Rajagiri Hospital

Scrub typhus is a mite-borne rickettsial infection endemic in many parts of India and typically causes small-vessel vasculitis; large-vessel involvement is rare. We report a 52-year-old immunosuppressed man on long-term tofacitinib who presented with prolonged fever, weight loss, and systemic inflammation, and was found to have multiple pseudoaneurysms involving the abdominal aorta, carotid, and popliteal arteries, along with pulmonary nodules and necrotic lymphadenopathy. Extensive evaluation for tuberculosis, fungal infections, and bacterial endocarditis was negative, with no response to broad-spectrum antimicrobials or antitubercular therapy. Serology for scrub typhus was positive following identification of travel to an endemic area, and doxycycline led to rapid clinical and biochemical improvement. Selected pseudoaneurysms were managed surgically and endovascularly with good outcomes. This case highlights scrub typhus as a rare cause of large-vessel pseudoaneurysms in immunosuppressed patients in endemic regions.

Climate change profoundly affects agricultural insect pests by altering their biology, distribution, and interactions within agroecosystems, threatening global food security. Rising temperatures, elevated atmospheric CO₂, and shifting precipitation patterns accelerate pest development, expand geographic ranges, and increase voltinism, intensifying crop damage. These shifts disrupt traditional pest management frameworks, as phenological mismatches among pests, host plants, and natural enemies weaken biological control. Moreover, abiotic stresses compromise the performance of biocontrol agents, such as entomopathogenic fungi, necessitating climate-specific strain selection. Adaptive integrated pest management (IPM) strategies that incorporate real-time monitoring, predictive modeling, precision agriculture technologies, and emerging tools such as CRISPR and sterile insect techniques are essential for climate-resilient agriculture. Sustainable approaches that leverage natural products and minimize reliance on chemical pesticides further support ecosystem health. This review synthesizes current knowledge on climate-driven pest dynamics, range expansions, and tritrophic disruptions based on literature searched in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar from January 2000 to November 2025 using Boolean strings. This review proposes a comprehensive climate-adaptive IPM framework to safeguard agricultural productivity amid ongoing environmental change.

Lignin from Phaleria macrocarpa (Mahkota Dewa) fruit, a bioactive-rich cultivated medicinal biomass, was employed as a renewable precursor for lignin quantum dots (LQDs). A simple, aqueous, catalyst-free two-step route (lignin to lignin nanoparticles to LQDs) is demonstrated, enabling the valorization of non-food lignin into photoluminescent nanomaterials. The resulting LQDs were predominantly amorphous with short-range graphitic ordering and a narrow particle size distribution (3-5 nm). Structural and chemical analyses indicated a partially graphitized carbon framework enriched with oxygenated surface functionalities, which is consistent with their bright blue-green emission (λem of 490 nm; average fluorescence lifetime of 4.51 ns). Hydrothermal carbonization induced a blue shift in the UV-Vis absorption profile, resulting in a main band at 288 nm with a shoulder at 312 nm. The LQDs exhibited high cytocompatibility toward L929 mouse fibroblasts (93.1 ± 6.5% viability at 24 h) and were readily internalized by cells, facilitating green fluorescence live-cell imaging as a proof-of-concept. Antibacterial activity was observed against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains, supporting dual biofunctional performance. Overall, this study established a green and scalable route for converting P. macrocarpa fruit lignin into multifunctional LQDs, with potential applications in circular-bioeconomy such as antimicrobial/active coatings and optical sensing in agro-industrial contexts.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely used in the health sector for diagnostic, assistance and guidance purposes. However, its expansion has come up against applicability barriers in underdeveloped countries due to structural, financial and technological limitations encountered within a specific context. With this letter, we draw attention to the challenges of implementing AI in developing countries, suggesting strategies for scientific studies to optimise this.

Streptomyces salinarius MPA0124, a halotolerant actinobacterium, was isolated from coastal sediments of Pondicherry, India, using Bennett's agar supplemented with 5 % NaCl. The draft genome, sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq platform, comprises 8.01 Mb across 122 contigs with a GC content of 72.22 %. Genome annotation predicted 7548 coding sequences, 70 tRNAs, and 4 rRNAs, indicating a metabolically diverse genetic repertoire. Functional analysis revealed a broad array of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) involved in cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and lignin degradation, highlighting the strain's role in polysaccharide turnover and carbon recycling in saline ecosystems. Phylogenomic analysis clustered S. salinarius MPA0124 closely with S. salinarius SS06011 and S. ardesiacus NBRC15402, confirming its taxonomic placement within the Streptomyces genus. The genomic dataset enriches the current knowledge of marine-derived Streptomyces and underscores its potential for biotechnological applications in biomass conversion, enzyme discovery, and biosaline agriculture. The genome sequence has been deposited in NCBI under the accession number NZ_JBJDRC000000000.1.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of cobalt (Co) and zinc (Zn) on the growth, antioxidant activity, total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC), targeted polyphenolic compounds, and molecular dynamics simulations of Rehmannia glutinosa (R. glutinosa ) L. Plants were exposed to varying concentrations of Zn (0.01 to 1 ppm) and Co (0.01 to 1 ppm). Growth parameters, including plant height, number of leaves, and root length, were measured. The antioxidant activity, TPC, and TFC were evaluated using standard biochemical assays. liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry was used to quantify the target polyphenolic compounds. Catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activities were also assessed. A 100 ns molecular dynamics simulation was performed to analyze the stability of key phytochemicals with high binding affinities and docking scores. At lower concentrations, Zn significantly enhanced plant growth, whereas at higher concentrations, it inhibited it. Co at 0.01 and 0.1 ppm adversely affected growth, and 1 ppm led to necrosis and plant death. Maximum TPC and TFC were observed at 0.01 ppm Zn, while 0.1 ppm Co resulted in elevated TPC and TFC. Antioxidant activity increased at lower metal concentrations. The enzymatic activity varied significantly in response to exposure to Zn and Co. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the stability of major polyphenols, such as luteolin, pelargonidin chloride, and ferulic acid, under different metal stress conditions. Exposure to Zn and Co significantly affects the growth, metabolism, and antioxidant activity of R. glutinosa. Lower concentrations of these metals may promote the synthesis of phenolic compounds, whereas higher concentrations may cause oxidative stress and growth inhibition. Molecular dynamics analysis supported these biochemical findings, demonstrating that specific phytochemicals remain stable under metal stress conditions.

In this research, in vitro and in silico drug discovery approaches were used to evaluate the antibacterial potential of a few unexplored freshwater green algae, namely Oedogonium angustistomum, Ulothrix variabilis and Mougeotia pulchella, as well as their fatty acids and peptides. In an in vitroantimicrobial assessment, the methanol and methanol crude extracts of U. variabilis significantly inhibited the growth of S. aureus and E. coli, showing inhibition zones of 14 mm and 13 mm, respectively. However, in the antifungal experiment, all extracts, except petroleum benzine, showed excellent inhibitory effects on C. albicans and F. oxysporum, with zones of inhibition ranging from 7.33 mm to 18 mm and 40.00% to 51.33%, respectively. In the minimum inhibitory concentration analysis, the methanol extract of U. variabilis effectively reduced the viability of S. aureus at a dose of 30 [Formula: see text]g/mL. Molecular docking analysis showed that 2-(S-glutathionyl) acetyl glutathione, Endomorphin-2 and APGPR enterostatin had stronger binding affinities with all microbial proteins than fatty acids, with docking scores of –8.315 kcal/mol, –8.687 kcal/mol, –8.313 kcal/mol and –7.054 kcal/mol, respectively. In the MD simulations, all hit peptide-protein complexes showed excellent binding stability, with a stable RMSD range of ¡2.8 Å and binding strengths of up to 99% for the simulation of 200 ns. These findings suggest that the peptides identified in algae have the potential to control antimicrobial-resistant strains and opportunistic fungal pathogens. However, further research is needed to ensure the safety and efficacy of these peptide compounds in lab-to-clinical applications.