Biofilm is a mode of living employed by many pathogenic and environmental microbes to proliferate as multicellular aggregates on inert inanimate or biological substrates. Several microbial diseases ...are associated with biofilms that pose challenges in treatment with antibiotics targeting individual cells. Bacteria in biofilms secrete exopolymeric substances that contribute to architectural stability and provide a secure niche to inhabiting cells. Quorum sensing (QS) plays essential roles in biofilm development. Pathogenic bacteria in biofilms utilize QS mechanisms to activate virulence and develop antibiotic resistance. This review is a brief overview of biofilm research and provides updates on recent understandings on biofilm development, antibiotic resistance and transmission, and importance of QS mechanisms. Strategies to combat biofilm associated diseases including anti-biofilm substances, quorum quenching molecules, bio-surfactants and competitive inhibitors are briefly discussed. The review concludes with updates on recent approaches utilized for biofilm inhibition and provides perspectives for further research in the field.
This review analyzed the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic globally and in India and the measures to counter its effect using natural and innate immune booster molecules. The study focuses on two ...phases: the first focuses on the magnitude, and the second on the effect of antioxidants (natural compounds) on SARS-CoV-2.
The magnitude of the prevalence, mortality, and comorbidities was acquired from the World Health Organization (WHO) report, media, a report from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), newspapers, and the National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC). Research articles from PubMed as well as other sites/journals and databases were accessed to gather literature on the effect of antioxidants.
In the elderly and any chronic diseases, the declined level of antioxidant molecules enhanced the reactive oxygen species, which in turn deprived the immune system.
Innate antioxidant proteins like sirtuin and sestrin play a vital role in enhancing immunity. Herbal products and holistic approaches can also be alternative solutions for everyday life to boost the immune system by improving the redox balance in COVID-19 attack. This review analyzed the counteractive effect of alternative therapy to boost the immune system against the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rapid growth of oral cancer is a significant concern, especially in developing countries due to the advanced lifestyle and 5-year survival despite advanced multimodality of cancer care. The poor ...modality might be due to the detection of disease in the advanced stage. Early detection and development of novel therapies can improve oral cancer patient survival. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR and RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK are very extensively exploited pathways in oral cancer. These pathways are very critical in the progression of tumorigenesis in oral cancer. This review focuses on the association of Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways in terms of protein expression level, genetic mutation, and therapeutic intervention in oral cancer.
Influenza virus possesses an RNA genome of single-stranded, negative-sensed, and segmented configuration. Influenza virus causes an acute respiratory disease, commonly known as the “flu” in humans. ...In some individuals, flu can lead to pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Influenza A virus (IAV) is the most significant because it causes recurring seasonal epidemics, occasional pandemics, and zoonotic outbreaks in human populations, globally. The host innate immune response to IAV infection plays a critical role in sensing, preventing, and clearing the infection as well as in flu disease pathology. Host cells sense IAV infection through multiple receptors and mechanisms, which culminate in the induction of a concerted innate antiviral response and the creation of an antiviral state, which inhibits and clears the infection from host cells. However, IAV antagonizes and escapes many steps of the innate antiviral response by different mechanisms. Herein, we review those host and viral mechanisms. This review covers most aspects of the host innate immune response, i.e., (1) the sensing of incoming virus particles, (2) the activation of downstream innate antiviral signaling pathways, (3) the expression of interferon-stimulated genes, (4) and viral antagonism and escape.
The persistence of latent HIV-1 reservoirs in cells presents a formidable challenge towards a complete HIV cure. Edelfosine is an FDA-approved investigational, anti-neoplastic drug. In this study, we ...aimed to investigate its role as a HIV-1 Latency Reversal Agent (LRA) using latency model cell lines. Our findings demonstrated that edelfosine reactivated latent HIV-1 viruses in myeloid cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. The mechanism of reactivation by edelfosine involved the activation of NF-κB and AP1 pathways in these cells. The reactivated virus was non-infectious. Delineating the mechanism of non-infectious virus production revealed an increased stabilization of cellular APOBEC3G protein as well as its enhanced incorporation into the released viruses. Thus, our study demonstrated for the first time an additional role of edelfosine in reactivation of latent HIV-1 and production of non-infectious virus. Our results have paved the way for repurposing of edelfosine as a novel HIV-1 latency reversal agent.
•Edelfosine reactivated latent HIV-1 in myeloid cells in a dose and time-dependent manner.•The mechanism of reactivation involved the activation of NF-κB and AP1 pathways.•The reactivated virus was non-infectious due to enhanced APOBEC3G packaging.•Our results shows edelfosine may be repurposed as a novel LRA.
A 120-day feeding trial was conducted in a pilot field setting to study the nutraceutical properties of ginger powder (GP), focusing on the growth performance and health status of Indian major carp
L
....
rohita
reared under a semi-intensive culture system.
L. rohita
fingerlings (average weight: 20.5 g) were divided into five groups and fed a diet with no GP supplementation (control), or a diet supplemented with GP at 5 g (GP5), 10 g (GP10), 15 g (GP15), and 20 g (GP20) per kg of feed. The study was carried out in outdoor tanks (20 m
2
) following a complete randomized design with three replicates for each experimental group. Dietary supplementation of GP at 15 g·kg
−1
(GP15) of feed caused a significant increase in the growth performances of the fish. Results also showed that feeding of GP15 diet led to a significant improvement in the health status of fish as indicated by a marked change in the tested haematological indices (i.e., higher RBC, WBC, Hb, and Ht values), oxidative status (increased SOD and decreased LPO levels), biochemical parameters (increased HDL, decreased cholesterol, and triglycerides levels), and activities of the liver enzymes (decreased AST and ALT). Overall results suggested that dietary supplementation of GP could positively influence the growth and health status of
L. rohita
fingerlings, and hence could be an important natural nutraceutical for sustainable farming of carp.
Cellular miRNAs play an important role in the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes. Recently, miRNAs have also been shown to be able to target and inhibit viral gene expression. Computational ...predictions revealed earlier that the HIV-1 genome includes regions that may be potentially targeted by human miRNAs. Here we report the functionality of predicted miR-29a target site in the HIV-1 nef gene.
We find that the human miRNAs hsa-miR-29a and 29b are expressed in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Expression of a luciferase reporter bearing the nef miR-29a target site was decreased compared to the luciferase construct without the target site. Locked nucleic acid modified anti-miRNAs targeted against hsa-miR-29a and 29b specifically reversed the inhibitory effect mediated by cellular miRNAs on the target site. Ectopic expression of the miRNA results in repression of the target Nef protein and reduction of virus levels.
Our results show that the cellular miRNA hsa-miR29a downregulates the expression of Nef protein and interferes with HIV-1 replication.
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has the potential to enhance the sustainability of ground and surface water to meet increasing water demands and constrained supplies, even under a changing climate. Since ...arid and semi-arid regions frequently experience highly variable spatiotemporal rainfall patterns, rural communities have developed indigenous RWH techniques to capture and store rainwater for multiple uses. However, selecting appropriate sites for RWH, especially across large regions, remains challenging since the data required to evaluate suitability using critical criteria are often lacking. This study aimed to identify the essential criteria and develop a methodology to select potential RWH sites in Rajasthan (India). We combined GIS modeling (multicriteria decision analysis) with applied remote sensing techniques as it has the potential to assess land suitability for RWH. As assessment criteria, spatial datasets relating to land use/cover, rainfall, slope, soil texture, NDVI, and drainage density were considered. Later, weights were assigned to each criterion based on their relative importance to the RWH system, evidence from published literature, local expert advice, and field visits. GIS analyses were used to create RWH suitability maps (high, moderate, and unsuited maps). The sensitivity analysis was also carried out for identified weights to check the inadequacy and inconsistency among preferences. It was estimated that 3.6%, 8.2%, and 27.3% of the study area were highly, moderately, and unsuitable, respectively, for Chauka implementation. Further, sensitivity analysis results show that LULC is highly sensitive and NDVI is the least sensitive parameter in the selected study region, which suggests that changing the weight of these parameters is more likely to decide the outcome. Overall, this study shows the applicability of the GIS-based MCDA approach for up-scaling the traditional RWH systems and its suitability in other regions with similar field conditions, where RWH offers the potential to increase water resource availability and reliability to support rural communities and livelihoods.
Introduction: Neonatal infection occurs when a pathogenic organism enters in the body and shows its signs and symptoms. As the newborn have immature immune system it is the leading cause of morbidity ...and mortality. In this study we aimed to found out the effectiveness of the structured teaching program on the prevention of neonatal infection among the post cesarean women. Methods: On 60 post cesarean women pre –experimental study was conducted at the post cesarean ward of Government Doon Medical College and Hospital, Dehradun Uttarakhand. Sample selection is done by purposive sampling technique. The procedure of data collection was completed by self-administration of designed questionnaire with the help of paper pencil test. The intervention was implemented through structured teaching program after pre test. The post test data was collected after five days of pre-test. One group pre-test and post-test design of pre-experimental research design is used. Result: After giving structured teaching program about 49(81.66%) post cesarean women had good knowledge and 11(18.34%) had average and none of the post cesarean women had poor knowledge. Improvements in knowledge on prevention of complications will enable the post cesarean women to provide proper neonatal care and there by bring down morbidity and mortality. The post test mean score is higher than pre test mean score , so hypothesis is accepted. Conclusion: The study concluded that by the help of structured teaching program there is increment in the post test scores of the post cesarean women.
Data science has been an invaluable part of the COVID-19 pandemic response with multiple applications, ranging from tracking viral evolution to understanding the vaccine effectiveness. Asymptomatic ...breakthrough infections have been a major problem in assessing vaccine effectiveness in populations globally. Serological discrimination of vaccine response from infection has so far been limited to Spike protein vaccines since whole virion vaccines generate antibodies against all the viral proteins. Here, we show how a statistical and machine learning (ML) based approach can be used to discriminate between SARS-CoV-2 infection and immune response to an inactivated whole virion vaccine (BBV152, Covaxin). For this, we assessed serial data on antibodies against Spike and Nucleocapsid antigens, along with age, sex, number of doses taken, and days since last dose, for 1823 Covaxin recipients. An ensemble ML model, incorporating a consensus clustering approach alongside the support vector machine model, was built on 1063 samples where reliable qualifying data existed, and then applied to the entire dataset. Of 1448 self-reported negative subjects, our ensemble ML model classified 724 to be infected. For method validation, we determined the relative ability of a random subset of samples to neutralize Delta versus wild-type strain using a surrogate neutralization assay. We worked on the premise that antibodies generated by a whole virion vaccine would neutralize wild type more efficiently than delta strain. In 100 of 156 samples, where ML prediction differed from self-reported uninfected status, neutralization against Delta strain was more effective, indicating infection. We found 71.8% subjects predicted to be infected during the surge, which is concordant with the percentage of sequences classified as Delta (75.6%–80.2%) over the same period. Our approach will help in real-world vaccine effectiveness assessments where whole virion vaccines are commonly used.
•Covaxin or BBV152 induces antibodies to all viral proteins.•Differentiating infection vs vaccine induced immunity is thus difficult.•This poses difficulty in determining vaccine effectiveness.•A hybrid ML based approach utilizing serology was developed.•Covaxin was observed to have 55.67% effectiveness.
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