dark matter and dark energy illustrate that there is much to be learned about the gravitating content of the universe. Singularities in the general theory of relativity and the lack of a quantum theory of gravity suggest that our picture is incomplete. It is thus prudent to explore gravity in exotic physical systems. Antimatter was unknown to Einstein in 1915. Dirac's theory4 appeared in 1928; the positron was observed5 in 1932. There has since been much speculation about gravity and antimatter. The theoretical consensus is that any laboratory mass must be attracted6 by the Earth, although some authors have considered the cosmological consequences if antimatter should be repelled by matter7-10. In the general theory of relativity, the weak equivalence principle (WEP) requires that all masses react identically to gravity, independent of their internal structure. Here we show that antihydrogen atoms, released from magnetic confinement in the ALPHA-g apparatus, behave in a way consistent with gravitational attraction to the Earth. Repulsive 'antigravity' is ruled out in this case. This experiment paves the way for precision studies of the magnitude of the gravitational acceleration between anti-atoms and the Earth to test the WEP.

Erratum: Global Polarization of Ξ and Ω Hyperons in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 162301 (2021)]

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.162301.

Measurements of the Elliptic and Triangular Azimuthal Anisotropies in Central ^{3}He+Au, d+Au and p+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

The elliptic (v_{2}) and triangular (v_{3}) azimuthal anisotropy coefficients in central ^{3}He+Au, d+Au, and p+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV are measured as a function of transverse momentum (p_{T}) at midrapidity (|η|<0.9), via the azimuthal angular correlation between two particles both at |η|<0.9. While the v_{2}(p_{T}) values depend on the colliding systems, the v_{3}(p_{T}) values are system independent within the uncertainties, suggesting an influence on eccentricity from subnucleonic fluctuations in these small-sized systems. These results also provide stringent constraints for the hydrodynamic modeling of these systems.

An Atomic Level Investigation of Sodium Ions Regulating Agonist and Antagonist Binding in the Active Site of a Novel Target 5HT2BR Against Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

The study investigates the movement of sodium ions inside the ligand-binding pocket of the class-A GPCR serotonin receptor (5HT_2BR), a primary target for modern drugs. The available PDBs are mutant chimeras, so a 3D structure is modeled and validated by structural similarity (84.05%), Ramachandran favorable residues (93.01%), and clash score. Using MD simulations (500 ns), the ion active site is tracked in the presence and absence of ions and ligands. The ions enter the active site along helices III, VI, and VII, and the primary residue (ASP^3.32) interacts with ions via H-bond (stronger- ~2.4 Å). The radial distribution function around ASP^3.32 rises promptly at intermediate distances (2 Å < r < 4 Å), suggesting a higher probability of finding sodium ions at these distances. The ions stabilize the receptor at a better RMSD and promote stronger interactions (3-H-bonds, 1-π-bond~3.35 Å) with the agonist, and not the antagonist (no H-bond). Simulating unrestrained ligands further confirms this pattern, suggesting that ions might promote agonist binding but not be a prerequisite for antagonist action. The study highlights the mechanistic evaluation of sodium ions mobility in 5HT_2BR modulation and ligand binding, showing potential in drug development.

Natural activators of AMPK signaling: potential role in the management of type-2 diabetes

Adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine kinase involved in the homeostasis of cellular energy. AMPK has developed as an appealing clinical target for the diagnosis of multiple metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, inflammation, and cancer. Genetic and pharmacological studies indicate that AMPK is needed in response to glucose deficiency, dietary restriction, and increased physical activity for preserving glucose homeostasis. After activation, AMPK influences metabolic mechanisms contributing to enhanced ATP production, thus growing processes that absorb ATP simultaneously. In this review, several natural products have been discussed which enhance the sensitivity of AMPK and alleviate sub complications or different pathways by which such AMPK triggers can be addressed. AMPK Natural products as potential AMPK activators can be developed as alternate pharmacological intervention to reverse metabolic disorders including type 2 diabetes.

Entrapment of subscapular artery by the splitting of radial nerve- putative clinical implications

The third part of the axillary artery has an intimate relationship with the cords of the brachial plexus. The subscapular artery, the largest branch of the axillary artery, arises from its third part. The radial nerve is a branch of the posterior cord of the brachial plexus and its supplies the extensors of the arm, forearm and dorsum of the hand. During routine undergraduate dissection of the axilla of a formalin-fixed cadaver of about 70 years, the subscapular artery was found sandwiched between two divisions of the radial nerve. These anterior and posterior divisions of the radial nerve arose immediately after the formation of the radial nerve and encircled the subscapular artery and fused to form a single nerve subsequently. This variant anatomy can lead to conditions like subscapular entrapment causing ischemia of the scapular region and radial nerve compression causing weakness of the extensors of the upper limb. Injury to the nerve and vessel can occur while performing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in the area. Knowledge of these variations provides a precautious approach by surgeons and other interventionists while working on this area.

Designing the 5HT2BR structure and its modulation as a therapeutic target for repurposing approach in drug-resistant epilepsy

The study intends to repurpose FDA drugs and investigate the mechanism of (5HT_2BR) activation by comprehending inter-residue interactions. The 5HT_2BR is a novel thread, and its role in reducing seizures in Dravet syndrome is emerging. The crystal structure (5HT_2BR) is a chimera with mutations; hence 3D-structure is modeled (4IB4: 5HT_2BR_M). The structure is cross-validated to simulate the human receptor using enrichment analysis (ROC: 0.79) and SAVESv6.0. Virtual screening of 2456 approved drugs yielded the best hits that are subjected to MM/GBSA and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. The 2 top drugs Cabergoline (-53.44 kcal/mol) and Methylergonovine (-40.42 kcal/mol), display strong binding affinity, and ADMET/SAR analysis also suggests their non-mutagenic or non-carcinogenic nature. Methylergonovine has a weaker binding affinity and lower potency than standards [Ergotamine (agonist) and Methysergide (antagonist)] due to its higher K_i (1.32 M) and K_d (6.44 ×10^-8 M) values. Compared to standards, Cabergoline has moderate binding affinity and potency [K_i = 0.85 M and K_d = 5.53 × 10-8 M]. The top 2 drugs primarily interact with conserved residues (ASP135, LEU209, GLY221, ALA225, and THR140) as in agonists, unlike the antagonist. The top 2 drugs, upon binding to the 5HT_2BR_M, modify the helices VI, V, and III and shift the RMSD 2.48 Å and 3.07 Å. LEU209 forms a latch with residues 207-214 (forms a lid) in the 5HT_2BR_M receptor, which enhances agonist binding and prevents drug escape. Methylergonovine and Cabergoline interact more stongly with ALA225 than the antagonist. The post-MD analysis of Cabergoline suggests a better MM/GBSA value (-89.21 kcal/mol) than Methylergonovine (-63.54 kcal/mol). In this study, Cabergoline and Methylergonovine's agonistic mechanism and solid binding properties suggest their strong role in regulating the 5HT_2BR and might target drug-resistant epilepsy.

Observation of Directed Flow of Hypernuclei _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H in sqrt[s_{NN}]=3 GeV Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

We report here the first observation of directed flow (v_{1}) of the hypernuclei _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H in mid-central Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3  GeV at RHIC. These data are taken as part of the beam energy scan program carried out by the STAR experiment. From 165×10^{6} events in 5%-40% centrality, about 8400 _{Λ}^{3}H and 5200 _{Λ}^{4}H candidates are reconstructed through two- and three-body decay channels. We observe that these hypernuclei exhibit significant directed flow. Comparing to that of light nuclei, it is found that the midrapidity v_{1} slopes of _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H follow baryon number scaling, implying that the coalescence is the dominant mechanism for these hypernuclei production in the 3 GeV Au+Au collisions.

Beam Energy Dependence of Triton Production and Yield Ratio (N_{t}×N_{p}/N_{d}^{2}) in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

We report the triton (t) production in midrapidity (|y|<0.5) Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=7.7-200  GeV measured by the STAR experiment from the first phase of the beam energy scan at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The nuclear compound yield ratio (N_{t}×N_{p}/N_{d}^{2}), which is predicted to be sensitive to the fluctuation of local neutron density, is observed to decrease monotonically with increasing charged-particle multiplicity (dN_{ch}/dη) and follows a scaling behavior. The dN_{ch}/dη dependence of the yield ratio is compared to calculations from coalescence and thermal models. Enhancements in the yield ratios relative to the coalescence baseline are observed in the 0%-10% most central collisions at 19.6 and 27 GeV, with a significance of 2.3σ and 3.4σ, respectively, giving a combined significance of 4.1σ. The enhancements are not observed in peripheral collisions or model calculations without critical fluctuation, and decreases with a smaller p_{T} acceptance. The physics implications of these results on the QCD phase structure and the production mechanism of light nuclei in heavy-ion collisions are discussed.

De novo transcriptome analysis and identification of defensive genes in garlic (Allium sativum L.) using high-throughput sequencing

BACKGROUND

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is the second most widely cultivated Allium which is mainly grown in temperate regions and used as a flavoring agent in a wide variety of foods. Garlic contains various bioactive compounds whose metabolic pathways, plant-pathogen interactions, defensive genes, identify interaction networks, and functional genomics were not previously predicted in the garlic at the genomic level. To address this issue, we constructed two garlic Illumina 2000 libraries from tissues of garlic clove and leaf.

RESULTS

Approximately 43 million 125 bp paired-end reads were obtained in the two libraries. A total of 239,973 contigs were generated by de novo assembly of both samples and were compared with the sequences in the NCBI non-redundant protein database (Nr). In total, 42% of contigs were matched to known proteins in public databases including Nr, Gene Ontology (GO), and Cluster Orthologous Gene Database (COG), and then, contigs were mapped to 138 via functional annotation against the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway database (KEGG). In addition, a number of regulatory genes including the CCHC (Zn) family, followed by WD40, bromodomain, bZIP, AP2-EREBP, BED-type (Zn) proteins, and defense response proteins related to different conserved domains, such as RGA3, NBS-LRR, TIR-NBS-LRR, LRR, NBS-ARC, and CC-NBS-LRR were discovered based on the transcriptome dataset. We compared the ortholog gene family of the A. sativum transcriptome to A. thaliana, O. sativa, and Z. mays and found that 12,077 orthologous gene families are specific to A. sativum L. Furthermore, we identified genes involved in plant defense mechanisms, their protein-protein interaction network, and plant-pathogen interaction pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study contains an extensive sequencing and functional gene-annotation analysis of A. sativum L. The findings provide insights into the molecular basis of TFs, defensive genes, and a reference for future studies on the genetics and breeding of A. sativum L.

Effect of isolation protocols and cryoprotectants on freezing of stallion epididymal spermatozoa

BACKGROUND

The recovery of spermatozoa from the cauda epididymis may be the only option to obtain genetic material from elite stallions that had undergone castration or sudden death due to colic or severe injury.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate two different protocols for retrieval of stallion epididymal spermatozoa and to evaluate different cryoprotectants on the freezability of the epididymal spermatozoa.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Six epididymides from three stallions were collected immediately after routine castration under general anesthesia. In the first experiment, each epididymis (of two testes) of the same stallion were processed using different methods for retrieval of the epididymal spermatozoa and were pooled and cryopreserved either using 5% glycerol or 5% dimethyl formamide (DMF) as cryoprotectant. The semen quality parameters viz., progressive motility, HOST, viability and acrosome integrity were evaluated at the fresh, pre-freeze and post-thaw stages.

RESULTS

Retrograde method of flushing of epididymis yielded significantly (p < 0.05) higher concentration of the stallion sperm than that of the floating method. The qualitative semen parameters i.e., viability, plasma membrane integrity and acrosome integrity were found to be significantly restored using 5% DMF as cryoprotectant in comparison to when 5% glycerol was used.

CONCLUSION

Retrograde flushing method of epididymis yielded significantly higher sperm concentration to that of the floating method, and 5% DMF as cryoprotectant provided acceptable freezability of stallion epididymal spermatozoa. DOI: 10.54680/fr23310110312.

A review of 100 iatrogenic nerve injuries: delays in referrals remain significant

INTRODUCTION

This is a retrospective study of 100 consecutive patients with iatrogenic nerve injuries, as seen in a tertiary referral centre over a six-year period.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients who presented with new-onset nerve palsy involving a motor or mixed motor/sensory nerve following an operation were studied.

RESULTS

There were 44 male and 56 female patients with a mean age of 53 years (range 5-87 years). The median duration from the index procedures to referral was six months (range 0 days to 12 years). Approximately one third of referrals were made over 12 months since the index procedures. Twenty patients recovered spontaneously and were managed expectantly. Eighty patients underwent secondary interventions.

DISCUSSION

There remains a significant delay in referring postoperative nerve palsy to a nerve specialist. The majority of these cases will warrant secondary reconstructive surgery and delay in treatment may have a negative effect on the ultimate outcomes.

Dual functionality of pyrimidine and flavone in targeting genomic variants of EGFR and ER receptors to influence the differential survival rates in breast cancer patients

Breast cancer ranks as one of the most prevalent forms of cancer and stands as the primary global cause of mortality among women. Overexpression of EGFR and ER receptors or their genomic alterations leads to malignant transformation, disease aggression and is linked to poor patient survival outcomes. The clinical breast cancer patient's genomic expression, survival analysis, and computational drug-targeting approaches were used to identify best-hit phytochemicals for therapeutic purposes. Breast cancer patients have genomic alterations in EGFR (4%, n = 5699) and ER (9%, n = 8461), with the highest proportion being missense mutations. No statistically significant difference was observed in the patient survival rates between the altered and unaltered ER groups, unlike EGFR, with the lowest survival rates in the altered group. Computational screening of natural compound libraries (7711) against each EGFR (3POZ) and ER (3ERT) receptor shortlists the best-hit 3 compounds with minimum docking score (ΔG = -7.9 to -10.8), MMGBSA (-40.16 to -51.91 kcal/mol), strong intermolecular H-bonding, drug-like properties with least kd, and ki. MD simulation studies display stable RMSD, RMSF, and good residual correlation of best-hit common compounds (PubChem ID: 5281672 and 5280863) targeting both EGFR and ER receptors. In vitro, studies revealed that these common drugs exhibited a high anti-proliferative effect on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, with effective IC50 values (15-40 μM) and lower free energy, kd, and ki (5281672 > 5280863 > 5330286) much affecting HEK-293 non-cancerous cells, indicating the safety profile. The experimental and computational correlation studies suggest that the highly expressed EGFR and ER receptors in breast cancer patients having poor survival rates can be effectively targeted with best-hit common potent drugs with a multi-target therapeutic approach. Insight Box: The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the genomic/proteomic data, breast cancer patient's survival analysis, and EGFR and ER receptor variants structural analysis. The genetic alterations analysis of EGFR and ER/ESR1 in breast cancer patients reveals the high frequency of mutation types, which affect patient's survival rate and targeted therapies. The common best-hit compounds affect the cell survival patterns with effective IC50, drug-like properties having lower equilibrium and dissociation constants demonstrating the anti-proliferative effects. This work integrates altered receptor structural analysis, molecular interaction-based simulations, and ADMET properties to illuminate the identified best hits phytochemicals potential efficacy targeting both EGFR and ER receptors, demonstrating a multi-target therapeutic approach.

Longitudinal and transverse modes of temperature-modulated inclined layer convection

A parametric instability of an incompressible, viscous, and Boussinesq fluid layer bounded between two parallel planes is investigated numerically. The layer is assumed to be inclined at an angle with the horizontal. The planes bounding the layer are subjected to a time-periodic heating. Above a threshold value, the temperature gradient across the layer leads to an instability of an initially quiescent state or a parallel flow, depending upon the angle of inclination. Floquet analysis of the underlying system reveals that under modulation, the instability sets in as a convective-roll pattern executing harmonic or subharmonic temporal oscillations, depending upon the modulation, the angle of inclination, and the Prandtl number of the fluid. Under modulation, the onset of the instability is in the form of one of two spatial modes: the longitudinal mode and the transverse mode. The value of the angle of inclination for the codimension-2 point is found to be a function of the amplitude and the frequency of modulation. Furthermore, the temporal response is harmonic, or subharmonic, or bicritical depending upon the modulation. The temperature modulation offers good control of time-periodic heat and mass transfer in the inclined layer convection.

Measurement of Sequential ϒ Suppression in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV with the STAR Experiment

We report on measurements of sequential ϒ suppression in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) through both the dielectron and dimuon decay channels. In the 0%-60% centrality class, the nuclear modification factors (R_{AA}), which quantify the level of yield suppression in heavy-ion collisions compared to p+p collisions, for ϒ(1S) and ϒ(2S) are 0.40±0.03(stat)±0.03(sys)±0.09(norm) and 0.26±0.08(stat)±0.02(sys)±0.06(norm), respectively, while the upper limit of the ϒ(3S) R_{AA} is 0.17 at a 95% confidence level. This provides experimental evidence that the ϒ(3S) is significantly more suppressed than the ϒ(1S) at RHIC. The level of suppression for ϒ(1S) is comparable to that observed at the much higher collision energy at the Large Hadron Collider. These results point to the creation of a medium at RHIC whose temperature is sufficiently high to strongly suppress excited ϒ states.

Beam Energy Dependence of Fifth- and Sixth-Order Net-Proton Number Fluctuations in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

We report the beam energy and collision centrality dependence of fifth and sixth order cumulants (C_{5}, C_{6}) and factorial cumulants (κ_{5}, κ_{6}) of net-proton and proton number distributions, from center-of-mass energy (sqrt[s_{NN}]) 3 GeV to 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. Cumulant ratios of net-proton (taken as proxy for net-baryon) distributions generally follow the hierarchy expected from QCD thermodynamics, except for the case of collisions at 3 GeV. The measured values of C_{6}/C_{2} for 0%-40% centrality collisions show progressively negative trend with decreasing energy, while it is positive for the lowest energy studied. These observed negative signs are consistent with QCD calculations (for baryon chemical potential, μ_{B}≤110  MeV) which contains the crossover transition range. In addition, for energies above 7.7 GeV, the measured proton κ_{n}, within uncertainties, does not support the two-component (Poisson+binomial) shape of proton number distributions that would be expected from a first-order phase transition. Taken in combination, the hyperorder proton number fluctuations suggest that the structure of QCD matter at high baryon density, μ_{B}∼750  MeV at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3  GeV is starkly different from those at vanishing μ_{B}∼24  MeV at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV and higher collision energies.

Ambient Hydrocarbon Detection with an Ultra-Low-Loss Cavity Raman Analyzer

The detection of ambient outdoor trace hydrocarbons was investigated with a multipass Raman analyzer. It relies on a multimode blue laser diode receiving optical feedback from a retroreflecting multipass optical cavity, effectively creating an external cavity diode laser within which spontaneous Raman scattering enhancement occurs. When implemented with ultra-low-loss mirrors, a more than 20-fold increase in signal-to-background ratio was obtained, enabling proximity detection of trace motor vehicle exhaust gases such as H₂, CO, NO, CH₄, C₂H₂, C₂H₄, and C₂H₆. In a 10-min-long measurement at double atmospheric pressure, the limits of detection obtained were near or below 100 ppb for most analytes.

Allosteric modulation of conserved motifs and helices in 5HT2BR: Advances drug discovery and therapeutic approach towards drug resistant epilepsy

The 5HT2BR, class-A GPCR is a new target, and its significance for seizure reduction in Dravet syndrome is just now gaining interest, suggesting its specific role in epileptic seizure management. Homology modeling of human 5HT2BR (P41595), was performed using a template 4IB4, the modeled structure was cross-validated (stereo chemical hindrance, Ramachandran plot, enrichment analysis) to mimic a closer native structure. Virtual screening (8532 compounds), drug-likeliness, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity profiling prioritized six compounds for molecular dynamics (500 ns), Rgyr, DCCM. The receptor's C-alpha fluctuation upon bound agonist (6.91 Å), known antagonist (7.03 Å), and LAS 52115629 (5.83 Å) binding varies, leading to receptor stabilization. The residues C-alpha side-chain in active site strongly interacts (hydrogen bonds) with bound agonist (100% interaction: ASP135), known antagonist (95%:ASP135), and LAS 52115629 (100%:ASP135). The Rgyr for receptor-ligand complex, LAS 52115629 (25.68 Å), lies close to bound agonist-Ergotamine, and DCCM analysis also shows strong positive correlations for LAS 52115629 as compared to known drugs. LAS 52115629 is less likely to cause toxicity than known drugs. The structural parameters in the modeled receptor's conserved motifs (DRY, PIF, NPY) were altered for receptor activation upon ligand-binding, which otherwise was in the in-activated state. The ligand (LAS 52115629)-binding further alters the helices-III, V, VI (G-protein bound), and VII, which form potential interacting sites with the receptor and are proven necessary for activating the receptor. Therefore, LAS 52115629 can act as a potential 5HT2BR agonist, targeting drug-resistant epilepsy.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Is Ultrasound-guided Bedside Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage Safe and Feasible in Critically Ill Patients with Severe Cholangitis? A Preliminary Single-center Experience

Background and aim

Severe cholangitis secondary to biliary obstruction carries high mortality unless biliary drainage is performed urgently. Owing to various patient-related and logistical issues, bedside biliary drainage is considered a salvage therapeutic option. This study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ultrasonography (USG)-guided biliary drainage at the bedside in patients with severe cholangitis admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Materials and methods

A total of 20 patients with severe cholangitis admitted to ICU who underwent bedside percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) under USG guidance were retrospectively evaluated. Clinical outcomes, details about the PTBD procedure, and complications were recorded and analyzed.

Results

Among 20 patients, 13 were male and 7 were female with a mean age of 50.5 years. The most common cause of biliary obstruction was gall bladder malignancy (45%, n = 9) followed by cholangiocarcinoma (25%, n = 5). Left- and right-sided PTBD was performed in 40% (n = 8) and 35% (n = 7) patients, respectively, while 25% (n = 5) of patients underwent bilateral PTBD. The technical success rate was 100%. A total of 65% (n = 13) of patients were discharged from ICU upon improvement while the remaining 35% (n = 7) died despite bedside PTBD. None of the patients had any major procedure-related complications.

Conclusions

Ultrsound-guided bedside PTBD seems to be a safe and effective option in critically ill patients with severe cholangitis when shifting of patients is not feasible.

How to cite this article

Singh J, Tripathy TP, Patel R, Chandel K. Is Ultrasound-guided Bedside Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage Safe and Feasible in Critically Ill Patients with Severe Cholangitis? A Preliminary Single-center Experience. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(1):16-21.

An insight into the simulation directed understanding of the mechanism in SARS CoV-2 N-CTD, dimer integrity, and RNA-binding: Identifying potential antiviral inhibitors

Coronavirus 2019 is a transmissible disease and has caused havoc throughout the world. The present study identifies the novel potential antiviral inhibitors against the nucleocapsid C-terminal domain that aids in RNA-binding and replication. A total of 485,629 compounds were screened, and MD was performed. The trajectory analysis (DCCM & PCA), structural integrity, and degree of compaction depicted the protein-ligand complex stability (PDB-PISA and R_gyr). Results obtained from screening shortlists 13 compounds possessing high Docking score. Further, seven compounds had a permissible RMSD limit (3 Å), with robust RMSF. Post-MD analysis of the top two compounds (204 and 502), DCCM & PCA analysis show a positive atomic displacements correlation among residues of active sites-dimer (Chain A and Chain B) & residual clustering. The ΔG_int of RNA-bound (-83.5 kcal/mol) and drug-bound N-CTD-204 (-40.8 kcal/mol) and 502(-39.7 kcal/mol) as compared to Apo (-35.95 kcal/mol) suggests stabilization of protein, with less RNA-binding possibility. The R_gyr values depict the loss of compactness on RNA-binding when compared to the drug-bound N-CTD complex. Further, overlapping the protein complexes (0 ns and 100 ns) display significant changes in RMSD of the protein (204-2.07 Å and 502-1.89 Å) as compared to the Apo (1.72 Å) and RNA-bound form (1.76 Å), suggesting strong interaction for compound 204 as compared to 502. ADMET profiling indicates that these compounds can be used for further experiments (in vitro and pre-clinical). Compound 204 could be a promising candidate for targeting the N-protein-RNA assembly and viral replication.

Physiological implications of SWEETs in plants and their potential applications in improving source-sink relationships for enhanced yield

The sugars will eventually be exported transporters (SWEET) family of transporters in plants is identified as a novel class of sugar carriers capable of transporting sugars, sugar alcohols and hormones. Functioning in intercellular sugar transport, SWEETs influence a wide range of physiologically important processes. SWEETs regulate the development of sink organs by providing nutritional support from source leaves, responses to abiotic stresses by maintaining intracellular sugar concentrations, and host-pathogen interactions through the modulation of apoplastic sugar levels. Many bacterial and fungal pathogens activate the expression of SWEET genes in species such as rice and Arabidopsis to gain access to the nutrients that support virulence. The genetic manipulation of SWEETs has led to the generation of bacterial blight (BB)-resistant rice varieties. Similarly, while the overexpression of the SWEETs involved in sucrose export from leaves and pathogenesis led to growth retardation and yield penalties, plants overexpressing SWEETs show improved disease resistance. Such findings demonstrate the complex functions of SWEETs in growth and stress tolerance. Here, we review the importance of SWEETs in plant-pathogen and source-sink interactions and abiotic stress resistance. We highlight the possible applications of SWEETs in crop improvement programmes aimed at improving sink and source strengths important for enhancing the sustainability of yield. We discuss how the adverse effects of the overexpression of SWEETs on plant growth may be overcome.

Collision-System and Beam-Energy Dependence of Anisotropic Flow Fluctuations

Elliptic flow measurements from two-, four-, and six-particle correlations are used to investigate flow fluctuations in collisions of U+U at sqrt[s_{NN}]=193  GeV, Cu+Au at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV and Au+Au spanning the range sqrt[s_{NN}]=11.5-200  GeV. The measurements show a strong dependence of the flow fluctuations on collision centrality, a modest dependence on system size, and very little if any, dependence on particle species and beam energy. The results, when compared to similar LHC measurements, viscous hydrodynamic calculations, and trento model eccentricities, indicate that initial-state-driven fluctuations predominate the flow fluctuations generated in the collisions studied.