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Background In low- and middle-income countries where most patients receive standardized third-line ART through national programmes, real-world data are scarce. This study was done to assess the long-term survival, and virological and mutational outcomes of people living with HIV receiving third-line ART between July 2016 and December 2019 in an ART centre in India. Methods Eighty-five patients were started on third-line ART. Genotypic resistance testing to identify drug resistance mutations in the integrase, reverse transcriptase and protease genes was done at the start of third-line therapy, as well as in those who did not attain virological suppression after 12 months of therapy. Results Survival was 85% (72/85) at 12 months and 72% (61/85) at the end of follow-up in March 2022. Virological suppression was present in 82% (59/72) and 88% (59/67) at 12 months and at the end of follow-up, respectively. Five out of 13 patients who had virological failure at 12 months showed virological suppression at the end of the study. At the start of third-line therapy, 35% (14/40) and 45% (17/38) of patients had major integrase- and protease-associated mutations, respectively, even though they had never been on integrase inhibitor-based regimens. At 1 year follow-up, among those failing third-line therapy, 33% (4/12) of patients had major integrase mutations, but none had major protease mutations. Conclusions This study demonstrates good long-term outcome in patients on standardized third-line ART in programmatic conditions with very few mutations in those failing the therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonhuman individuals and groups, living in anthropogenic landscapes, often adopt adaptive foraging strategies, mediated by their day-to-day interactions with humans and their artefacts. Exploring such novel behavioral manifestations, especially in the Anthropocene, offers us insights into behavioral innovations and their transmission in such rapidly changing ecologies. In this study, employing field experiments, we investigated an example of human-induced, extractive foraging behavior – the extraction of liquid contents from plastic bottles – in a synurbic bonnet macaque Macaca radiata population. The main aims of the study were to examine the distribution, diversity, inter-individual variability and intra-individual flexibility of bottle-directed manipulative behaviors, and to explore the social and environmental factors driving this behavioral practice. We video-recorded the manipulation of partially filled plastic bottles and the extraction of liquid across four groups of bonnet macaques in southern India. Two socio-demographic factors – age class and group membership – and one environmental factor – food provisioning – were identified as major determinants of inter-individual variation in the performance of sophisticated manipulative techniques and in bottle-opening success. Our results also suggest that age-related physical maturation, experiential trial-and-error learning, and possibly social learning contributed to the acquisition of foraging competence in this task. These findings illuminate the mechanisms underlying inter-individual behavioral variability and intra-individual behavioral flexibility amongst free-ranging individuals of a cercopithecine primate species, traditionally known for its ecological adaptability and behavioral plasticity. Finally, this study documents how the presence of humans, their artefacts and their activities facilitate the development of certain behavioral traditions in free-ranging nonhuman populations, thus providing valuable insights into how human–alloprimate relations can be restructured within the increasingly resource-competitive environments of the Anthropocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extent of susceptibility towards miltefosine (Mil), amphotericin B (AmpB), and paromomycin (Paro) was measured among 19 clinical isolates of Leishmania donovani (LD). Thirteen of these clinical isolates were reported to exhibit low susceptibility towards sodium stibogluconate (SSG-R), while six of them were highly susceptible (SSG-S). The degree of clearance of amastigotes (EC50) for these predefined SSG-R- and SSG-S-infected macrophages was determined against Mil, AmpB, and Paro. Two out of the 13 SSG-R isolates (BHU575 and BHU814) showed low susceptibility towards all three drugs studied, while the rest of the 11 SSG-R isolates showed varying degrees of susceptibility either towards none or only towards individual drugs. Interestingly, all the SSG-S isolates showed high susceptibility towards Mil/AmpB/Paro. The total intracellular non-protein thiol content of the LD promastigotes, which have been previously reported to be positively co-related with EC50 towards SSG, was found to be independent from the degree of susceptibility towards Mil/AmpB/Paro. Impedance spectra analysis, which quantifies membrane resistance, revealed lower impedimetric values for all those isolates exhibiting low efficacy to Mil (Mil-R). Our analysis points out that while non-protein thiol content can be an attribute of SSG-R, lower impedimetric values can be linked with lower Mil susceptibility, although neither of these parameters seems to get influenced by the degree of susceptibility towards AmpB/Paro. Finally, a correlation analysis with established biological methods suggests that impedance spectral analysis can be used for the accurate determination of lower Mil susceptibility among LD isolates, which is further validated in the LD-infected in vivo hamster model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A miniaturized paper-based disposable pH sensor has been developed for the measurement of urine pH. The proposed sensor requires $2~\mu \text{l}$ of analyte solution for rapid detection of the analyte pH with a response time of 3.07 sec and 36.04 sec for acidic and basic pH, respectively. The sensor is fabricated via in situ deposition of polyaniline over the paper substrate by chemical oxidative synthesis. The sensitivity of the sensor is 1.6 $\text{k}\Omega $ /pH for acidic pH and 6.2 $\text{K}\Omega $ /pH for basic pH, at a frequency of 1kHz. The sensor has been characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy to validate the formation of emeraldine salt and emeraldine base state of polyaniline. The varying optical band gap values of the in-situ deposited paper sensor in the acidic and basic region also validates the presence of polaron in acidic pH and formation of emeraldine base in basic pH. DC conductivity measurement reveals that the conductivity of the polyaniline coated paper substrate decreases at a higher pH value. For an in-depth understanding, a novel electrical equivalent model is proposed, and the electrical parameters extracted from the Bode impedance and phase plot. The fabricated sensor exhibits an average accuracy of 95.53% when tested with urine sample of healthy subjects and patients suffering from urinary tract infection (UTI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global dissemination of carbapenem resistant-Gram negative bacteria (CR-GNB) is supposed to be clinically alarming because it extremely delimits the treatment options against serious infections. 4-Chloromercuribenzoic acid (pCMB) is an efficient metallo-enzyme inhibitor, and quercetin is known for antioxidant, antiviral, anticancer, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities. These two compounds could be considered as potential candidates for the treatment of CR-GNB mediated infections. Hence, in this study, antibacterial activity of pCMB and quercetin was evaluated against CR-GNB through minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination. Toxicity of pCMB and quercetin was evaluated by LC50 calculation through brine shrimp test (BST) and by investigating hematological, serum biochemical, and histopathological parameters in Swiss-albino mice. Moreover, aggressive–depressive–cognitive behavioral effects of pCMB and quercetin on murine model were evaluated. All the carbapenem resistant isolates (CR-GNB) exhibited MIC values in the range of 4–256 μg/ml, 16–256 μg/ml, and 64–1024 μg/ml for pCMB, quercetin, and meropenem, respectively. BST determined LC50 of pCMB and quercetin at 91.57 ± 0.35 mg/L and 448.45 ± 0.46 mg/L, respectively. Oral administration of low dose of pCMB and quercetin did not induce any significant changes in morphological, behavioral, hematological, serum biochemical, and histopathological parameters among Swiss-albino mice. But, a high dose of pCMB and quercetin exhibited slight toxicity. However, no death was reported for any dosage of pCMB and quercetin. Therefore, pCMB and quercetin might be considered for further investigations on alternative therapeutics to combat against CR-GNB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic genetic devices can perform molecular computation in living bacteria, which may sense more than one environmental chemical signal, perform complex signal processing in a human‐designed way, and respond in a logical manner. IMPLY is one of the four fundamental logic functions and unlike others, it is an "IF‐THEN" constraint‐based logic. By adopting physical hierarchy of electronics in the realm of in‐cell systems chemistry, a full‐spectrum transcriptional cascaded synthetic genetic IMPLY gate, which senses and integrates two environmental chemical signals, is designed, fabricated, and optimized in a single Escherichia coli cell. This IMPLY gate is successfully integrated into a 2‐input‐2‐output integrated logic circuit and showed higher signal‐decoding efficiency. Further, we showed simple application of those devices by integrating them with an inherent cellular process, where we controlled the cell morphology and color in a logical manner. To fabricate and optimize the genetic devices, a new process pipeline named NETWORK Brick is developed. This pipeline allows fast parallel kinetic optimization and reduction in the unwanted kinetic influence of one DNA module over another. A mathematical model is developed and it shows that response of the genetic devices are digital‐like and are mathematically predictable. This single‐cell IMPLY gate provides the fundamental constraint‐based logic and completes the in‐cell molecular logic processing toolbox. The work has significance in the smart biosensor, artificial in‐cell molecular computation, synthetic biology, and microbiorobotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid dissemination of carbapenem‐resistant Gram‐negative bacteria (CRGNB) is a global threat. Quercetin is known for its antimicrobial activity. In this study, carbapenemase and efflux pump inhibitory activities of quercetin were demonstrated against carbapenem‐resistant Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. Further, molecular docking was performed to elucidate molecular mechanisms of such inhibition. CRGNB, expressing one of the carbapenemases, demonstrated significant inhibition of carbapenemase activity when pre‐incubated with 64 µg/ml quercetin. Moreover, acrB overexpressing enterobacterial isolates exhibited significant inhibition of efflux activity upon quercetin treatment. Molecular docking studies revealed stability of quercetin‐carbapenemase complexes. (i) Virtual superimposition of quercetin onto meropenem, (ii) proximity of quercetin to attacking nucleophile and (iii) involvement of same amino acids that stabilize both meropenem and quercetin – indicated competition between quercetin and meropenem for ligand binding. Although quercetin and PAβN, a standard efflux pump inhibitor, docked at both central cavity and periplasmic drug binding sites of AcrB, they did not virtually superimpose on each other. However, sufficient release of Gibb's free energy and involvement of same set of amino acids in PAβN and quercetin stability predicted quercetin's efflux pump inhibitory potential. Hence, quercetin could be potential adjuvant therapeutics for CRGNB‐mediated infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased occupation of primate habitats by humans has forced primates into close contact with their settlements and crops. We conducted a survey with the island settlers on Great Nicobar Island to investigate the conflict between farmers and Nicobar long-tailed macaques. The conflict may have increased following the 2004 tsunami due to the co-dependency of people and macaques on coconuts and cultivated crops. Farmers considered the macaques to be the major cause of crop loss. Macaques foraged on crops more during the rainy season, and more at dawn and dusk. Indirect market-related reasons added to the economic hardship on the part of the settlers. Farmers with small landholdings perceived the loss to be greater than did the owners of larger holdings. Farmers with small landholdings and large families were more intolerant of the macaques. The farmers did not, however, suggest killing the macaques as a way to mitigate crop loss and overcome the conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian crested porcupine, Hystrix indica, is a significant ecosystem engineer that builds extensive burrows in the semi-arid regions of north-west India. Many different animals use these burrows as temporary retreats or permanent shelters. Camera-traps were used to record 22 species using porcupine burrows, including 10 mammals, 8 birds, 3 reptiles, and 1 amphibian. In addition to birds foraging inside and around the entrance, the most common and persistent visitors were mongooses, rats, squirrels, hares, jungle cats, and small Indian civets. A bat species, Hipposideros sp. was found to be permanent occupants of porcupine burrows, while Indian rock pythons and jackals exhibited seasonal use. During winter, pythons basked outside the burrows and constricted their activities to the daytime. Conversely, porcupines are nocturnal and use deeper parts of their burrows than the pythons. Temporal usage patterns and spatial segregation allows for mutualistic behaviour between pythons and porcupines. Jackals were also found to use porcupine burrows during their summer breeding season, employing aggression to evict both porcupines and pythons. The study demonstrates a functional role for porcupines, which are capable of constructing "landmark" structures in the semi-arid regions of north-west India that support a range of micro-communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & objectives: The global spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is an emerging clinical problem. Hence, in this study, the plausible role of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs)/carbapenemases, OmpC/Ompk36, acrB and their combinations was explored among CRE. Methods: The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of meropenem, enzyme-phenotypes (ESBLs/ IR and metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL)/non-MBL carbapenemase), genotypes (blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M; blaNDM and blaVIM; blaKPC and blaOXA-48-like variants), acrB and outer membrane protein (OMP) expressions were analyzed with a total of 101 non-duplicate clinical isolates, obtained from various samples of patients visiting two tertiary care units of Eastern India during May 2013 - October 2016. This included Escherichia coli (n=36) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=65), categorized into two groups, namely Group I (resistant to all carbapenems; n=93; E. coli=34 and Klebsiella spp.=59) and Group II (non-resistant to all the carbapenems; n=8; E. coli=2 and Klebsiella spp.=6). Results: Though 88.17 per cent of Group I isolates exhibited ESBL property, the presence of carbapenemase activity (70.96%) and that of blaNDM gene (42/66: 63.63%) indicated their contributions towards the emergence of CRE. Further, porin loss and/or efflux pump activation among ESBL/carbapenemase-producing isolates heightened the MIC of meropenem from 64 to 256 mg/l (range exhibited by only ESBL/carbapenemase-producing isolates) to >256 mg/l. Interpretation & conclusions: These findings implied the major contribution of porin loss and/or efflux pump activation over the presence of ESBLs/carbapenemases in imparting carbapenem resistance in pathogenic bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relocation is one of the mitigating measures taken by either local people or related officers to reduce the human-bonnet macaque Macaca radiata conflict in India. The review on relocations of primates in India indicates that monkeys are unscreened for diseases or gastrointestinal parasites (henceforth endoparasites) before relocation. We collected 161 spatial samples from 20 groups of bonnet macaque across their distribution range in south India and 205 temporal samples from a group in Chiksuli in the central Western Ghats. The isolation of endoparasite eggs/cysts from the fecal samples was by the centrifugation flotation and sedimentation method. All the sampled groups, except one, had an infection of at least one endoparasite taxa, and a total of 21 endoparasite taxon were recorded. The number of helminth taxon (16) were more than protozoan (5), further, among helminths, nematodes (11) were more common than cestodes (5). Although the prevalence of Ascaris sp. (26.0%), Strongyloides sp. (13.0%), and Coccidia sp. (13.0%) were greater, the load of Entamoeba coli, Giardia sp., Dipylidium caninum and Diphyllobothrium sp. were very high. Distant groups had more similarity in composition of endoparasites taxon than closely located groups. Among all the variables, the degree of provisioning was the topmost determinant factor for the endoparasite taxon richness and their load. Temporal sampling indicates that the endoparasite infection remains continuous throughout the year. Monthly rainfall and average maximum temperature in the month did not influence the endoparasite richness. A total of 17 taxon of helminths and four-taxon of protozoan were recorded. The prevalence of Oesophagostomum sp., and Strongyloides sp., and mean egg load of Spirurids and Trichuris sp. was higher than other endoparasite taxon. The overall endoparasite load and helminth load was higher in immatures than adults, where, adult females had the highest protozoan load in the monsoon. The findings indicate that relocation of commensal bonnet macaque to wild habitat can possible to lead transmission of novel endoparasites that can affect their population. Thus, we suggest avoidance of such relocations, however, if inevitable the captured animals need to be screened and treated for diseases and endoparasites before relocations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group living primates often participate in between-group encounters to defend monopolizable resources. Participation in an encounter is influenced by the density and abundance of resources and the relative fighting ability of groups. We studied between-group encounters in three groups of Nicobar long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis umbrosus) in the Great Nicobar Island, with one group, TR, being the focal study group to measure the influence of these factors on between-group encounters. Encounters varied from mutual tolerance to aggressive fights, with females participating less aggressively than males. Sleeping site and vegetation cover were the primary influences on the nature of interaction in the areas where home range overlapped. The initiation and intensity of an encounter were influenced by relative group size. The focal group (TR) was the smallest of the three groups in the area and it actively avoided confrontation with the other two groups (MG and PI), resulting in a lower observed encounter rate than expected. Both the frequency and aggressiveness of encounters was influenced by the number of females cycling and the number of males present in the study group. Inasmuch as encounters were influenced by the number of females and the distribution of food, rather than geography, we conclude that encounters serve to defend food resources and mates rather than that they are examples of territoriality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macaques possess a repertoire of extractive foraging techniques that range from complex manipulation to tool-aided behaviors, to access food items that increase their foraging efficiency substantially. However, the complexity and composition of such techniques vary considerably between species and even between populations. In the present study, we report seven such complex manipulative behaviors that include six extractive foraging behaviors, and teeth flossing, in a population of Nicobar long-tailed macaques. The apparent purpose of these behaviors was an extraction of encased food, processing food, foraging hidden invertebrates, and dental flossing. Among these behaviors, three behaviors viz. wrapping, wiping, and teeth-flossing were tool-aided behaviors, where macaques used both natural and synthetic materials as tools. Occasionally macaques also modified those tools prior to their use. The substrate use patterns of leaf rubbing and teeth flossing were similar to that observed in other macaques. The spontaneous tool modification to perform wrapping was a first time observation. These observations suggest that Nicobar long-tailed macaques have a high level of sensorimotor intelligence which helps to evolve such innovative foraging solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters pose a threat to isolated populations of species with restricted distributions, especially those inhabiting islands. The Nicobar long tailed macaque.Macaca fascicularis umbrosus, is one such species found in the three southernmost islands (viz. Great Nicobar, Little Nicobar and Katchal) of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, India. These islands were hit by a massive tsunami (Indian Ocean tsunami, 26 December 2004) after a 9.2 magnitude earthquake. Earlier studies [Umapathy et al. 2003; Sivakumar, 2004] reported a sharp decline in the population of M. f. umbrosus after thetsunami. We studied the distribution and population status of M. f. umbrosus on thethree Nicobar Islands and compared our results with those of the previous studies. We carried out trail surveys on existing paths and trails on three islands to get encounter rate as measure of abundance. We also checked the degree of inundation due to tsunami by using Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) on landsat imageries of the study area before and after tsunami. Theencounter rate of groups per kilometre of M. f. umbrosus in Great Nicobar, Little Nicobar and Katchal was 0.30, 0.35 and 0.48 respectively with the mean group size of 39 in Great Nicobar and 43 in Katchal following the tsunami. This was higher than that reported in the two earlier studies conducted before and after the tsunami. Post tsunami, there was a significant change in the proportion of adult males, adult females and immatures, but mean group size did not differ as compared to pre tsunami. The results show that population has recovered from a drastic decline caused by tsunami, but it cannot be ascertained whether it has reached stability because of the altered group structure. This study demonstrates the effect of natural disasters on island occurring species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Among the MBLs, NDMs were less diversified than IMP and VIM. [•] Unlike IMP, VIM demonstrated highly directional and monophyletic mode of evolution. [•] Mutations in stabilization centers led to MBL structural & functional flexibility. [•] Difference in catalytic pocket topology indicated variable drug profile of MBLs. [•] Variable ΔG° &K m of MBLs with meropenem indicated their differential catalysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Biological diversity intrinsically pedals the functioning and stabilization of an ecosystem. Among faunal diversity herpetofaunal (amphibians and reptiles) checklist serve a major role which provide the information of productivity and community dynamics. The present study was carried out at Durgapur, West Bengal, India from August 2009 to July 2011 with the objective to register the seasonal diversity and abundance of herpetofauna in and around the industrial region with special reference to the anthropogenic interventions. Diverse habitat types were surveyed applying hand capture, opportunistic spotting, road kill analysis, call survey and acquiring information from local people. Present survey revealed the richness of the Durgapur industrial area in its herpetofaunal diversity where 9 species of amphibians and 24 species of reptiles were recorded in the study area with the highest abundance observed during the rainy season. Duttaphrynus melanostictus was the most common amphibian species to register while Mycrohyla ornata was the rarest. So far as the reptilian diversity is concerned only one species of turtle (Melanochelys trijuga), eight species of lizards and fifteen snake species were recorded. An overall negative anthropogenic influence on herpetofaunal diversity, distribution and abundance was evidenced from the present study and needs further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abundance patterns of two insects, Gerris spinolae and Brachydeutera longipes, were found to be affected by abiotic aquatic factors including free carbon dioxide, dissolved oxygen, BOD, and phosphate concentrations prevailing in four tropical freshwater ponds, three of which being anthropogenically stressed. Regression analysis between each individual-independent water quality variable and insect abundance demonstrated a significant positive correlation in each case between B. longipes abundance and BOD, phosphate, free CO2, and algae dry weight, while a significant negative correlation of each of these variables was found with Gerris spinolae abundance. Moreover, a significant negative correlation of B. longipes abundance was calculated with dissolved oxygen concentration, while G. spinolae abundance exhibited a positive correlation with the same. Thus, G. spinolae appears to be a pollution sensitive, effective bioindicator for healthy unpolluted ponds, while B. longipes has potential as a pollution-resistant insect species indicative of pollution occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic intervention has led to conversion of much of the global diversity by means of habitat alterations. The present study was carried out to investigate the importance of habitat quality and habitat heterogeneity for the diversity, distribution and abundance of avifauna in and around Neora Valley National Park (NVNP) during April-May 2010. A total of 73 bird species belonging to 25 families were recorded during the present study applying a modified point count method. Forest edges were found to be most diverse with a total count of 54 bird species having an abundance of 172.53 number of birds ha-1. Study areas with human settlements was represented by a total species count of 24 with an abundance of 130.39 number of birds ha-1 while a total species count of 22 with an abundance of 69.32 number of birds ha-1 was recorded from thick vegetation assemblage with close canopy cover. This site specific occurrence pattern for avifauna was reflected in the study of diversity indices. The highest Shannon-Wiener general diversity score of 3.77 was recorded for bird species from forest edges. Study areas with dense canopy closure were found to support more habitat specialist bird species while areas having human settlements harboured more opportunistic bird species. An overall negative influence of human settlements on bird diversity, distribution and abundance was evidenced from the present study and needs further investigation. Moreover, intensive studies will certainly enrich our knowledge of avian diversity and distribution pattern from the present study location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]