2021Research articles authored by NIIST researchers published in 2021http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/36362024-03-29T05:19:34Z2024-03-29T05:19:34ZScientometric Study of Global Mucormycosis (black fungus) ResearchRahul, L RNishy, Phttp://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/42772023-03-10T08:12:07Z2021-12-01T00:00:00ZScientometric Study of Global Mucormycosis (black fungus) Research
Rahul, L R; Nishy, P
Mucormycosis, a rare infection, caught the attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many COVID-19 and post- COVID-19 patients were infected by the black fungus. This study presents a scientometric review of 6661 research articles related to mucormycosis published from 1947 to 2021 indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. The study analyses the publications quantitatively in terms of growth, collaboration, countries, institutions, journals, keywords, and impact (citation) using the Bib-Excel and visualized in the VOSviewer tool. The highest number of publications on mucormycosis research is from the USA, followed by India, China, Germany, France, and Japan. Most of the research collaborations are among institutions in Europe and the USA. The University of Texas-USA is the most productive institute followed by PGIMER-India. However, the papers from Indian institutes have a significantly lower citation impact than those from the other leading countries. Since most international research is restricted among a few institutes, the international collaboration in mucormycosis research needs to be enhanced for high-quality research. The analysis of author-assigned keywords showed that the studies on the drug isavuconazole to treat mucormycosis are lesser than other major drugs. The research on surgical management of mucormycosis can be improved. Research on the diagnosis methods for mucormycosis and the genetic studies on the causative fungi of the order Mucorales are to be promoted. There are a few studies on Rhizomucor, Lichtheimia, Cunninghamella, Saksenaea, and Apophysomyces, among the several fungi genera that cause mucormycosis. Since mucormycosis is becoming more prevalent and severely affecting a larger population as a post-COVID syndrome, research in this area should be strengthened and new drugs should be explored.
2021-12-01T00:00:00ZThermophilic Chitinases: Structural, Functional and Engineering Attributes for Industrial ApplicationsMathew, G MMadhavan, AArun, K BSindhu, RBinod, PSinghania, R RSukumaran, R KPandey, Ahttp://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/42432023-01-31T09:07:09Z2021-01-01T00:00:00ZThermophilic Chitinases: Structural, Functional and Engineering Attributes for Industrial Applications
Mathew, G M; Madhavan, A; Arun, K B; Sindhu, R; Binod, P; Singhania, R R; Sukumaran, R K; Pandey, A
Chitin is the second most widely found natural polymer next to cellulose. Chitinases
degrade the insoluble chitin to bioactive chitooligomers and monomers for various
industrial applications. Based on their function, these enzymes act as biocontrol agents
against pathogenic fungi and invasive pests compared with conventional chemical fungicides and insecticides. They have other functional roles in shellfish waste management,
fungal protoplast generation, and Single-Cell Protein production. Among the chitinases,
thermophilic and thermostable chitinases are gaining popularity in recent years, as they
can withstand high temperatures and maintain the enzyme stability for longer periods.
Not all chitinases are thermostable; hence, tailor-made thermophilic chitinases are designed to enhance their thermostability by direct evolution, genetic engineering involving
mutagenesis, and proteomics approach. Although research has been done extensively on
cloning and expression of thermophilic chitinase genes, there are only few papers
discussing on the mechanism of chitin degradation using thermophiles. The current
review discusses the sources of thermophilic chitinases, improvement of protein stability
by gene manipulation, metagenomics approaches, chitin degradation mechanism in
thermophiles, and their prospective applications for industrial, agricultural, and pharmaceutical purposes.
2021-01-01T00:00:00ZStructural and Compositional Tuning in G-C3N4 Based Systems for Photocatalytic Antibiotic DegradationSuyana, PGanguly, PNair, B NPillai, S CHareesh, U Shttp://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/42422023-01-31T09:06:18Z2021-11-01T00:00:00ZStructural and Compositional Tuning in G-C3N4 Based Systems for Photocatalytic Antibiotic Degradation
Suyana, P; Ganguly, P; Nair, B N; Pillai, S C; Hareesh, U S
The uncontrolled and unethical release of pharmaceutical contaminants into aquatic sources have severe adversities, including the possible emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Photocatalysis utilizing semiconductor heterostructures is a greener and sustainable option for the effective degradation of organic contaminants into relatively harmless by-products. Visible/sunlight active graphitic carbon nitride based photocatalysts have been explored for antibiotic degradation (Tetracycline, Doxycycline, Oxytetracycline, Sulfamethoxazole, Amoxicillin) owing to their excellent chemical/thermal stability, tunable photophysical properties and facile methods of synthesis. The properties were further enhanced by heterostructure formation with other compatible semiconductors, elemental/molecular doping and through the creation of hierarchically porous structures. Moreover, nanocomposite formation with high surface area porous frameworks induces adsorptive photocatalysis imparting bifunctionality and alleviating secondary remediation measures for regeneration of the catalysts. The review summarizes the efforts in developing C3N4 based systems for the effective degradation of various antibiotics. Finally, an outlook on essential improvements is forecasted.
2021-11-01T00:00:00ZZerumin a Attenuates the Inflammatory Responses in LPS‐stimulated H9c2 CardiomyoblastsShyni, G LRenjitha, JSasidhar, B SRaghu, K Ghttp://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/42412023-01-31T09:04:46Z2021-06-01T00:00:00ZZerumin a Attenuates the Inflammatory Responses in LPS‐stimulated H9c2 Cardiomyoblasts
Shyni, G L; Renjitha, J; Sasidhar, B S; Raghu, K G
Zerumin A (ZA) is one of the potential components of Curcuma amada rhizomes, and it has been shown to possess a variety of pharmacological activities. This study deals with the beneficial activity of ZA in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated inflammation in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts. Herein, H9c2 cells were preincubated with ZA for 1 h and stimulated with LPS for 24 h. The cells were analyzed for the expression of various pro-inflammatory mediators and signaling molecules. Results showed that the cell viability was significantly improved and reactive oxygen species production was alleviated remarkably with ZA pretreatment. We also found that ZA pretreatment significantly suppressed the upregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein levels, and nitric oxide (NO) release in LPS-stimulated cells. In addition, ZA significantly ameliorated LPS-elicited overexpression of pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines such as monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF- α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and interleukin-1 (IL-1) in H9c2 cells, and it upregulated the synthesis of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10). Moreover, pretreatment with ZA and the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathway inhibitors also reduced the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK), and p38. ZA significantly inhibited IkB-a phosphorylation and nuclear factor (NF)-kB p65 subunit translocation into nuclei. Overall data demonstrated that ZA protects cardiomyocytes against LPS injury by inhibiting NF-kB p65 activation via the MAPK signaling pathway in vitro. These findings suggest that ZA may be a promising agent for a detailed study for the prevention or treatment of myocardial dysfunction in sepsis.
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