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The polymorphic nature of merozoite surface protein 1(MSP1) raises doubts whether it may serve as a vaccine target against Plasmodium vivax malaria. This study analyses the impact of genetic variability on the epitope organization of different Pvmsp1 blocks. Ten blood samples collected from P. vivax infected malaria patients from West Bengal, India were used to analyze sequence and antigenic diversities of block 2 region of Pvmsp1. An additional 48 block 2 sequences from other countries were also analyzed. Global genetic framework of Pvmsp1 block 2 was represented by 12 indel clusters & 33 haplotypes (haplotype diversiy = 0.965 ± 0.024). Parasite sequences pertaining to other Pvmsp1 modules, namely block 6 and 10 displayed 14 & 29 (haplotype diversiy = 0.975 ± 0.003) and 22 & 30 indel clusters and haplotypes (haplotype diversiy = 0.947 ± 0.004), respectively. In spite of this remarkable genetic diversity, a small number of conserved epitopes were detected in all three PvMSP1 blocks. This novel finding substantiates that MSP1 could serve as a promising vaccine candidate against vivax malaria., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Dietary supplementation of oats has been associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and gastrointestinal disorders. The role of oat extract as prophylactic in treating acute liver injury is not thoroughly established. We, therefore, hypothesized that oat extract would exert protective effect against alcohol-induced acute liver injury in a mouse model. To test this hypothesis, male C57BL/6 mice were pretreated with phenolic-enriched ethyl acetate (EA) fraction of oats (prepared by fractionating aqueous ethanolic extract with solvents of increasing polarity) at dosages of 125 and 250 mg kg -1 d -1 for 12 consecutive days. Acute liver injury was induced by administering 5 doses of 50% ethanol intragastrically (10 g/kg body weight) to mice at an interval of 12 hours. The alcohol-induced liver injury was evaluated by measuring serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, antioxidant parameters, mitochondrial function, and histology of liver tissue. Our results demonstrated that pretreatment with EA fraction at 250 mg kg -1 d -1 significantly (P < .001 for aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive species and P < .01 for lactate dehydrogenase and nitrites) reduced the levels of liver injury markers and significantly (P < .001 for glutathione reductase and glutathione S-transferase; P < .01 for catalase, superoxide dismustase, and vitamin C; P < .05 for reduced glutathione and NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1) increased the levels of antioxidant defenses. Furthermore, EA-pretreated mice showed mechanistic inhibition of nuclear factor κB signaling pathway through decreased phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα. We conclude that phenolic-enriched EA fraction of oats has immense potential to serve as dietary intervention against alcohol-induced liver damage., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Real-time PCR assay sensitivity is affected by the choice and concentrations of reaction mix constituents among other factors such as primers, probes, and analytical assay platforms. Commercially available reagent mixes facilitate PCR assay set-up with fewer steps and timeliness. However, determination of analytical assay framework is important for ready-to-use real-time PCR reagent systems for rapid, quantitative and accurate detection of bioterror pathogens such as Bacillus anthracis., Methods: In this study, performance characteristics of five commercially available quantitative PCR reagent mixes were evaluated using TaqMan-based real-time PCR. The reagent systems were tested for compatibility on the ABI 7000 assay platform and compared for their distinctive analytical characteristics using the B. anthracis rpoB and pag gene real-time PCR assays., Results and Conclusions: Knowledge of distinctive assay performance characteristics of commercially available qPCR reagent mixes is critical for carefully designing analytical assay systems. The ABI, ABgene and Eppendorf reagent systems performed consistently overall for the two TaqMan assays for B. anthracis detection that were used in the current study. However, the use of Eppendorf reagent system requires shorter thermal cycling time. In addition, while the ABI and Eppendorf systems have similar assay sensitivity for both the rpoB and pag assays, the Eppendorf system achieves the same with lower C(T) values.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of interventions aimed to increase retinal screening among people with diabetes., Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted of multiple electronic bibliographic databases up to May 2005. Studies were included if interventions were used to promote screening for diabetic retinopathy in any language and with any study design., Results: Forty-eight studies (12 randomized controlled trials [RCTs], four nonrandomized studies, and 32 pre-post studies) with a total of 162,157 participants, examined a wide range of interventions, which focused on one or more of the following: (1) patients or populations, (2) providers or practices, and (3) healthcare system infrastructure and processes. Four of five RCTs focusing on patients demonstrated that interventions increased screening significantly, with relative risk ranging from 1.05 (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.01-1.08) to 2.01 (95% CI=1.48-2.73). Five RCTs with a focus on the system all demonstrated significant increases in screening with relative risk ranging from 1.12 (95% CI=1.03-1.22) to 5.56 (95% CI=2.19-14.10). Thirty-six non-RCTs, which included interventions with single or multiple foci, also generally demonstrated positive effects., Conclusions: Increasing patient awareness of diabetic retinopathy, improving provider and practice performance, and improving healthcare system infrastructure and processes, can significantly increase screening for diabetic retinopathy. Further research should explore strategies for increasing the rate of retinal screening among diverse or disadvantaged populations and the economic efficiency of effective interventions in large community populations.