B.1.1.7 lineage SARS-CoV-2 is more transmissible, leads to greater clinical severity, and results in modest reductions in antibody neutralization. Subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) is produced by discontinuous ...transcription of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Applying our tool (periscope) to ARTIC Network Oxford Nanopore Technologies genomic sequencing data from 4400 SARS-CoV-2 positive clinical samples, we show that normalised sgRNA is significantly increased in B.1.1.7 (alpha) infections (n = 879). This increase is seen over the previous dominant lineage in the UK, B.1.177 (n = 943), which is independent of genomic reads, E cycle threshold and days since symptom onset at sampling. A noncanonical sgRNA which could represent ORF9b is found in 98.4% of B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 infections compared with only 13.8% of other lineages, with a 16-fold increase in median sgRNA abundance. We demonstrate that ORF9b protein levels are increased 6-fold in B.1.1.7 compared to a B lineage virus in vitro. We hypothesise that increased ORF9b in B.1.1.7 is a direct consequence of a triple nucleotide mutation in nucleocapsid (28280:GAT > CAT, D3L) creating a transcription regulatory-like sequence complementary to a region 3' of the genomic leader. These findings provide a unique insight into the biology of B.1.1.7 and support monitoring of sgRNA profiles to evaluate emerging potential variants of concern.
Potato peel wastes are generated in high quantities from potato processing industries. They are pollutants to the environment, and they release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The present study ...assessed the potentiality of hydrolyzing potato wastes by amylase-producing fungi to improve biogas generation from potato peels through the anaerobic digestion process. Different fungal isolates were screened for amylase production on potato wastes, and the highest amylase producer was selected for optimizing the efficacy of producing amylases in high quantities to efficiently allow the conversion of potato organic matter into fermentable sugars that are utilized for the anaerobic digestion process. The best amylase producers were those derived from Rhizopus stolonifer (32.61 ± 0.89 U/mL). The highest cumulative methane yield from hydrolyzed potato peel was 65.23 ± 3.9 mL CH4/g and the methane production rate was 0.39 mL CH4/h, whereas the highest biogas yield from unhydrolyzed potato wastes was 41.32 ± 2.15 mL CH4/g and the biogas production rate was 0.25 mL CH4/h. Furthermore, it was found that the two combined sequential stages of anaerobic digestion (biogas production) followed by biodiesel production (enzymatic esterification) were the most effective, recording 72.36 ± 1.85 mL CH4/g and 64.82% biodiesel of the total analytes. However, one-pot fermentation revealed that biogas yield was 22.83 ± 2.8 mL CH4/g and the biodiesel extracted was 23.67% of the total analytes. The insights of the current paper may increase the feasibility of potato peel-based biorefinery through the biological hydrolysis strategy of potato wastes using eco-friendly enzymes.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder with a notable increase in global incidence in recent years. Individuals diagnosed with diabetes are at an elevated risk of morbidity and mortality ...compared with the general population. For several years, the potential of phytochemicals as anti-inflammatory agents to improve the healing of diabetic wounds has been under investigation. Rutin, a flavonoid, is a particularly promising candidate for use in wound healing. Our study aims to investigate the potential impact of a topical application of rutin nanoformulation on wound healing in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced hyperglycemic rats controlled with metformin, with a focus on its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Rats are randomized into 3 groups. GI: diabetic control group; wound untreated. GII: diabetes and rutin-NP-treated wound. GIII: diabetic + β-sitosterol-treated wound. The findings suggest that topical application of rutin-NPs has the potential to enhance the wound-healing process by attenuating oxidative stress, as evidenced by restoring GSH, CAT, and SOD antioxidants, and decreasing MDA production mediated by Nrf2 activation. Also, inflammation is suppressed, as indicated by the decreased CRP, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α levels. Molecular docking data confirm the biological data of rutin, where rutin is docked into the catalytic site of the X-ray crystallographic structures of CRP, Keap-1, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α via grid-based ligand docking. The binding affinity and binding energy of ligand–protein interactions demonstrate the affinity and binding to the specifically selected proteins.
The presence of COVID-19 antibodies in the maternal circulation is assumed to be protective for newborns against SARS-CoV-2 infection. We investigated whether maternal COVID-19 antibodies crossed the ...transplacental barrier and whether there was any difference in the hematological parameters of neonates born to mothers who recovered from COVID-19 during pregnancy. The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals, located in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. After obtaining written informed consent, 115 healthy, unvaccinated mother-neonate dyads were included. A clinical history of COVID-19-like illness, laboratory-confirmed diagnosis, and contact history were obtained. Serum samples from mothers and neonates were tested for SARS-CoV-2 anti-receptor-binding domain (anti-RBD) IgG antibodies. Hematological parameters were assessed with complete blood counts (CBC) and peripheral blood smear examinations. The study population consisted of 115 mothers, with a mean age of 29.44 ± 5.75 years, and most women (68/115 (59.1%)) were between 26 and 35 years of age. Of these mothers, 88/115 (76.5 percent) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 anti-RBD IgG antibodies, as did 83/115 (72.2 percent) neonatal cord blood samples. The mean levels of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in maternal and neonatal blood were 19.86 ± 13.82 (IU/mL) and 16.16 ± 12.90 (IU/mL), respectively, indicating that maternal antibodies efficiently crossed the transplacental barrier with an antibody transfer ratio of 0.83. The study found no significant difference in complete blood count (CBC) parameters between seropositive and seronegative mothers, nor between neonates born to seropositive and seronegative mothers.
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