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Abstract Background Thermal injuries are one of the commonest causes of unnatural deaths in females in developing countries. However, there is a lack of adequate research into the social and psychological aspects that lead to such deaths. The suicidal death due to immolation by fire is a scourge on Indian society that is not being adequately addressed in all its aspects. There is an attempt in this study to bring awareness of the population under risk and to motivate prevention measures. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Victoria Hospital Mortuary for a period of 12 months between 2017 and 2018. Medicolegal and psychological autopsies were performed on 120 female burn victims over 15 years of age. The information gathered via medical records, police investigations, interviews with family, and postmortem findings was analyzed and compiled to obtain the following results. Results Most of the victims, i.e., 52% of the women, were illiterate. More than half of the victims, i.e., 53% of the women in this study, were found to be in the upper-lower socio-economic. Majority of the female victims (63.3%) were married for more than 7 years. Suicide was the commonest manner of death (52%). There was no alleged history of domestic abuse in most cases (73.3%). Only 2 cases, i.e., 1.7% of cases, were booked under Dowry Prohibition Act. Only 28.3% of cases were investigated by Magistrate’s Inquest. History of mental illnesses was reported only in 14.2% of victims. Alcohol was detected in only 2 of the victims (1.7%). Conclusions It is evident that in most cases of deaths in women due to thermal injuries, the entire narrative is not thoroughly investigated and any prior history of domestic abuse, dowry demands/harassment, and even mental illnesses gets under-reported or undocumented. Despite there being a plethora of information regarding the statistics as to how women die due to thermal injuries, very minimal data exists regarding the measures adopted to prevent it. There is a hope that this study inspires the concerned stakeholders to take stock and introduce measures to prevent such potential deaths among the vulnerable female population.

Topological indices are the molecular descriptors that characterize the formation of chemical compounds and predict certain physicochemical properties. Reverse degreebased topological indices play an important role in calculating topological descriptors. Line graphs illustrate the molecular graphs of chemical structures in another way and used to predict the physicochemical properties of chemical structures. In this article, we compute some reverse degree-based topological indices of the line graph of Zanamivir and Oseltamivir. This theoretical analysis may help chemists and people working in the pharmaceutical industry to predict the properties of H1N1 drugs without experimenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a graph G, the M-polynomial is defined to be... where mαβfi(α, β; ≥ 1) is the number of edges ab of G such that degG(a) = and degG(b) = fi; and ffi is the minimum degree and is the maximum degree of G. The physicochemical properties of chemical graphs are found by topological indices, in particular, the degree-based topological indices, which can be determined from an algebraic formula called M-polynomial. In this paper, we first compute the M-polynomial of the Dandelion graph and the line graph of Dandelion graph. Further, we derive some degree-based topological indices of these graphs from their respective M-polynomial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoCs) that evade immunity continue to emerge, next-generation adaptable COVID-19 vaccines which protect the respiratory tract and provide broader, more effective, and durable protection are urgently needed. Here, we have developed one such approach, a highly efficacious, intranasally delivered, trivalent measles-mumps-SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein (MMS) vaccine candidate that induces robust systemic and mucosal immunity with broad protection. This vaccine candidate is based on three components of the MMR vaccine, a measles virus Edmonston and the two mumps virus strains [Jeryl Lynn 1 (JL1) and JL2] that are known to provide safe, effective, and long-lasting protective immunity. The six proline-stabilized prefusion S protein (preS-6P) genes for ancestral SARS-CoV-2 WA1 and two important SARS-CoV-2 VoCs (Delta and Omicron BA.1) were each inserted into one of these three viruses which were then combined into a trivalent “MMS” candidate vaccine. Intranasal immunization of MMS in IFNAR1−/− mice induced a strong SARS-CoV-2-specific serum IgG response, cross-variant neutralizing antibodies, mucosal IgA, and systemic and tissue-resident T cells. Immunization of golden Syrian hamsters with MMS vaccine induced similarly high levels of antibodies that efficiently neutralized SARS-CoV-2 VoCs and provided broad and complete protection against challenge with any of these VoCs. This MMS vaccine is an efficacious, broadly protective next-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which is readily adaptable to new variants, built on a platform with a 50-y safety record that also protects against measles and mumps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Each year approximately 8 lakh people die by suicides worldwide.(1) Suicideamong adolescents warrants special concern for several reasons. Early adolescence and young adulthood display increase in deaths from suicides.(2) It is the second leading cause of death in adolescents in comparison to other age groups. Adolescence and youth are predominant ages during which suicide is attempted.(3) Hence, studies on adolescent suicides potentially presents opportunities to prevent the same, thus saving many lives. Objectives: To determine pattern of adolescent suicides in terms of socio-demographic parameters, methods, and causes. Materials & Methods: A Cross sectional study was conducted at the Victoria Hospital Mortuary for 18 months between November 2017 to May 2019. Medicolegal autopsies were performed on the victims of suicidal deaths between the age group of 13-18 years during that period. The cases were then analysed with the information gleaned from the police, family, and the autopsy procedure. Results: 192 cases belonged to the study age group and 48% (92 cases) of the cases were suicides. Majority of the victims were between 17-18 years of age and belonged to lower middle socio-economic status. Family history of suicide was seen in 1%. Hanging was the commonest method of suicide followed by poisoning and burns. Family conflicts, Love failure, psychiatric disorder, financial problems, exam failure werefew reasonscompelling suicide. Conclusion: Adolescence is a vulnerable age. Adequate addressal of increasing suicide rates among teenagers is the need of the hour by increasing psycho-social awareness and implementing necessary regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spike (S) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the main target for neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). The S protein trimer is anchored in the virion membrane in its prefusion (preS) but metastable form. The preS protein has been stabilized by introducing two or six proline substitutions, to generate stabilized, soluble 2P or HexaPro (6P) preS proteins. Currently, it is not known which form is the most immunogenic. Here, we generated recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) expressing preS-2P, preS-HexaPro, and native full-length S, and compared their immunogenicity in mice and hamsters. The rVSV-preS-HexaPro produced and secreted significantly more preS protein compared to rVSV-preS-2P. Importantly, rVSV-preS-HexaPro triggered significantly more preS-specific serum IgG antibody than rVSV-preS-2P in both mice and hamsters. Antibodies induced by preS-HexaPro neutralized the B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1, B.1.427, and B.1.617.2 variants approximately two to four times better than those induced by preS-2P. Furthermore, preS-HexaPro induced a more robust Th1-biased cellular immune response than preS-2P. A single dose (104 pfu) immunization with rVSV-preS-HexaPro and rVSV-preS-2P provided complete protection against challenge with mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 and B.1.617.2 variant, whereas rVSV-S only conferred partial protection. When the immunization dose was lowered to 103 pfu, rVSV-preS-HexaPro induced two-to sixfold higher antibody responses than rVSVpreS-2P in hamsters. In addition, rVSV-preS-HexaPro conferred 70% protection against lung infection whereas only 30% protection was observed in the rVSV-preS-2P. Collectively, our data demonstrate that both preS-2P and preS-HexaPro are highly efficacious but preS-HexaPro is more immunogenic and protective, highlighting the advantages of using preS-HexaPro in the next generation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a worldwide health concern, and new treatment strategies are needed. Targeting inflammatory innate immunity pathways holds therapeutic promise, but effective molecular targets remain elusive. Here, we show that human caspase-4 (CASP4) and its mouse homolog, caspase-11 (CASP11), are up-regulated in SARS-CoV-2 infections and that CASP4 expression correlates with severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans. SARS-CoV-2-infected Casp112/2 mice were protected from severe weight loss and lung pathology, including blood vessel damage, compared to wild-type (WT) mice and mice lacking the caspase downstream effector gasdermin-D (Gsdmd2/2). Notably, viral titers were similar regardless of CASP11 knockout. Global transcriptomics of SARS-CoV-2-infected WT, Casp112/2, and Gsdmd2/2 lungs identified restrained expression of inflammatory molecules and altered neutrophil gene signatures in Casp112/2 mice. We confirmed that protein levels of inflammatory mediators interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and CXCL1, as well as neutrophil functions, were reduced in Casp112/2 lungs. Additionally, Casp112/2 lungs accumulated less von Willebrand factor, a marker for endothelial damage, but expressed more Kruppel-Like Factor 2, a transcription factor that maintains vascular integrity. Overall, our results demonstrate that CASP4/11 promotes detrimental SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammation and coagulopathy, largely independently of GSDMD, identifying CASP4/11 as a promising drug target for treatment and prevention of severe COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pathos block vertex graph of a tree T, written PBV (T), is a graph whose vertices are the vertices, blocks (edges), and paths of a pathos of T, with two vertices of PBV (T) adjacent whenever one corresponds to a block Bi of T and the other to a vertex vj of T such that Bi is incident with vj or the block lies on the corresponding path of the pathos; two distinct pathos vertices Pm and Pn of PBV (T) are adjacent whenever the corresponding paths of the pathos Pm(vi; vj) and Pn(vk; vl) have a common vertex in T. We study the properties of PBV (T); and present the characterization of graphs whose PBV (T) are planar; outerplanar; and crossing number one. We further show that for any tree T, PBV (T) is not maximal outerplanar and not minimally nonouterplanar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]