Ribbon-type presynaptic active zones are a hallmark of excitatory retinal synapses, and the ribbon organelle is thought to serve as the organizing point of the presynaptic active zone. Imaging of ...exocytosis from isolated retinal neurons, however, has revealed ectopic release (i.e., release away from ribbons) in significant quantities. Here, we demonstrate in an
in vitro
mouse retinal slice preparation that ribbon-independent release from rod bipolar cells activates postsynaptic AMPARs on AII amacrine cells. This form of release appears to draw on a unique, ribbon-independent, vesicle pool. Experimental, anatomical, and computational analyses indicate that it is elicited by a significant, global elevation of intraterminal Ca
2+
arising following local buffer saturation. Our observations support the conclusion that ribbon-independent release provides a read-out of the average behavior of all of the active zones in a rod bipolar cell's terminal.
Heavy metal pollution in aquatic systems is a global concern because of its toxicity, persistent nature, and its bioaccumulation. The present study was carried out to understand the sub‐lethal ...effects of lead acetate on Anabas testudineus despite its ability to tolerate stress. Fish were exposed to various concentrations of lead acetate (1.291, 1.936, 3.873 mg/L) for a period of 96 h for assessment of acute toxicity. Various biochemical (protein and glycogen) and enzymatic parameters (acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase) were investigated to have an insight on lead acetate toxicity. Protein content increased in all tissues in comparison to the control group. Glycogen increased in gill and muscle tissue whereas it decreased in liver tissues. Increase in the activity of phosphatase enzyme was observed in all tissues of the experimental group in comparison with the control group. All the studied parameters in different tissues were normalized to score values for calculation of integrated biomarker index (IBR) for better interpretation of data. Biomarker response index (BRI) was also calculated for a simple indication of the health status of control and experimental fish. Higher BRI value indicates less toxic effect on liver cells due to detoxification process, whereas lead acetate was found to be toxic for both gill and muscle tissue due to low BRI value. Lead acetate induced changes in the physiology of the experimental fish A. testudineus and the parameters taken into account can serve as biomarkers of lead acetate toxicity.
Organotin compounds (OTs) belong to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) group and are capable of persisting up to 40 years due to their chemical nature. Tributyltin (TBT) is an anti‐fouling agent ...and can easily leach out into water threatening the aquatic life. Molluscs are sensitive towards the presence of toxins in their surrounding environment and respond accordingly to overcome stress conditions. Lamellidens marginalis, a freshwater bivalve is popular for its food value and pink pearls. The present study focuses on the effect of Tributyltin chloride (TBTCl), a form of TBT, on Lamellidens marginalis under laboratory conditions. The 96 h median lethal concentration (LC50) was calculated to be 1 mg L−1. Bivalves were segregated into three sub‐groups that is, group I; control, group II; experimental (treated with 0.2 mg L−1 TBTCl that is, 1/5th of LC50 value), group III; experimental (treated with 0.2 mg L−1 TBTCl + 0.003% w/v spirulina). A static non‐renewal toxicity assay was performed for 96 h. Estimation of total protein, acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and glycogen was carried out. An overall decrease in the total protein, ACP, ALP, glycogen, and ALT was observed in both the experimental groups (Groups II and III) in comparison to the control group whereas, the concentration of AST was found to increase in hepatopancreas. Integrated biomarker response index (IBR) value was calculated to be 12.60 for control and 10.56 and 11.29 for groups II and III, respectively in hepatopancreas. Similarly, in gill tissue the values were 3.69, 1.37, and 3.43, respectively. After treatment with nutritional supplement spirulina, a higher BRI (biomarker response index) value of 3.3 for group III was observed, suggesting the therapeutic role of spirulina in test organisms. BRI value derived for group II was 2.7 indicating more severity of TBTCl compared to group III in the absence of spirulina.
The complete genome sequence of an African Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strain isolated from a chicken in Togo in 2009 was determined. The genome is 15,198 nucleotides (nt) in length and is ...classified in genotype VII in the class II cluster. Compared to common vaccine strains, the African strain contains a previously described 6-nt insert in the downstream untranslated region of the N gene and a novel 6-nt insert in the HN-L intergenic region. Genome length differences are a marker of the natural history of NDV. This is the first description of a class II NDV strain with a genome of 15,198 nt and a 6-nt insert in the HN-L intergenic region. Sequence divergence relative to vaccine strains was substantial, likely contributes to outbreaks, and illustrates the continued evolution of new NDV strains in West Africa.
Hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSNs) are considered appealing nanovehicles for drug delivery due to their exceptional drug loading and release potential. This study plans to synthesize ...HMSNs using a novel, quick, and economical procedure in co-relation with traditional mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) and optimize their synthesis by using the RSM-CCD approach. The influence of independent variables, i.e., CTAB (X1), TEOS (X2), and pH (X3), was evaluated by a 3-factorial design and ANOVA. RSM-CCD depicted the best synthesis formulation. CTAB: 0.3 g, TEOS: 3 ml, pH: 11.5. Optimized MSNs and HMSNs were characterized by DLS, XRD, SEM, FTIR, TEM, BET, XPS, and FE-SEM. Subsequently, hemocompatibility analysis revealed excellent compatibility of the nanosamples toward human RBCs. The drug loading efficiency of SF-MSNs and SF-HMSNs was 13.71 ± 0.33 % and 51.31 ± 0.94 %, respectively. A drug dissolution study revealed that sorafenib (SF) was released sustainably, with a cumulative release percentage of 67 % (HMSNs) and 77 % (MSNs) at 72 h, proving the superiority of SF-HMSNs over sustained release. In-vitro cell culture studies explored the anti-tumorigenic prospects of free and encapsulated SF. Cell cytotoxicity was assessed by MTT assay against A549 cells, indicating enhanced toxicity for optimized SF-HMSNs. The IC50 value substantially decreased from 10.5 to 5.8 μg/ml (a 1.8-fold decrease) after encapsulation. Additionally, In-vitro assays reflected MMP-mediated apoptotic cell death in A549 cells due to increased drug sensitivity and ROS generation. Collectively, these findings suggest that HMSNs are an ideal drug delivery vehicle due to the sustainable release of SF for NSCLC treatment.
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•Synthesis of HMSNs by novel solvent extraction technique using methanol for complete template removal.•Optimization of HMSNs synthesis depicted the best synthesis formulation CTAB - 0.3 g, TEOS - 3 ml, pH - 11.5.•The prepared HMSNs had a spherical shape, with an average particle size of 110 nm with 1080 m2/g surface area with 7.4 nm pore diameter.•A comparative analysis of drug loading (51.3 %) demonstrated higher sorafenib loading in HMSNs than MSNs due to its hollow core.•Higher apoptotic cell death was due to increased ROS production with substantial decrease in MMP in case of SF-HMSNs.
The emergence of highly virulent CoVs (SARS-CoV-2), the etiologic agent of novel ongoing "COVID-19" pandemics has been marked as an alarming case of pneumonia posing a large global healthcare crisis ...of unprecedented magnitude. Currently, the COVID-19 outbreak has fueled an international demand in the biomedical field for the mitigation of the fast-spreading illness, all through the urgent deployment of safe, effective, and rational therapeutic strategies along with epidemiological control. Confronted with such contagious respiratory distress, the global population has taken significant steps towards a more robust strategy of containment and quarantine to halt the total number of positive cases but such a strategy can only delay the spread. A substantial number of potential vaccine candidates are undergoing multiple clinical trials to combat COVID-19 disease, includes live-attenuated, inactivated, viral-vectored based, sub-unit vaccines, DNA, mRNA, peptide, adjuvant, plant, and nanoparticle-based vaccines. However, there are no licensed anti-COVID-19 drugs/therapies or vaccines that have proven to work as more effective therapeutic candidates in open-label clinical trial studies. To counteract the infection (SARS-CoV-2), many people are under prolonged treatment of many chemical drugs that inhibit the PLpro activity (Ribavirin), viral proteases (Lopinavir/Ritonavir), RdRp activity (Favipiravir, Remdesivir), viral membrane fusion (Umifenovir, Chloroquine phosphate (CQ), Hydroxychloroquine phosphate (HCQ), IL-6 overexpression (Tocilizumab, Siltuximab, Sarilumab). Mesenchymal Stem Cell therapy and Convalescent Plasma Therapy have emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy against SARS-CoV-2 virion. On the other hand, repurposing previously designed antiviral agents with tolerable safety profile and efficacy could be the only promising approach and fast response to the novel virion. In addition, research institutions and corporations have commenced the redesign of the available therapeutic strategy to manage the global crisis. Herein, we present succinct information on selected anti-COVID-19 therapeutic medications repurposed to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection. Finally, this review will provide exhaustive detail on recent prophylactic strategies and ongoing clinical trials to curb this deadly pandemic, outlining the major therapeutic areas for researchers to step in.
The essential oil of
L. commonly known as sand ginger has increased its demand in national and international market for decades. Cinnamic acid esters like ethyl-
-methoxy cinnamate (EPMC) and ethyl ...cinnamate (EC) are major constituents in its essential oil. In spite of the high demand for the plant as raw material, identification of quality chemovars having high essential oil (EO) yield and constituents is still at an infant stage. With this in mind, we have evaluated the EO yield of 36 accessions from three provinces of Eastern India, which varied within a range of 0.41 ± 0.01 to 2.63 ± 0.03
/
. Further, a total of 65 compounds were detected by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with area percentages varying from 76.16 to 97.3%. EPMC was found to be the major component in 14 accessions with area percentages varying from 10.7% to 41.1%, whereas other 22 accessions showed EC as the major constituent, varying from 16% to 29.1%. Further, a diversity study among accessions was performed by agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) and principal component analysis (PCA) analysis based on the abundance of identified constituents, which categorized all 36 accessions into three clusters. Thus, the present study helps to identify quality chemovar K.g16 and K.g14 with respect to oil yield and constituents, respectively, which could be used to guide commercial cultivation and further improvement of the taxa.
This work presents a smart healthcare system for the detection of various abnormalities present in the gastrointestinal (GI) region with the help of time–frequency analysis and convolutional neural ...network. In this regard, the KVASIR V2 dataset comprising of eight classes of GI-tract images such as Normal cecum, Normal pylorus, Normal Z-line, Esophagitis, Polyps, Ulcerative Colitis, Dyed and lifted polyp, and Dyed resection margins are used for training and validation. The initial phase of the work involves an image pre-processing step, followed by the extraction of approximate discrete wavelet transform coefficients. Each class of decomposed images is later given as input to a couple of considered convolutional neural network (CNN) models for training and testing in two different classification levels to recognize its predicted value. Afterward, the classification performance is measured through the following measuring indices: accuracy, precision, recall, specificity, and
F
1 score. The experimental result shows 97.25% and 93.75% of accuracy in the first level and second level of classification, respectively. Lastly, a comparative performance analysis is carried out with several other previously published works on a similar dataset where the proposed approach performs better than its contemporary methods.
Graphic Abstract
•The review covers livestock genomics of South Asian cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, camel, horse, yak, mithun, and poultry.•Advancements in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies led to ...the discovery of numerous SNP arrays for different livestock species.•The application of genomics in animal breeding has had the biggest economic impact on livestock production.
Livestock plays a central role in sustaining human livelihood in South Asia. There are numerous and distinct livestock species in South Asian countries. Several of them have experienced genetic development in recent years due to the application of genomic technologies and effective breeding programs. This review discusses genomic studies on cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, horse, camel, yak, mithun, and poultry. The frontiers covered in this review are genetic diversity, admixture studies, selection signature research, QTL discovery, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and genomic selection. The review concludes with recommendations for South Asian livestock systems to increasingly leverage genomic technologies, based on the lessons learned from the numerous case studies. This paper aims to present a comprehensive analysis of the dichotomy in the South Asian livestock sector and argues that a realistic approach to genomics in livestock can ensure long-term genetic advancements.
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