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Objectives: Conventional upper intestinal endoscopy is usually performed to diagnose Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-associated diseases, using gastric mucosa from the biopsy. The objective of the study was to identify the prevalence of H. pylori and its relation with endoscopic findings and histopathological features in dyspeptic adult patients. Methods: Gastroduodenal biopsy specimens were collected from 143 adult dyspeptic patients who attended the outpatient Department of Gastroenterology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) and Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), for endoscopy. H. pylori were identified by rapid urease test (RUT), ureC gene PCR, and histological staining (Giemsa). Results: The study population was categorized as H. pylori positive cases 47(32.9%) and H. pylori negative cases 96 (67.1%) based on the case definition used in the study. The highest rate of H. pylori infection was found in the age group between 41-50 years (25.5%). Endoscopically, 101 (97.1%) dyspeptic patients had gastritis, and the majority of H. pylori infections were found among histopathologically diagnosed duodenal ulcer patients. Endoscopic findings were significantly correlated with histological findings (p

Differentiation of Crohn’s disease (CD) from intestinal tuberculosis (ITB) is a big challenge to gastroenterologists because of their indistinguishable features and insensitive diagnostic tools. A non-invasive biomarker is urgently required to distinguish ITB/CD patients particularly in India, a TB endemic region, where CD frequency is increasing rapidly due to urbanization. Among the three differentially expressed miRNAs obtained from small RNA transcriptomic profiling of ileocaecal/terminal ileal tissue of ITB/CD patients (n = 3), only two down-regulated miRNAs, miR-31-5p, and miR-215-5p showed comparable data in qRT-PCR. Out of which, only miR-215-5p was detectable in the patient’s plasma, but there was no significant difference in expression between ITB/CD. On the other hand, miR-375-3p, the pulmonary TB specific marker was found in higher amount in the plasma of ITB patients than CD while reverse expression was observed in the ileocaecal/terminal ileal tissues of the same patients. Next, using Bioplex pro-human cytokine 48-plex screening panel, only three chemokines, Eotaxin-1/CCL11, SDF-1α/CXCL12, and G-CSF have noted significantly different levels in the serum of ITB/CD patients. ROC analysis has revealed that compared to a single molecule, a combination of miR-375-3p + Eotaxin-1/CCL11 + SDF-1α /CXCL12 + G-CSF showed a better AUC of 0.83, 95% CI (0.69–0.96) with 100% specificity and positive predictive value while sensitivity, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 56%, 69%, and 78% respectively in distinguishing ITB from CD. This study suggests that a combination of plasma markers shows better potential in differentiating ITB from CD than a single marker and this panel of markers may be used for clinical management of ITB/CD patients.

This research was conducted to study the types of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) present in selected yogurts available in the local market of Bangladesh. For this purpose, nine different yogurt samples were collected (viz. MV, Mw, Pst, Psr, Bik, Bog, WF, Kw and Nab) and cultured in the selective MRS agar media for enumerating LAB colony. Out of 9 samples, colony forming LAB were found in 6 samples and the population ranged from 1.0×104 to 9.5×105 cfu/ml. Catalase negative and Gram’s positive colonies were initially identified as LAB. Then the isolates were purified by subsequent culturing in MRS broth and MRS agar media. Biochemical properties of selected colonies were evaluated by performing gas production from glucose, growth at different temperatures (10ºC, 15ºC and 45ºC), growth at different NaCl concentrations (2, 4 and 6.5% NaCl) and sugar fermentation tests (lactose, sorbitol, salicin, trehalose, melibiose, sucrose, mannitol, melezitose, maltose, galactose, glucose, arabinose, raffinose and ribose). According to the tests stated above, a total of five different species of LAB were identified from 6 samples. The isolate Lactobacillus lactis was identified in MV, PSr and Bog yogurt, while Lactobacillus bulgaricus was found in MV and Bik yogurt. The species Leuconostoc cremoris, a avor producing bacteria, was found in six yogurt samples. On the other hand, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus helveticus was found only in Pst and Psr samples, respectively. Bang. J. Livs. Res. Vol. 27 (1&2), 2020: P. 64-72

Activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSC) are the main source of extra cellular matrix in liver fibrosis. Activation is classically divided in two phases: initiation and perpetuation. Currently, HSC-based therapeutic candidates largely focus on targeting the aHSCs in the perpetuation phase. However, the importance of HSC initiation during chronic liver disease (CLD) remains unclear. Here, we identified transcriptional programs of initiating and activated HSCs by RNA sequencing, using in vitro and in vivo mouse models of fibrosis. Importantly, we show that both programs are active in HSCs during murine and human CLD. In human cirrhotic livers, scar associated mesenchymal cells employ both transcriptional programs at the single cell level. Our results indicate that the transcriptional programs that drive the initiation of HSCs are still active in humans suffering from CLD. We conclude that molecules involved in the initiation of HSC activation, or in the maintenance of aHSCs can be considered equally important in the search for druggable targets of chronic liver disease. ispartof: CELL DEATH & DISEASE vol:12 issue:12 ispartof: location:England status: published

Invasive fungus infection affects about six people out of every 100,000 people each year. Only half of these infections are detected throughout the patient's lifetime, making it one of the most common causes of death among intensive-care patients. The low detection rate is due to the diagnostic work's complexity, which comprises clinical, radiographic, and microbiological results. Antimycotic drug-resistant fungi are on the rise all over the world. Guidelines for identifying and treating invasive fungous infections caused by Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., Mucorales, and Fusarium spp. are the topic of this review. In typical hospital care, intrusive fungous infections are frequently ignored. They must include it as a necessary component of antimicrobial stewardship programmes. There is also a great need for novel antimycotic medication classes to be developed

The current investigation focuses on a systematic study of application of two dried algal biomass (i.e., Nostoc sp. and Turbinaria vulgaris) in removal of Cr(VI) from synthetic solution as well as tannery industrial wastewater. The optimized conditions for Cr(VI) removal are nearly same for the both the biosorbents (i.e., pH 2.8, initial Cr(VI) concentration 100 mg L−1, biomass dosage of 1.2g L−1, contact time 120 and 110 min). Nostoc sp. (qmax=23.94mg g−1) was observed to possess a superior removal capability when compared to Turbinaria vulgaris (qmax=21.8mg g−1). Desorption studies were performed with four different desorbing agents. Application study was conducted using tannery wastewater with Nostoc sp. and 94.20% removal of Cr(VI) was obtained. Hence, this study revealed that Nostoc sp. and T. vulgaris both have great potential to be an environment friendly and economic biosorbent for removal of Cr(VI) containing industrial effluent.

Graphic abstract The popularity of traditional fermented food products is based on their healthiness. The addition of a starter brings consistent, desirable, and predictable food changes with improved nutritive, functional, and sensory qualities. The addition of a mixture of plant residues as a starter or source of microbes is an age-old practice to prepare traditional fermented food and beverages, and most of the reported data on traditional foods were based on the analysis of the final product. The contribution of an individual starter component (plant residue) is not experimentally substantiated for any traditional fermented food, but this data are very essential for the formulation of an effective starter. In this study, Asparagus racemosus, which used as a common ingredient of starter for preparation of rice fermented food in the Indian sub-continent, was used as a starter for the preparation of rice fermented food under laboratory scale, and its microbial and nutrient profile was evaluated. The fermented product was a good source of lactic acid bacteria, Bifidobacterium sp., yeast, etc. The food product was acidic and enriched with lactic acid and acetic acid with titratable acidity of 0.65%. The content of protein, fat, minerals, and vitamins (water-soluble) was considerably improved. Most notably, oligosaccharide (G3-matotriose), unsaturated fatty acids (ω3, ω6, ω7, and ω9), and a pool of essential and non-essential amino acids were enriched in the newly formulated food. Thus, the herbal starter-based rice fermented food would provide important macro- and micronutrients. They could also deliver large numbers of active microorganisms for the sustainability of health. Therefore, the selected plant part conferred its suitability as an effective starter for the preparation of healthier rice-based food products.

Introduction The major chemical marker of black pepper (Piper nigrum L) is piperine and its estimation is extremely important for quality assessment of black pepper. The methods for piperine quantification, to date, are laboratory based and use high end instruments like chromatographs, which require tedious sample processing and cause sample destruction. Objectives In this article, we present a simple, rapid and green analytical method based on Raman spectroscopy for the quantitative assessment of piperine. Material and methods To assess the potential of the technique, we report the complete vibrational characterisation of the piperine with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Results The theoretical peaks were obtained at 1097 cm-1 , 1388 cm-1 , 1528 cm-1 , 1578 cm-1 , and at 1627 cm-1 , and this result was verified in a Raman spectrometer followed by a preliminary experiment. Twenty black pepper samples were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and used as reference data for Raman analysis. The Raman shift spectra were analysed using partial least squares (PLS) and good prediction accuracy with correlation coefficient of prediction (Rp2 ) = 0.93, root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) = 0.13 and residual prediction deviation (RPD) = 3.9 obtained. Conclusions The results demonstrate the efficacy of the Raman technique for the estimation of piperine in the dry fruit of Piper nigrum.

Cellulose is the utmost plenteous source of biopolymer in our earth, and fungi are the most efficient and ubiquitous organism in degrading the cellulosic biomass by synthesizing cellulases. Tailoring through genetic manipulation has played a substantial role in constructing novel fungal strains towards improved cellulase production of desired traits. However, the traditional methods of genetic manipulation of fungi are time-consuming and tedious. With the availability of the full-genome sequences of several industrially relevant filamentous fungi, CRISPR-CAS (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein) technology has come into the focus for the proficient development of manipulated strains of filamentous fungi. This review summarizes the mode of action of cellulases, transcription level regulation for cellulase expression, various traditional strategies of genetic manipulation with CRISPR-CAS technology to develop modified fungal strains for a preferred level of cellulase production, and the futuristic trend in this arena of research.

Tropical agroforestry practices play a crucial role in mitigating global climate change by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and storing carbon in their biomass. Assessing the effects of water stress on carbon sequestration as well as uncertainties in measurement, are important for implementing the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programs and carbon trading. This study aims to understand how precipitation influences carbon sequestration of Tectona grandis, Acacia mangium and Eucalyptus camaldulensis growing in agroforestry (woodlot) plantations in Bangladesh. Wood cores were collected at two different sites with contrasting (low vs high) annual precipitation and analysed for radial growth, carbon isotope abundance (δ13C) of cellulose and wood density. Site- and species-specific variation in δ13C was observed with higher values (less negative) detected at the low precipitation site. Trees at the low precipitation site showed lower growth rate and higher wood (basic) density compared to the trees at high precipitation site. Trees at the low precipitation site also showed significantly lower carbon sequestration rate (CSR) than those of the high precipitation site. δ13C reflects site- and species-specific water stress conditions. This study characterises intra- and inter-specific CSR variations in contrasting sites and confirms the importance of considering site-specific radial variation of wood density to render more accurate accounting of carbon sequestration and storage in tropical forests.

For gauging suitability of zygopteran odonates as bioindicators of ecosystems, an attempt was made to record the seasonal diversity of damselflies from seven different types of habitats in Paschim Medinipur District, West Bengal covering 14 land use sites. The study revealed existence of 19 species of damselflies belonging to 10 genera under two families. While the riparian zone had maximum number of species (15), paddy field had the lowest number (six). Ceriagrion coromandelianum and Agriocnemis pygmaea were the most common species. C. coromandelianum was eudominant in grassland and wetland-forest interface, whereas A. pygmaea was eudominant in fish pond and paddy field. Six species, viz., Paracercion calamorum, P. malayanum, Pseudagrion australasiae, P. decorum, P. spencei, and P. microcephalum were confined only to the riparian zone. Maximum abundance of damselflies was found in the riparian zone and minimum in the paddy field. Damselflies exhibited a distinct peak in March–April and a lesser peak in September–October. Most of the land use patterns exhibited similar zygopteran faunal composition. Species diversity index was moderate (1.4–2.5) and evenness index was on the higher side (0.76–0.94). Dominance Index ranged from 26.2 to 64.6. Riparian zone appeared to be the least stressed and most equitable habitat with highest diversity and evenness index and lowest dominance index. Paddy field seemed to be the harshest habitat for damselflies with least diversity and highest dominance index. The present study suggests that community analysis of damselflies can be quite useful in the assessment of the quality of any ecosystem.

Acridine orange (AO), a basic carcinogenic fluorochrome dye, is used in the industry for staining. In this study, Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus cereus M116 (MTCC 5521) dry biomass was tested as an eco-friendly, easily available, and cheap biosorbent for the AO dye removal. We obtained optimum biosorption of AO at a biomass concentration of 0.25 g/L and initial dye concentrations of 50–400 mg/L at neutral to basic pH within the 300 min contact time. Kinetics analysis of the biosorption process was best fitted with the pseudo-second-order reaction type. We also performed the isotherm analysis to predict the nature of the reaction taking place, which was found to follow the Redlich Peterson isotherm model with high determination coefficients. The maximum sorption capacity was 210.46 mg/g of dry biomass. The differential FTIR spectroscopic analysis of pristine and AO-treated Bacillus cereus M116 cells suggested the potential involvement of carbonyl, hydroxyl, and amine groups in the biosorption process. Also, the scanning electron microscopy of the cells after AO removal confirmed a gross surface alteration compared to the untreated cells. Furthermore, Response Surface Model (RSM) analysis with the three-way ANOVA test confirms statistically significant interactions between the dye concentration, pH, and temperature with the biosorption capacity (p

Chemical extraction of chitin is very hazardous and costly which can be overwhelmed by microbial bioprocessing. In this study, potent protease and lactic acid-producing bacteria were screened and identified as Alcaligens faecalis S3 and Bacillus coagulans L2, respectively. Productions of protease and lactic acid by the respective bacterial strains were optimized. The shell of Litopenaeus vannamei was sequentially treated with the partially purified protease and lactic acid and the treatment conditions were optimized for betterment of chitin yield. Spectral characterization by SEM-EDS, IR, XRD, NMR, XPS and thermal characterization by TG and DTG analysis of the extracted chitin was made and compared with commercial one. It was revealed that both the chitin have similar characteristics. Therefore, it can be articulated that chitin can be extracted from crustacean shells in pure form by microbial bioprocessing which will be a good catch for biorefinary industries for chitin extraction through greener route.

Insect crop visitations do not necessarily always translate to transfer or carriage of pollen. To determine the potential of the various insects visiting summer and rainy seasons sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica (Linn.)) flowers to facilitate the pollen transfer, the present study examines the diversity of visiting insects to sponge gourd seed crops in relation to the time of day and season, diversity and abundance to its flowers, fruits and seed yield. These visiting insects taxonomically belonged to 8 different insect orders viz. Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata and Orthoptera/Dictyoptera. Rainy season sponge gourd crops had higher numbers of insect visitors and higher diversity (0.80 of Simpson’s Diversity Index and 1.71 of Shannon–Weaver Index of diversity as compared to summer season crop (0.72 and 1.51, respectively). The summer crop had the highest number of visiting insects belonged to the order Coleoptera followed by Hemiptera and Hymenoptera and their reciprocal form of Berger Parker’s dominance indices were 2.21, 5.05 and 6.17, respectively. In summer crop, honeybees were the main pollinators comprising 57.69% of total pollinators in sponge gourds. All the four honeybee species viz., Apis cerana indica, A. dorsata, A. florea and A. mellifera were found to visit in sponge gourd. However, the dominant species was A. florea with 39% of total honeybee share. In rainy season crop, in contrary, honeybees comprised only 16.32% share on total visiting pollinators in sponge gourd. Rice skipper, Pelopidas mathias (46.84% share) was found almost thorough out the day with higher visitation during evening hours. Other pollinators were stingless bees (11.58% share), butterflies and moths. Consequently, we suggest optimizing pollinators’ management including honeybees and thereby improving the attraction of sponge gourd lines to these pollinators to improve pollination rates for sponge gourd seed crops.

On-going global pandemic COVID-19 has spread all over the world and has led to more than 1.97 million deaths till date. Natural compounds may be useful to protecting health in this perilous condition. Mechanism of shuttle entry of SARS-COV-2 virus is by interaction with viral spike protein with human angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) receptor. To explore potential natural therapeutics, 213 important phytochemi-cals of nine medicinal plants Aconitum heterophyllum, Cassia angustifolia, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Cymbopogon martinii, Nux vomica, Phyllanthus urinaria, Swertia chirayita, Justicia adhatoda, Vetiveria zizanioides were selected for in-silico molecular docking against the spike protein of SARS-COV-2 and compared with recently prescribed drug chloroquine, ramdesivir, lopinavir and hydroxychloroquine. Results revealed that rhamnocitrin of P. urinaria, 1,5-dihydroxy-3,8-dimethoxyxanthone of S. chirayita and laevojunenol of V. zizanioides potentially binds with the receptor binding site of SARS-COV-2 spike glycoprotein and more robustly destabilized the RBD-ACE-2 binding over chloroquine, ramdesivir, lopinavir and hydroxychloroquine. It was also found that laevojunenol, rhamnocitrin, and 1,5-dihydroxy-3,8-dimethoxyxanthone qualified the criteria for drug-likeness as per Lipinski rule. After attachment of the selected phytochemical with the spike protein the affinity of the later towards ACE-2 was minimized and the effect of 1,5-dihydroxy-3,8-dimethoxyxanthone and laevojunenol was superior. Hence, rhamnocitrin of P. urinaria, 1,5-dihydroxy-3,8-dimethoxyxanthone of S. chirayita and laevojunenol of V. zizanioides, are potential therapeutic molecules for SARS-COV-2, which upon binding with spike protein changes the affinity of the spike towards ACE-2 and therefore restrict the entry of the virus into a human cell. Subsequent clinical validation is needed to confirm these phytochemicals as drugs to combat COVID-19.

Environmental health is a critical concern, continuously contaminated by physical and biological components (viz., anthropogenic activity), which adversely affect on biodiversity, ecosystems and human health. Nonetheless, environmental pollution has great impact on microbial communities, especially bacteria, which try to evolve in changing environment. For instance, during the course of adaptation, bacteria easily become resistance to antibiotics and heavy metals. Antibiotic resistance genes are now one of the most vital pollutants, provided as a source of frequent horizontal gene transfer. In this review, the environmental cause of multidrug resistance (MDR) that was supposed to be driven by either heavy metals or combination of environmental factors was essentially reviewed, especially focussed on the correlation between accumulation of heavy metals and development of MDR by bacteria. This kind of correlation was seemed to be non-significant, i.e. paradoxical. Gram-positive bacteria accumulating much of toxic heavy metal (i.e. highly stress tolerance) were unlikely to become MDR, whereas Gram-negative bacteria that often avoid accumulation of toxic heavy metal by efflux pump systems were come out to be more prone to MDR. So far, other than antibiotic contaminant, no such available data strongly support the direct influence of heavy metals in bacterial evolution of MDR; combinations of factors may drive the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, Gram-positive bacteria are most likely to be an efficient member in treatment of industrial waste water, especially in the removal of heavy metals, perhaps inducing the less chance of antibiotic resistance pollution in the environment.

Background Chest pain is a common presenting symptom in the emergency department (ED). The HEART (history, electroencephalogram [ECG], age, risk factors, and troponin I) score, with addition of troponin at 3 h, helps to determine appropriate risk stratification of the patients. Objective This study evaluated the utility of the HEART pathway as a decision aid designed for risk stratification of patients with acute-onset chest pain for early and safe disposition. Methods This was a prospective observational study done in a tertiary care center. Focused history, 12-lead ECG, and baseline troponin I level on arrival and at hour 3 were recorded. Subjects were classified as low risk (HEART score 0–3) or high risk (HEART score ≥ 4). Patients with a HEART score of 0–3 with negative troponin I at 3 h were discharged and were followed up for major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) within 30 days of ED presentation. Results A total of 250 patients were screened for the study, of which 151 were included for the final analysis. One hundred and two patients (68%) were male and 54% of patients were younger than 45 years. HEART scores of 0 (n = 16), 1 (n = 43), 2 (n = 44), and 3 (n = 48) were observed. There was only 1 MACE (0.7%) in 30 days after ED discharge in the study population. The mean length of ED stay in the low-risk group was 4.5 h. Conclusions Low-risk patients, as per the HEART pathway, can be discharged safely from the ED, which reduces ED stay and health care resource use.

Crustacean shell waste disposal is considered as biggest problem in seafood processing centers. Incineration and landfilling are the commonest ways of disposal of the waste which causes environmental pollution. Microbial bio-conversion is one of the promising approaches to minimize the wastes by utilizing the same for deriving different value added metabolites. In this perspective, chitinase- and protease-producing bacterial strains were isolated from shrimp culture pond, and the potent isolate was subsequently identified as Alcaligenes faecalis SK10. Fermentative optimization of the production of chitinase (85.42 U/ml), protease (58.57 U/ml), and their catalytic products, viz., N-acetylamino sugar (84 μg/ml) and free amino acids (112 μg/ml), were carried out by utilizing shrimp and crab shell powder as principal substrate. The fermented hydrolysate (FH) was subsequently applied to evaluate its potential to be a candidate fertilizer for the growth of leguminous plant Pisum sativum and Cicer arietinum, and the results were compared with chitin, chitosan, and commercial biofertilizer amended group. The results revealed that FH have paramount potential to improve plants morpho-physiological parameters like stem and root length, chlorophyll, cellular RNA, protein content, and soil physico-chemical parameters like total nitrogen, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium significantly (p < 0.05). Moreover, the application of FH also selectively encouraged the growth of free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria, Rhizobium, phosphate-solubilizing bacteria in the soil by 4.82- and 5.27-, 5.57- and 4.71, and 7.64- and 6.92-fold, respectively, in the rhizosphere of P. sativum and C. arietinum, which collectively is a good sign for an ideal biofertilizer. Co-supplementation of FH with commercial PGPR-biofertilizer significantly influenced the morpho-physiological attributes of plant and physico-chemical and microbial attributes of soil. The study validated proficient and sustainable utilization of fermented hydrolysate of waste crustacean shell as biofertilizer.

Objective: The study was carried out for molecular characterization and antibiotic resistance anal¬ysis of Escherichia coli isolated from different turkey farms in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. Materials and methods: A total of 45 samples comprising feces (n = 23) and cloacal swabs (n = 22) were collected randomly from turkeys. The samples were subjected to isolation and identification of E. coli by cultural and biochemical characteristics, followed by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. An antibiogram of the isolated E. coli isolates was carried out by following the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method. Results: Out of the 45 samples, 28 (62.21%) were positive for E. coli, of which 16 (35.55%) fecal samples were positive and 12 (26.66%) cloacal swabs were positive. The antibiotic sensitivity analysis revealed that all the E. coli isolates were 100% sensitive to levofloxacin, norfloxacin, neo¬mycin, gentamicin, and nitrofurantoin. On the other hand, all the isolates were 100% resistant to amoxicillin, azithromycin, erythromycin, tetracycline, bacitracin, cephalexin, nalidixic acid, van¬comycin, methicilin, piperacillin, pefloxacin, novobiocin, cefepime, trimethoprim, netilmicin, and aztreonam. Conclusion: This studys results uncover the occurrence and antibiotic resistance pattern of E. coli in the study areas turkeys. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2021; 8(1.000): 64-69]

In the past decade, significant progress has been made in understanding the role of protein tyrosine phosphatase as a positive regulator of tumor progression. In this scenario, our group was one of the first to report the involvement of the low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMWPTP or ACP1) in the process of resistance and migration of tumor cells. Later, we and others demonstrated a positive correlation between the amount of this enzyme in human tumors and the poor prognosis. With this information in mind, we asked if LMWPTP contribution to metastasis, would it have an action beyond the primary tumor site. We know that the amount of this enzyme in the tumor cell correlates positively with the ability of cancer cells to interact with platelets, an indication that this enzyme is also important for the survival of these cells in the bloodstream. Here, we discuss several molecular aspects that support the idea of LMWPTP as a signaling hub of cancer hallmarks. Chemical and genetic modulation of LMWPTP proved to shut down signaling pathways associated with cancer aggressiveness. Therefore, advances in the development of LMWPTP inhibitors have great applicability in human diseases such as cancer.

Kidney fibrosis is the hallmark of chronic kidney disease progression; however, at present no antifibrotic therapies exist1–3. The origin, functional heterogeneity and regulation of scar-forming cells that occur during human kidney fibrosis remain poorly understood1,2,4. Here, using single-cell RNA sequencing, we profiled the transcriptomes of cells from the proximal and non-proximal tubules of healthy and fibrotic human kidneys to map the entire human kidney. This analysis enabled us to map all matrix-producing cells at high resolution, and to identify distinct subpopulations of pericytes and fibroblasts as the main cellular sources of scar-forming myofibroblasts during human kidney fibrosis. We used genetic fate-tracing, time-course single-cell RNA sequencing and ATAC–seq (assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing) experiments in mice, and spatial transcriptomics in human kidney fibrosis, to shed light on the cellular origins and differentiation of human kidney myofibroblasts and their precursors at high resolution. Finally, we used this strategy to detect potential therapeutic targets, and identified NKD2 as a myofibroblast-specific target in human kidney fibrosis.

The newly identified 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has become a public health concern globally posing a significant threat to human health and economy and creating an unprecedented crisis in all spheres of the global life. Emergence of new genotypes of SARS-CoV during the last few years has pointed out the limited efficacy of available vaccines and antivirals, constraining the global response to the COVID-19 outburst to largely monitoring/containment. There is high priority for treatment regimes and new potential therapeutic and vaccine strategies. Several candidates have shown promising outcomes in various in vitro and in vivo models. In addition, clinical trials are in progress to test conceivable therapies showing promising outcomes in various in vivo studies. Unfortunately, very little information is available in the scientific scope which offers details to the diverse strategies being targeted to fight the pandemic, particularly with respect to the molecular targets. This review article summarizes and highlights the ongoing advances and approaches that are being carried out across the globe in designing vaccines and novel therapeutics, with particular reference to the previous knowledge gained from other viral infections like with the earlier SARS and MERS-CoV. A detailed knowledge may pave the way to combat this pandemic COVID-19 as well as prevent similar deadly epidemics in future.

Zinc deficiency is linked to poor prognosis in COVID-19 patients while clinical trials with zinc demonstrate better clinical outcomes. The molecular targets and mechanistic details of the anti-coronaviral activity of zinc remain obscure. We show that zinc not only inhibits the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) with nanomolar affinity, but also viral replication. We present the first crystal structure of the Mpro-Zn2+ complex at 1.9 A and provide the structural basis of viral replication inhibition. We show that Zn2+ coordinates with the catalytic dyad at the enzyme active site along with two previously unknown water molecules in a tetrahedral geometry to form a stable inhibited Mpro-Zn2+ complex. Further, the natural ionophore quercetin increases the anti-viral potency of Zn2+. As the catalytic dyad is highly conserved across SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and all variants of SARS-CoV-2, Zn2+ mediated inhibition of Mpro may have wider implications.

Oxysterols play vital roles in the human body, ranging from cell cycle regulation and progression to dopaminergic neurogenesis. While naïve human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have been explored to have neurogenic effect, there is still a grey area to explore their regenerative potential after in vitro differentiation. Hence, in the current study, we have investigated the neurogenic effect of 22(R)-hydroxycholesterol (22-HC) on hMSCs obtained from bone marrow, adipose tissue and dental pulp. Morphological and morphometric analysis revealed physical differentiation of stem cells into neuronal cells. Detailed characterization of differentiated cells affirmed generation of neuronal cells in culture. The percentage of generation of non-DA cells in the culture confirmed selective neurogenic potential of 22-HC. We substantiated the efficacy of these cells in neuro-regeneration by transplanting them into Parkinson’s disease Wistar rat model. MSCs from dental pulp had maximal regenerative effect (with 80.20 ± 1.5% in vitro differentiation efficiency) upon transplantation, as shown by various behavioural examinations and immunohistochemical tests. Subsequential analysis revealed that 22-HC yields a higher percentage of functional DA neurons and has differential effect on various tissue-specific primary human MSCs. 22-HC may be used for treating Parkinson’s disease in future with stem cells.

Identification of meat and meat products is significant for economic, religious, or public health reasons. This study focused on the detection and differentiation of meat animal species. A total of sixty-four meat samples (10 samples of each like beef, buffen, chevon, and mutton; twenty-four samples of pork) were analyzed for these purposes. PCR-RFLP of 12S rRNA gene with four restriction enzymes was performed on individual meat samples as well as mixture of different meat. Species specific primers as well as sequencing of DNA were also used to detect and verify the RFLP results. PCR amplification yielded a 456bp fragments from 100% samples. AluI digested beef DNA into 359 and 97bp, chevon and mutton DNA into 246 and 210bp fragments and pork DNA into 290 and 166bp fragments. However, it cannot digest buffen DNA. On the other hand HhaI digested only buffen DNA into 247 and 209bp fragments but not others. ApoI restricts only mutton DNA and yielded 329 and 127bp fragments but not others. Nevertheless, BspTI yielded 323 and 133bp fragments only from chevon. Besides, mixed samples (1:1) of beef-buffen and chevon-mutton can be differentiated by AluI & HhaI and BspTI & ApoI, respectively. Chord analysis based on our sequence and respective sequences of studied animals from GenBank indicated that the cutting sites are conserved in these species of animals. Phylogenetically each of the species was clustered separately. This technique may be useful for meat animal species detection and differentiation either from individual meat and mixed meat samples.

The present study demonstrates binding interactions and Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between bovine serum albumin (BSA) and a series of structurally and electronically diverse phenothiazine (PTZ) and anthracene (ANT) dyes. Upon selective excitation of tryptophan (Trp) residues of BSA, radiationless energy transfer to a dye takes place, resulting in fluorescence quenching of the former. Fluorescence quenching mechanisms, FRET parameters, possible locations, and binding constants of dyes with the BSA have been examined to deduce a structure–property relationship. The mechanism of quenching is apparently static in nature. PTZ dyes with heteroatoms and a pentyl tail (C5-PTZ) attached to them were found to have a stronger binding affinity with BSA as compared to ANT dyes. Stronger binding affinities of C5-PTZ dyes with BSA result in greater energy transfer efficiencies (ET). A dye with a strong electron-withdrawing group present in it has shown better energy accepting capability. A FRET study with dicyanoaniline (DCA) analogs of PTZ and ANT dyes (C5-PTZDCA and ANTDCA, respectively) revealed that ET depends on electronic and structural factors of molecules. An almost orthogonal geometry between ANT and DCA moieties (∼79°) in ANTDCA induces the greater extent of electron transfer from ANT to DCA, showing a higher ET for this dye as compared to C5-PTZDCA in which the torsion angle is only ∼38°. Further, the observed facts have been validated by experimentally determined bandgaps (using cyclic voltammetry experiments) for all the dyes. Thus, the hydrophobic character and the presence of interactive substituents along with the electron-accepting abilities majorly control the FRET for such dyes with BSA.

The experiment was conducted at Horticultural Research Station, Mondouri, BCKV during 2015-2017 to find out the effect of mulching and supplementary irrigation on physical and chemical properties i.e fruit weight, length, diameter, pulp percentage, TSS, acidity, vitamin-C, anthocyanin etc. of Bael (Aegle marmelos Correa.) The experiment was put on factorial RBD consist of nine treatments viz. M0I0 - No mulch + no irrigation (Control). M0I1 - No mulch + basin irrigation with 15 litres/plant at 10 days interval, M0I2 - No mulch + basin irrigation with 15 litres/plant at 20 days interval, M1I0 - Black polythene mulching + no irrigation M1I1 - Black polythene mulching + basin irrigation with 15 litres/plant at 10 days interval, M1I2 - Black polythene mulching + basin irrigation with 15 litres/plant at 20 days interval. M2I0 - Dry leaves mulching + no irrigation, M2I1 - Dry leaves mulching + basin irrigation with 15 litres/plant at 10 days interval, M2I2 - Dry leaves mulching + basin irrigation with 15 litres/plant at 20 days interval. Which are interaction of two factor i.e. mulching and irrigation and each treatment has three replications. Mulching with black polythene followed by basin irrigation with 15 litres/plant at 10 days interval was most effective in improving fruit weight (1089.17g), size (length 12.89cm and diameter 39.18cm) and pulp content (56.16%) followed by dry leaves mulching + basin irrigation 15 litres/plant at 10 days interval. The fruit quality like vitamin C and anthocyanin content were also improved by mulching with black polythene followed by basin irrigation 15 litres/plant at 10 days interval but TSS, acidity whereas total sugar content in the fruits were not affected due to mulching and supplementary irrigation

An efficient, simple and eco-friendly procedure is reported in presence of heterogeneous Dowex 50W catalyst in aqueous medium under refluxing condition to produce quinoxaline derivatives. Catalyst has participated in condensation reaction between 1,2-diamines and various aromatic 1,2-diketones smoothly with excellent yield of the products in short reaction times. Dowex 50W was used more than five times in this reaction separately and showed an excellent recyclability throughout the reaction.

This study is aimed at assessing the keratinase production related to industrial detergent applications from a newly isolated Bacillus cereus IIPK35. The production was optimized through submerged ...

In the current study, probiotic yeast strain, Saccharomyces cerevisiae AKP1 was assessed for its potential as a starter culture in multi-grain (rice, pulses, and soybean, 3:1:1) substrates fermenta...

Rice is an important cereal worldwide and it occupies the top position among the cereals in Bangladesh. Rice plant suffers from around 32 diseases of which ten are major in Bangladesh at present. Among the diseases, Bacterial Blight (BB) caused by X. oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) considered as a most destructive disease occurs in both rainfed and irrigated seasons of Bangladesh. BB causes considerable yield loss varies from 30 to 50% depending on the outbreak. It is also an important disease in most of the South and Southeast Asian countries. To develop environment-friendly sustainable management approach against BB of rice, in total sixty three plant growth promoting bacteria were identified from rice phylloplane and rhizosphere that are antagonistic to X. oryzae pv. oryzae during boro and aman seasons 2018 and 2019.These bacterial species inhibited the growth of X. oryzae pv. oryzae in vitro by 20.83 to 76.19%. These bacterial isolates were identified by sequencing of PCR products of 16SrDNA belonging to the genera mostly Pseudomonas, Bacillus and Serratia. Out of these bacterial species, 48 bacterial species were found as positive for IAA production, all 63 bacterial species were found positive for siderophore production and 48 were found capable to solubilize insoluble phosphate. Based on growth inhibition of X. oryzae pv. oryzae in in vitro, thirty two bacterial species were selected for plant growth promotion assessment and evaluation of net house and field efficacy in controlling BB of rice. These bacterial species were formulated using talcum powder which was viable for at least three months post formulation. Assessment of plant growth promoting determinants revealed that all 32 bacterial species identified in this study enhance the growth of rice plants as measured by root and shoot length and and reduced the BB severity in susceptible rice cultivar significantly as compared with untreated control.

The aim of this study was to analyze inpatient antibiotic consumption during the first 16 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. The entire period (January 2018–June 2021) was divided into the prepandemic period, the first and second waves, and the intermediate period. In the first year of the pandemic, total overall inpatient antibiotic consumption measured in defined daily doses (DDD) per 100 bed-days remained stable (+1.7%), with a slight increase in ICUs of +4.2%. The increase in consumption of broad-spectrum antibiotics was +12.3% overall and 17.3% in ICUs. The segmented regression model of monthly data revealed an increase in overall antibiotic consumption during the first wave but not during the second wave. In the correlation analysis performed in a subset of the data, a significant positive association was found between broad-spectrum antibiotic consumption and an increasing number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients (p = 0.018). Restricting this dataset to ICUs, we found significant positive correlations between the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and total antibiotic consumption (p = 0.007) and broad-spectrum antibiotic consumption (p < 0.001). In conclusion, inpatient antibiotic use during the different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic varied greatly and was predominantly notable for broad-spectrum antibiotics.

The pine wood nematode (PWN) is an invasive species which was introduced into Europe in 1999. It represents a major economic and ecological threat to European forests. In Europe, the maritime pine is the main host and Monochamus galloprovinciallis is its only vector. Our goal was to analyze the effect of landscape heterogeneity on the vector’s dispersal. We further aimed at developing a new method to locate the origin of insects captured in a systematic network of pheromone traps. A mark-release-recapture experiment was carried out in a heterogeneous landscape combining maritime pine plantations, clear-cuts and isolated patches of broadleaved and mixed forests in the southwest of France. Least-cost path analysis was used to model dispersal trajectories and assign friction values to each land-use type in the landscape. We used the trap’s geographical coordinates, capture levels and mean friction values of neighbouring patches to calculate a weighed barycentre and the position of the release of marked beetles. Least Cost Path modelling revealed the vector’s tendency to avoid habitat patches such as mixed or deciduous forests and not avoid clear-cuts. The weighted barycentre method was greatly improved when the friction values of the trap’s surrounding land-uses were used. Our study demonstrates the value of applying landscape ecology concepts and methods to improve our understanding and prediction of pest invasion processes. A practical application is the design of systematic grids of pheromone traps to locate the infection focus from which PWN vectors originate in a newly colonized area.

Hydrophobic association is the key contributor behind the formation of well packed core of a protein which is often believed to be an important step for folding from an unfolded chain to its compact functional form. While most of the protein folding/unfolding studies have evaluated the changes in the hydrophobic interactions during chemical denaturation, the role of hydrophilic amino acids in such processes are not discussed in detail. Here we report the role of the hydrophilic amino acids behind ethanol induced unfolding of protein. Using free energy simulations, we show that chicken villin head piece (HP-36) protein unfolds gradually in presence of water-ethanol binary mixture with increasing composition of ethanol. However, upon mutation of hydrophilic amino acids by glycine while keeping the hydrophobic amino acids intact, the compact state of the protein is found to be stable at all compositions with gradual flattening of the free energy landscape upon increasing compositions. The local environment around the protein in terms of ethanol/water number significantly differs in wild type protein compared to the mutated protein. The calculated Wyman-Tanford preferential binding coefficient of ethanol for wild type protein reveals that a greater number of cosolutes (here ethanol) bind to the unfolded state compared to its folded state. However, no significant increase in binding coefficient of ethanol at the unfolded state is found for mutated protein. Local-bulk partition coefficient calculation also suggests similar scenarios. Our results reveal that the weakening of hydrophobic interactions in aqueous ethanol solution along with larger preferential binding of ethanol to the unfolded state mediated by hydrophilic amino acids combinedly helps unfolding of protein in aqueous ethanol solution.

Seafood borne enteric disease is a global public-health burden. We have targeted the seafood of hitherto unexplored Indian Gangetic delta, where consumption of seafood is rampant and its export is ...

Objectives This study aimed to identify virulent and antimicrobial resistant genes in fecal E. coli in Mbouda, Cameroon. Methods A total of 599 fecal samples were collected from patients with enteric infections who were ≥ 20 years old. E. coli was isolated on the MacConkey agar and virulent genes were detected by multiplex/simplex PCR. Isolates in which ≥ 1 virulent gene was detected were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing. The resulting resistant isolates were subjected to PCR, followed by sequencing for resistant genes detection. Results There were 119 enterovirulent E. coli identified, amongst which 47.05% were atypical enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), 36.97% enterotoxigenic E. coli, 10.08% Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) and 5.88% were enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC). The occurrence of the eae gene (47.06%) was higher compared with CVD432 (33.61%), aaic (13.45%), stx2 (10.08%) and stx1 (0.84%). High resistance rates were noted for ampicillin (94.64% EPEC, 91.67% STEC, 59.09% EAEC, and 57.14% EIEC) and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (100% EPEC and 83.33% STEC, 81.82% EAEC and 71.43% EIEC). sul2 (71.43%), tetB (64.71%), tetA (59.94%) and blaTEM (52.10%) were detected. A double mutation (S83L; D87N) was seen in gyrA and a single mutation (S80I) was observed in parC. Conclusion These findings suggested that measures should be taken to reduce the harm of E. coli to public health.

Objective: Nonthermal plasma at atmospheric condition using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is reported to be useful in many applications. Here, we have developed a strategy to generate nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) at ambient conditions for potential biomedical applications. Methods: We have explored the active ingredients of the nonthermal plasma using atomic emission spectroscopy. The potential mechanism of the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) from the generated plasma for therapeutic use has been demonstrated. Major results: The antimicrobial efficacy of the nonthermal plasma application to model Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans biofilms has been investigated. Our detailed electron microscopic studies followed by biochemical investigation reveal the mechanism of bacterial/fungal deactivation process. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies on the live cell of C . albicans before and after NTAP treatment clearly conclude the disruption of cellular envelope leading to necrosis as evidenced by fluorescence-assisted cell sorting (FACS) studies. Conclusions: The proposed NTAP setup may find relevance in novel strategies in bacterial and fungal biofilm destruction in the future development of nonfluid hand sanitization.

Production of green pigments has drawn great attention recently in various applications like foods, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals as it counters the harmful effects of synthetic dyes. Use of green natural products, especially microbe-derived colours in food and cosmetics is rapidly developing for its eco-friendly nature and cost effectiveness. In this study, a red pigment producing rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium Serratia rubidaea HB01 was isolated from domestic sewage. The isolate exhibited wide resistance to various groups of antibiotics, including Aminoglycosides, Lincosamides, Macrolides, Nitroimidazoles, Penicillins, Quinolones, and Tetracyclines. The isolate S. rubidaea HB01 significantly produced red prodigiosin pigment (17.9 mg ml−1). The production of prodigiosin was highly pH sensitive and growth media specific. The UV–Vis spectrum of the red pigment dissolved in methanol showed a maximum absorption at 536 nm in neutral pH. Red fraction with Rf value 0.38 purified by thin layer chromatography (TLC) was further subjected to liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric (LC–MS) analysis. Moreover, a strong band of pyrrolenine (C = N) at vmax 1639 was found comparable to prodigiosin as observed from Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. Alongside, the presence of a typical methoxy group with chemical shifts at δ 4.0 ppm and δ 58.5 ppm was revealed by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra respectively, confirming the red pigment produced to be prodigiosin. The molecular weight of the prodigiosin was identified as 323 (m/z 324, [M + H]+). Serratia species that typically develop antibiotic resistance mechanisms are already known to produce antibiotics (carbapenem and bacteriocins) and prodigiosin pigment by integrating Quorum Sensing (QS) with overlapping pigment production regulatory systems (pigP). Consequently, mutations in this regulatory region may influence the production of prodigiosin and antibiotic resistance mechanisms.

Five advanced potato genotypes, along with three check varieties were evaluated at six locations in order to find out the stable varieties for commercial cultivation in Bangladesh. Combined analysis exhibited a highly significant variability among the genotypes, locations and GEI. The average tuber yield at 90 days after planting (DAP) of the genotypes ranged from 31.18 t ha-1 in the check BARI Alu-28 to 43.8 t ha-1 in the clone 9.35. The result of AMMI analysis of tuber yield at 90 DAP also showed that the first IPCA1 captured 55.30% of the interaction SS. IPCA2, IPCA3 and IPCA4 explained 29.01, 8.55 and 7.08% of GE interaction SS, respectively. In general, the AMMI2 model contained 99.94% of the treatment SS, while the residual contained 0.06%. In ASV method, the clone 9.125, followed by the check BARI Alu-28 and clone 9.91 were more stable than 9.35. Biplot of IPCA1 and IPCA2 covers 84.3% of GE interaction. Biplot analysis also showed that clone 9.44 and 9.35 and the environment of Gazipur and Jashore had a better result in the GE interaction. Clone 9.44 had specific adaptation with the environment of Gazipur and Jashore, while 9.35 had specific adaptation with Gazipur and Jamalpur. Clone 9.125, 9.91, BARI Alu-28, BARI Alu-8 and clone 9.112 were located toward the center of the biplot and can be considered as stable. Based on the GSI the most desirable genotype for both stability and high tuber yield is the clone 9.125 followed by clones 9.112, 9.91 and 9.35. SAARC J. Agri., 18(1): 73-86 (2020)

Pneumocytis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) and Pulmonary TB (PTB) both are common opportunistic infections among HIV infected individuals. But concurrent infections pose a diagnostic challenge owing to similar clinical features. Data suggests a high prevalence of such concurrent infections in developing countries but limited diagnostic modalities especially in resource constraint setup limits accurate diagnosis. At our centre we came across 6 newly diagnosed PTB patients among HIV infected ones had persistent shortness of breath (SOB) and hypoxia despite starting anti-tuberculous treatment (ATT). We excluded concomitant bacterial pneumonia by imaging, sputum examination and blood culture. Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was estimated and hypoxia by arterial blood gas (ABG). We found all 6 patients had elevated serum LDH, hypoxia and imaging suggestive of PJP were offered sputum for Geisma stain and standard treatment for PJP in form of Bactrim-double strength and steroid. 1 patient had PJ cysts in sputum. 5 patient's classical radiologic findings in form of ground glass opacities in lower lobes along with bilateral infiltrates and 1 had honeycombing. Serum LDH was elevated all 6 subjects. 5 were newly diagnosed HIV and 4 had CD4 count below 50 cells/mm3 and 2 had below 200 cells/mm3.1 patient had developed bilateral pneumothorax as complication. 4 patients responded to treatment and 2 (33.3%) died of respiratory failure during treatment. We were able to diagnose only severe PJP cases as concurrent infection with PTB as there was no availability of broncho alveolar lavage (BAL) as well as direct fluorescent antigen (DFA) test for PJ detection. A high index of suspicion for PJP even in PTB patients with low CD4 count will guide to appropriate therapy for both infections and eventually reduces morbidity and mortality.

The inhibition of retinal ischemia-induced damage by post-ischemic prothymosin alpha (ProTα) was not affected in toll-like receptor 4 knockout (TLR4-/-) mice but blocked by the pretreatment with antibody against F0/F1 ATPase α- or β-subunit, novel candidate for ProTα-receptor. In addition to the previous observation of ProTα-induced ATP release from cells, the present study showed a ProTα-induced enhancement of ATP hydrolysis activity of recombinant ATP5A1/5B complex. As the protection of retinal function by post-ischemic ProTα was abolished by anti-P2Y12 antibody, the activation of F0/F1 ATPase and subsequent P2Y12 receptor system may play roles in beneficial actions by post-ischemic ProTα.

The present study focused on the utilization of solid wastes viz. wet blue leather of leather industry, rice husk ash from rice mills, and water hyacinth in addition to a commercial steamed bone meal for the invention of nutrient-enriched organic fertilizer. To produce NPK organic fertilizer, chromium-free wet blue leather (WBL) as nitrogen source was amalgamated with rice husk ash, water hyacinth, and commercial steamed bone meal as a potassium and phosphorus source. The efficiency of such developed organic fertilizer designated as type I was tested as a nutrients source on the marigold plant. Ammonia analysis of fertilizer applied soil samples revealed that the content of liberated free ammonia in the soil fertilized with organic fertilizer was 44.80 %, 20.70 %, and 10.35% higher than the natural soil, chemically fertilized soil and fertilized with vermicompost respectively. Application of developed organic fertilizer and vermicompost designated as type II on marigold plant resulted in significant growth which are comparable to those obtained with commercial Chemical fertilizer. The plant growth increased by chemical fertilizer, Type I fertilizer, and Type II fertilizer in terms of plant height 26.5 %, 20 %, 22.7% and leaf size 21.2 %, 15.4 %, 17.3 % respectively which are observed to be higher than the growth of the control plant.

Extracellular vesicles have an important function in cellular communication. Here, we show that human and mouse monocytes release TGF-β1-transporting vesicles in response to the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. Soluble β-glucan from C. albicans binds to complement receptor 3 (CR3, also known as CD11b/CD18) on monocytes and induces the release of TGF-β1-transporting vesicles. CR3-dependence is demonstrated using CR3-deficient (CD11b knockout) monocytes generated by CRISPR-CAS9 genome editing and isolated from CR3-deficient (CD11b knockout) mice. These vesicles reduce the pro-inflammatory response in human M1-macrophages as well as in whole blood. Binding of the vesicle-transported TGF-β1 to the TGF-β receptor inhibits IL1B transcription via the SMAD7 pathway in whole blood and induces TGFB1 transcription in endothelial cells, which is resolved upon TGF-β1 inhibition. Notably, human complement-opsonized apoptotic bodies induce production of similar TGF-β1-transporting vesicles in monocytes, suggesting that the early immune response might be suppressed through this CR3-dependent anti-inflammatory vesicle pathway., Extracellular vesicles can carry immunoregulatory cytokines such as TGF-β. Here the authors use CD11b-deficient mice and macrophages to show that such vesicles carrying TGF-β are produced in response to Candida albicans infections and can limit the proinflammatory response partly via a positive feedback on TGF-β production by endothelial cells.

Mdr genes in association with many drug efflux and metal efflux genes are creating pathogenesis due to antibiotic void. However, most dangerous step occurred when R-plasmids and integrons (~2-9kb) were combined with F’-conjugative plasmid (62.5kb) creating large MDR conjugative plasmids that easily donated 6-15 mdr genes to gut microbiota as well as environmental bacteria. Notably, 2-4x1012 human gut microbiota are very valuable in our body for vitamins synthesis and coenzymes perform >30,000 enzymatic reactions of human and animal metabolosome. It seems mdr gene creation is becoming more easy day by day as plasmids have acquired many gene creation genes like recombinases, DNA polymerases, DNA topoisomerases, integrases and transposases. In truth, antibiotics pressure was so instrumental that 25-40% bacteria of Ganga River and Bay of Bengal water were ampicillin and tetracycline resistant and more than 20 class of β-lactamases and drug transporters were generated in MDR plasmids with millions of mutated isomers increasing drugs MIC. When isolated superbugs were injected into male Wister rats, no detectable toxicity was observed up to 3-6 months follow up.

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) has been proved to be one of the most well-researched and effective therapy. It has been found effective in many clinical conditions in children and adolescents as well. Application of therapeutic processes gets complicated by the facts that childhood and adolescent problems do not come in neat packages and tend to overlap and/or coexist. For instance, there is much overlap among clinical problems like anxiety, depression, behavioural problems, and between reading and writing difficulties, and attention and hyperactivity. Many behavioural and emotional disturbances in children are also associated with specific medical conditions. The relationship between physical and/or medical conditions and emotional and behavioural disorders in children and adolescent has been documented in various studies. This demands attention to the therapeutic intervention to the childhood problems with greater monitoring and modulation. Use of CBT in childhood and adolescent problems for efficiency and convenience may be grouped into externalising and internalising disorders, and the management techniques may be formulated and tailored to meet the two opposing dimensions. In this case study, index client was an eight years old girl who presented with compulsive behaviour along with anxiety and fear, and the application of CBT techniques, its adaptability and efficacy in this case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with specific phobia would be discussed.

Photosensitive rice varieties have higher advantages in delayed planting. The present study was undertaken to figure out the degrees of delayed planting and evaluate the performance of six modern Aman rice varieties (BR11, BR22, BR23, BRRI dhan46, BRRI dhan54) against three sets of delayed planting. Each rice variety showed considerable variations for plant height, days to panicle initiation, flowering and maturity. BR22, BR23, and BRRI dhan54 showed a drastic reduction in days to panicle initiation and varied from 65 to 58 days, 69 to 60 days, and 62 to 55 days respectively, while it varied from 76 to 80 days for the control variety BR11. Similarly, days to flowering of BR22 and BRRI dhan54 showed a gradual decrease following different planting time and varied from 92 to 86 days, and 83 to 77 days respectively, while it varied from 109 to 107 days for the control variety BR11. For the above traits, BRRI dhan44 and BRRI dhan46 showed a moderate reduction depending on the three sets of planting time. Grain yield of BR22, BR23 reduced at the third set with a value ranging from 5.8 to 5.0 t/ha, 6.1 to 5.1 t/ha respectively, while BRRI dhan54 showed consistency in grain yield with a range from 5.3 to 5.2 t/ha. In contrast, grain yield of remaining rice varieties ranged between 5.7 to 4.5 t/ha for BRRI dhan46, 6.2 to 3.9 t/ha for BRRI dhan46 while severe reduction for the control variety BR11 with a range from 4.4 to 2.0 t/ha was observed. In conclusion, BRRI dhan54 was found more suitable rice variety in delayed planting compared with other photosensitive rice varieties. In future, BRRI dhan54 could be used as benchmark rice variety in a special rice breeding programme designed for delayed planting. Bangladesh Rice j. 2019, 23(1): 65-72