In silico investigation on sensing of tyramine by boron and silicon doped C60 fullerenes

The present communication deals with the adsorption of tyramine neurotransmitter over the surface of pristine, Boron (B) and Silicon (Si) doped fullerenes. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to investigate tyramine adsorption on the surface of fullerenes in terms of stability, shape, work function, electronic characteristics, and density of state spectra. The most favourable adsorption configurations for tyramine have been computed to have adsorption energies of - 1.486, - 30.889, and - 31.166 kcal/mol, respectively whereas for the rest three configurations, it has been computed to be - 0.991, - 6.999, and - 8.796 kcal/mol, respectively. The band gaps for all six configurations are computed to be 2.68, 2.67, 2.06, 2.17, 2.07, and 2.14 eV, respectively. The band gap of pristine, B and Si doped fullerenes shows changes in their band gaps after adsorption of tyramine neurotransmitters. However, the change in band gaps reveals more in B doped fullerene rather than pristine and Si doped fullerenes. The change in band gaps of B and Si doped fullerenes leads a change in the electrical conductivity which helps to detect tyramine. Furthermore, natural bond orbital (NBO) computations demonstrated a net charge transfer of 0.006, 0.394, and 0.257e from tynamine to pristine, B and Si doped fullerenes.

In silico investigation on interaction of small Ag6 nano-particle cluster with tyramine neurotransmitter

The interaction of tyramine neurotransmitter with silver nano-particle (Ag6) cluster is explored in terms of the molecular structure, electronic properties and NBO analysis of tyramine-AgNPs bio-molecular conjugate. The adsorption mechanism of tyramine onto the Ag6 cluster has been investigated through computing of the electronic and geometrical properties in addition to the adsorption energies in various possible configurations. The magnitude of adsorption energy corresponding to the most favorable tyramine-Ag6 bio-molecular conjugate has been computed to be - 14.36 kcal/mol in the gas phase, which infers a good adsorption of tyramine with AgNPs cluster suggesting the practical applications of tyramine-AgNPs bio-molecular conjugates in bio-sensing, drug delivery, bio-imaging and other applications. Different electronic properties such as the energy gap of HOMO-LUMO, Fermi level and work function have been investigated in detail. Moreover, the effect of aqueous media on adsorption energy and electronic properties of the most favorable tyramine-AgNPs bio-molecular conjugate is investigated in order to understand the impact of the real biological situation.

Reducing mortality in mucormycosis of the head and neck in diabetic patients: A CARE case series

INTRODUCTION

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis is extremely fatal, with mortality rates ranging from 85-93% despite the best treatment in immunocompromised patients. We emphasize the importance of early diagnosis, repeated debridement, and aggressive antifungal treatment to reduce mortality.

CASE SUMMARY

We report six cases (five male and one female), with a mean age of 51 years who were diagnosed to have mucormycosis from 2017 to 2019. All patients were diabetic. Intracranial involvement and orbital involvement were found in four cases. Facial nerve palsy was seen in two cases, one without any apparent otological involvement. Aggressive serial debridement and amphotericin B was started. Posaconazole was added subsequently to the treatment in two cases. One patient succumbed to the disease five months after discharge. The other five patients are on regular follow-up for a mean duration of 14 months at the end of which two had residual disease which was under control.

DISCUSSION

Repeated surgical debridement with an early aggressive and combination antifungal therapy can result in good outcomes even in advanced mucormycosis. Concurrent management of the underlying pathology, monitoring of liver and kidney functions, and therapeutic drug monitoring are useful to ensure smooth and effective treatment.

Salicylic acid and thiourea mitigate the salinity and drought stress on physiological traits governing yield in pearl millet- wheat

Plant growth is often affected with hampered physiological and cellular functioning due to salinity and drought stress. To assess the effectiveness of plant bioregulators (PBRs) in mitigating abiotic stresses, a double spilt plot field study was conducted with three replications at ICAR-CSSRI, research farm, Nain, Panipat. The study comprised of three deficit irrigation regimes viz., 100, 80 and 60% of crop evapo-transpiration (ET_c) (I₁, I₂ and I₃), four levels of irrigation water salinity i.e. 2, 4, 8, 12 dS m⁻¹ (S₀, S₁, S₂ and S₃) and two PBRs salicylic acid (SA; G₁) and thiourea (TU; G₂). Irrigations, as per regimes and salinity, were applied at identified critical stages of wheat and if needed in pearl millet. PBRs were applied as seed priming and foliar sprays at two sensitive stages of respective crops. The trend of plant height, and physiological and biochemical traits was similar under different treatments at both stages, but differed significantly only at reproductive stage. Water deficit caused significant reduction in pearl millet (5.1%) and wheat (6.7%) grain yields. The reduction in grain yield under 8 and 12 dS m⁻¹ was 12.90 and 22.43% in pearl millet and 7.68 and 32.93% in wheat, respectively compared to 2 dS m⁻¹. Application of either SA (G₁) or TU (G₂) significantly enhanced plant height and grain yield, but magnitude of the increment was higher with SA in pearl millet and with TU in wheat. Application of SA and TU increased grain yield by 14.42 and 12.98 in pearl millet, and 12.90 and 17.36% in wheat, respectively. The plant height, RWC, TC, MI, LP, proline, Fv/Fm and Na/K ratio significantly reduced by salinity stress in pearl millet and both water and salinity stress in wheat. Application of both PBRs proved beneficial to mitigate adverse effect of water deficit and salt stress by significantly improving physiological traits, biochemical traits and ultimately grain yield in both crops.

Late onset systemic sclerosis with seronegativity: a rare presentation of an uncommon disease

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an uncommon connective tissue disorder characterized by multisystem involvement with fibrosis of skin and internal organs. Antibody formation is one of the hallmarks of SSc. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are positive in 97% of patients with SSc. We report a rare case where the patient was negative for ANA, Anti-topoisomerase I, Anti-centromere and Anti-RNA polymerase III antibodies.

Tuberculosis-diabetes screening: how well are we doing? A mixed-methods study from North India

Setting

Public health care facilities in Sonipat District, Haryana State, India.

Objectives

To assess 1) the proportion of tuberculosis (TB) patients screened for diabetes mellitus (DM) and vice versa, 2) factors associated with screening, and 3) the enablers, barriers and solutions related to screening.

Design

A mixed-methods study with quantitative (cohort study involving record reviews of patients registered between November 2016 and April 2017) and qualitative (interviews of patients, health care providers [HCPs] and key district-level staff) components.

Results

Screening for TB among DM patients was not implemented, despite documents indicating that it had been. Of 562 TB patients, only 137 (24%) were screened for DM. TB patients registered at tertiary and secondary health centres were more likely to be screened than primary health centres. Low patient awareness, poor knowledge of guidelines among HCPs, lack of staff and inadequate training were barriers to screening. Enablers were the positive attitude of HCPs and programme staff. The key solutions suggested were to improve awareness of HCPs and patients regarding the need for screening, training of HCPs and wider availability of DM testing facilities.

Conclusion

The implementation of bidirectional screening was poor. Adequate staffing, regular training, continuous laboratory supplies for DM diagnosis and widespread publicity should be ensured.

Conformational study of octopamine in gas phase and effect of hydrochloride

This work deals with the molecular modeling and vibrational spectra of all the twenty conformers of an important biomolecule octopamine which have been investigated using the DFT/B3LYP level of theory in combination with the 6-31++g(d,p) as a suitable basis set. The experimental FTIR and FTRaman spectra of octopamine neurotransmitter were recorded in the spectral region 400-4000 cm^-1 and 50-4000 cm^-1 respectively and correlated with the calculated spectra of the most stable conformer. The effect of hydrochloride on the important geometrical parameters of most stable conformer of octopamine was also studied. The normal coordinate analysis was performed to scale the theoretical frequencies and to calculate potential energy distributions for precise normal mode assignment. Most of the frequencies were in good agreement with experimental one. However, some have been modified. Natural bond orbital analysis was performed in order to confirm the stability of electronic structure of octopamine molecule. HOMO-LUMO analysis for all the twenty conformers was also performed to give the transition profile and to study the chemical reactivity of octopamine.

Structural confirmation and spectroscopic study of a biomolecule: Norepinephrine

The present work deals with the conformational and vibrational spectroscopic study of an important bio-molecule named norepinephrine in gas phase. The FTIR and FTRaman spectrum of norepinephrine in amorphous form were recorded in wavenumber range 4000-400 cm^-1 and 4000-50 cm^-1 respectively. We have investigated twenty-seven stable conformational structures of norepinephrine molecule. All the calculations have been done using Density Functional Theory with exchange functional B3LYP incorporated with the 6-31++G(d, p) basis set. The effect of hydrochloride on different bond lengths, bond angles and dihedral angles in the most stable conformer has also been studied. The total potential energy distribution for both the most stable conformer and the most stable conformer in hydrochloride was performed with the help Normal coordinate analysis method. Most of the calculated vibrational frequencies are in good agreement with the experimental frequencies. The natural bond orbital analysis was also performed to ensure the stability of electronic structures of norepinephrine. To know chemical reactivity of norepinephrine molecule we have calculated the energy gap between HOMO and LUMO orbitals and it has found above 5 eV in all the conformers.

Spectroscopic investigation of some building blocks of organic conductors: A comparative study

Theoretical molecular structures and IR and Raman spectra of di and tetra methyl substituted tetrathiafulvalene and tetraselenafulvalene molecules have been studied. These molecules belong to the organic conductor family and are immensely used as building blocks of several organic conducting devices. The Hartree-Fock and density functional theory with exchange functional B3LYP have been employed for computational purpose. We have also performed normal coordinate analysis to scale the theoretical frequencies and to calculate potential energy distributions for the conspicuous assignments. The exciting frequency and temperature dependent Raman spectra have also presented. Optimization results reveal that the sulphur derivatives possess boat shape while selenium derivatives possess planner structures. Natural bond orbitals analysis has also been performed to study second order interaction between donors and acceptors and to compute molecular orbital occupancy and energy.

Conformational study of neutral histamine monomer and their vibrational spectra

Molecular modeling and potential energy scanning of histamine molecule, which is an important neurotransmitter, with respect to the dihedral angle of methylamine side chain have done which prefer three different conformers of histamine monomer. We have calculated molecular structures and vibrational spectra with IR and Raman intensities of these conformers using Density Functional Theory (DFT) with the exchange functional B3LYP incorporated with the basis set 6-31++G(d,p) and Hartree-Fock (HF) with the same basis set. We have also employed normal coordinate analysis (NCA) to scale the theoretical frequencies and to calculate potential energy distributions (PEDs) for the conspicuous assignments. Normal modes assignments of some of the vibrational frequencies of all the three conformers are in good agreement with the earlier reported experimental frequencies of histamine whereas others have modified. The standard deviations between the theoretical and experimental frequencies fall in the region 13-20cm(-1) for the three conformers. NBO analyses of histamine conformers were also performed. The net charge transfers from ethylamine side chain to the imidazole ring. The intensive interactions between bonding and anti-bonding orbitals are found in imidazole ring. The HOMO-LUMO energy gap is nearly 5.50eV.

The Impact of A "Brief ECT Orientation Module" on The Knowledge and Attitudes of Medical Students Towards ECT in India

Background:

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) continues to be an intervention that attracts controversy in spite of its proven efficacy. There is limited literature on attitude and knowledge of medical students towards ECT from Asian and African countries.

Aim:

The current study assesses the impact of a “Brief ECT Orientation Module” on the knowledge of and attitudes of Indian medical students towards modified ECT.

Subjects and Methods:

The study was conducted at a tertiary care multi-specialty hospital associated with a government medical college. The students were administered the study questionnaire on Day 1 of Psychiatry clerkship. Following this, they were administered the Brief ECT Orientation Module. Assessment was made using a questionnaire with items related to knowledge and attitude towards ECT before and after “Brief ECT Orientation Module.”

Results:

Fifty-nine students completed the study. There was a significant improvement in knowledge of medical students on all the three domains of the questionnaire for assessment of knowledge about ECT-related facts. A change in attitudes towards ECT was also observed following Brief ECT Orientation Module, especially among those who witnessed ECT administration.

Conclusion:

The findings of the current study suggest that the Brief ECT Orientation Module is effective in improving the knowledge and attitude of medical students towards ECT.