Search

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are currently under progressive development as a tool for non-viral biomolecule delivery. Biomolecules such as proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids can be encapsulated in MOFs for therapeutic purposes. The favorable physicochemical properties of MOFs make them an attractive choice for delivering a wide range of biomolecules including nucleic acids. Herein, a green fluorescence protein (GFP)-expressing plasmid DNA (pDNA) is used as a representative of a biomolecule to encapsulate within a Zn-based metal–organic framework (MOF) called a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF). The synthesized biocomposites are coated with positively charged amino acids (AA) to understand the effect of surface functionalization on the delivery of pDNA to prostate cancer (PC-3) cells. FTIR and zeta potential confirm the successful preparation of positively charged amino acid-functionalized derivatives of pDNA@ZIF (i.e., pDNA@ZIFAA). Moreover, XRD and SEM data show that the functionalized derivates retain the pristine crystallinity and morphology of pDNA@ZIF. The coated biocomposites provide enhanced uptake of genetic material by PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. The AA-modulated fine-tuning of the surface charge of biocomposites results in better interaction with the cell membrane and enhances cellular uptake. These results suggest that pDNA@ZIFAA can be a promising alternative tool for non-viral gene delivery.

Abstract Purpose Hyperinflammation in severe COVID-19 infection increases the risk of respiratory failure and one of the cogent reasons of mortality associated with COVID-19. Baricitinib, a janus kinases inhibitor, can potentially suppress inflammatory cascades in severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods The objective of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of high dose of baricitinib with its usual dose in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. This prospective cohort study was conducted on 238 adult patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Eight milligram and 4 mg of baricitinib was given orally to 122 patients in the high dose (HD) group and 116 patients the usual dose (UD) group, respectively daily for 14 days, and clinical outcomes were compared among the groups. Results Blood oxygen saturation level was stabilized (≥94% on room air) earlier in the HD group compared to the UD group [5 (IQR: 4–5)/8 (IQR: 6–9), P 0.05; N = 116/122, respectively]. The 30-day mortality and 60-day rehospitalization rate were higher in the UD group than the HD group [6%/3.3%, P 0.05; N = 116/122, respectively]. Conclusion The daily high dose of baricitinib in severe COVID-19 results in early stabilization of the respiratory functions, declined requirements of critical care supports, reduced rehospitalization with mortality rate compared to its daily usual dose.

The experiment was conducted with two IRRI lines and two BRRI varieties at the research field of Plant Physiology Division of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Gazipur during October 2010 to September 2011 in Boro season to study the low temperature as cold tolerance effect on rice at vegetative and reproductive stages. All the genotypes (IR77496-31-2-1-3-1, IR62266-42-6-2, BRRI dhan28 and BRRI dhan36) of transplanting date 30 November, 15 December and 30 December showed higher yield except 15 November transplanted rice. The 15-November transplanted rice appeared with a significant cold in the reproductive stage. Moreover, BRRI dhan28 was not found to observe as tolerant to low temperature in reproductive stage, and produced the lowest yield 0.71 t/ha and highest (39.47%) sterility. BRRI dhan36 resulted yield 2.18 t/ha and exerted its ability to withstand the jolt of cold to some extent at the reproductive phase and IR62266-42-6-2 pronounced significantly better performance compared to BRRI dhan36. The IR77496-31-2-1-3-1 genotype exhibited the highest yield (4.27 t/ha) and marked as tolerant to cold temperature. All the genotypes performed the highest sterility percentages on 15-November transplanted rice except the genotype of IR77496-31-2-1-3-1 with lower sterility. Vegetative and reproductive stages were encountered at cold temperature in the month of January, 2011. The panicle initiation stage was fallen with (13.1 °C) low temperature and maximum temperature (25.6 °C) in 2nd week of February, 2011 during grain formation stage. Number of grains was naturally degenerated in growth stages where reduction division stage or pollen formation was happened in booting stage. Earliest transplanted date (15 November) revealed the shortest plant height and panicle length at low temperature. Duration of PI, growth and maturity stages were decreased with the advancement of transplanting dates of 30 November, 15 December and 30 December.

Biogenic silver nanoparticles demonstrate excellent antibacterial activity against a broad range of bacteria. Herein, aqueous biogenic silver nanoparticles (Aq@bAgNPs) and ethanolic biogenic silver nanoparticles (Et@bAgNPs) were synthesized using aqueous as well as ethanolic extracts of Diospyros malabarica fruit, respectively. The as-prepared biogenic silver nanoparticles (bAgNPs) were characterized using UV-Vis, FTIR as well as energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) spectroscopy, electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering spectroscopy (DLS), and zetasizer. The zeta potentials of Aq@bAgNPs and Et@bAgNPs were −9.8 ± 2.6, and −12.2 ± 1.9 mV, respectively. The antibacterial activity of bAgNPs was investigated against seven bacterial strains (i.e., pathogenic and nonpathogenic) and Et@bAgNPs exhibited the highest antibacterial propensity (i.e., 20 nm in diameter) against Bacillus subtillis through disk diffusion assay. The trypan blue dye exclusion assay also confirmed the antibacterial propensity of as-prepared bAgNPs. Furthermore, both Aq@bAgNPs and Et@bAgNPs oxidize bacterial membrane fatty acids and generate lipid peroxides which eventually form complexes with thiobarbituric acid (i.e., malondialdehyde-thiobarbituric acid adduct) to bring about bacterial death. Both the nanoparticles demonstrated good hemocompatibility against human as well as rat red blood cells (RBCs). In addition, they exhibited excellent biocompatibility in vivo in terms of rat liver (i.e., serum ALT, AST, and γ-GT) and kidneys (i.e., serum creatinine) function biomarkers.

Climate change-driven temperature increases worsen air quality in places where coal combustion powers electricity for air conditioning. Climate solutions that substitute clean and renewable energy in place of polluting coal and promote adaptation to warming through reflective cool roofs can reduce cooling energy demand in buildings, lower power sector carbon emissions, and improve air quality and health. We investigate the air quality and health co-benefits of climate solutions in Ahmedabad, India—a city where air pollution levels exceed national health-based standards—through an interdisciplinary modeling approach. Using a 2018 baseline, we quantify changes in fine particulate matter (PM _2.5 ) air pollution and all-cause mortality in 2030 from increasing renewable energy use (mitigation) and expanding Ahmedabad’s cool roofs heat resilience program (adaptation). We apply local demographic and health data and compare a 2030 mitigation and adaptation (M&A) scenario to a 2030 business-as-usual (BAU) scenario (without climate change response actions), each relative to 2018 pollution levels. We estimate that the 2030 BAU scenario results in an increase of PM _2.5 air pollution of 4.13 µ g m ^−3 from 2018 compared to a 0.11 µ g m ^−3 decline from 2018 under the 2030 M&A scenario. Reduced PM _2.5 air pollution under 2030 M&A results in 1216–1414 fewer premature all-cause deaths annually compared to 2030 BAU. Achievement of National Clean Air Programme, National Ambient Air Quality Standards, or World Health Organization annual PM _2.5 Air Quality Guideline targets in 2030 results in up to 6510, 9047, or 17 369 fewer annual deaths, respectively, relative to 2030 BAU. This comprehensive modeling method is adaptable to estimate local air quality and health co-benefits in other settings by integrating climate, energy, cooling, land cover, air pollution, and health data. Our findings demonstrate that city-level climate change response policies can achieve substantial air quality and health co-benefits. Such work can inform public discourse on the near-term health benefits of mitigation and adaptation.

[Display omitted] • Growth factors play important roles in stem cell proliferation and differentiation. • Immobilization of FP2 peptide, 44-ERGVVSIKGV-53 is performed via EDC/NHS chemistry. • FP2 peptide-cultured hWJ-MSCs show enhanced in vitro proliferation and differentiation. • FP2 phosphorylates FRS2α and FGFR1 signaling pathways. • Transplantation of FP2 peptide-cultured cells ameliorates arthritis symptoms in an osteoarthritis mouse model. The stem cell microenvironment has been evidenced to robustly affect its biological functions and clinical grade. Natural or synthetic growth factors, especially, are essential for modulating stem cell proliferation, metabolism, and differentiation via the interaction with specific extracellular receptors. Fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) possesses pleiotropic functions in various tissues and organs. It interacts with the FGF receptor (FGFR) and activates FGFR signaling pathways, which involve numerous biological functions, such as angiogenesis, wound healing, cell proliferation, and differentiation. Here, we aim to explore the molecular functions, mode of action, and therapeutic activity of yet undetermined function, FGF-2-derived peptide, FP2 (44-ERGVVSIKGV-53) in promoting the proliferation, differentiation, and therapeutic application of human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (hWJ-MSCs) in comparison to other test peptides, canofin1 (FP1), hexafin2 (FP3), and canofin3 (FP4) with known functions. The immobilization of test peptides that are fused with mussel adhesive proteins (MAP) on the culture plate was carried out via EDC/NHS chemistry. Cell Proliferation assay, colony-forming unit, western blotting analysis, gene expression analysis, RNA-Seq. analysis, osteogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation capacity were applied to test the activity of the test peptides. We additionally utilized three-dimensional (3D) structural analysis and artificial intelligence (AI)-based AlphaFold2 and CABS-dock programs for receptor interaction prediction of the peptide receptor. We also verified the in vivo therapeutic capacity of FP2-cultured hWJ-MSCs using an osteoarthritis mice model. Culture of hWJ-MSC onto an FP2-immobilized culture plate showed a significant increase in cell proliferation (n = 3; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01) and the colony-forming unit (n = 3; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01) compared with the test peptides. FP2 showed a significantly upregulated phosphorylation of FRS2α and FGFR1 and activated the AKT and ERK signaling pathways (n = 3; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001). Interestingly, we detected efficient FP2 receptor binding that was predicted using AI-based tools. Treatment with an AKT inhibitor significantly abrogated the FP2-mediated enhancement of cell differentiation (n = 3; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001). Intra-articular injection of FP2-cultured MSCs significantly mitigated arthritis symptoms in an osteoarthritis mouse model, as shown through the functional tests (n = 10; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001), modulation of the expression level of the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory genes, and improved osteochondral regeneration as demonstrated by tissue sections. Our study identified the FGF-2-derived peptide FP2 as a promising candidate peptide to improve the therapeutic potential of hWJ-MSCs, especially in bone and cartilage regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chilling is a substantial stressor for plants. In fact, some biochemical reactions involved in growth and development of plant are sensitive to temperature. In particular, chilling stress represents a severe issue for plant growth and productivity and strategies to alleviate the stress is an important goal for agriculturists. While, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) acts as a signalling molecule and its role in preventing several abiotic stresses like heat, salinity, drought etc. is well understood. Thus, the present study tested the effects of H2O2 priming in mitigation of chilling stress at germination and seedling stage of rice. The rice seeds were treated with H2O2 (5, 10 and 15 mM H2O2) solution for 24 h and exposed to chilling stress either for 6 h in 24 h or 12 h in 24 h for 7 days. Results revealed that, chilling stress seriously impeded germination indices (germination percentage, germination rate index, coefficient of velocity of germination and mean germination time), morphological parameters (shoot length, root length and fresh weight), total chlorophyll content and antioxidant enzymes (catalase and ascorbate peroxidase) activity. On the other hand, priming with H2O2 (5mM, 10mM and 15mM) displayed protective effects on germination indices and growth parameters and conferred a significant tolerance against chilling stress. Priming with H2O2 also significantly protected chlorophyll from chilling-induced degradation. Our results provide a strong foundation that priming with H2O2 confers a positive physiological effect by enhancing antioxidant enzymes capability (increased catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activity) of chilling stressed rice plant. Among the concentrations, 10 mM H2O2 performed relatively better in chilling stress alleviation. Therefore, this technique can be used for improved rice seedling production in northern part of Bangladesh under low temperature condition. [Fundam Appl Agric 2019; 4(1.000): 713-722]

Background: According to World Health Organization (WHO), diabetes mellitus, is a silent epidemic which affects large number of people around the world and is directly related to the oral health status of the patients. Objectives: To know the level of oral health and its impact on daily performance in adult population with Diabetes. Methods: A cross sectional study was comprised of group of 100 diabetic patients (males=68, females=32) from the OPD of Dhaka Dental College and Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical college, Dental unit of Dhaka. Oral health status is assessed by WHO described DMFT caries index and CPITN (community periodontal index treatment need). And oral impact on daily performance is determined by a modified form of OIDP index. Clinical examinations were included for the assessment of Dental Status. Chi-square was used for statistical evaluation. Results: Mean DMFT of the study population of Decayed, Missing and filled tooth were 3.89±3.35, 3.04±2.66 and 3.87±2.66 However, in case of CPITN index of the study population, Supragingival or subgingival pocket more than 6mm was in 32% cases. Mean scores of overall impacts on daily performances (OIDP) was 2.18±1.85. Bivariate analysis revealed that the self-reported oral impacts from the participants were not significantly associated (p≥0.05) with those who were diagnosed with presence of periodontal pockets more than 6 mm (32%). Conclusions: Oral health is an essential part of general health. Despite dental caries was comparatively low in diabetics, periodontal status was compromised which affected the participant’s daily life chiefly through difficulty in eating. Routinely follow-up of dental problems of the diabetics and oral health education is much required. Update Dent. Coll. j: 2021; 11 (1): 7-10

This is a cross-sectional study that examined the association between fitness trainers’ educational qualifications and experience, and the risk of their trainees’ musculoskeletal pain. The study included 1177 trainees (aged 15–60 years) from 74 fitness centers in Bangladesh. Data were collected by using the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire, including potential confounders such as demographic factors (e.g., age, occupation), and training-related factors (e.g., workout knowledge, overweight lifting). Multiple logistic regression was performed for a binary outcome (pain—yes or no), and a generalized linear model was fitted for the ordinal outcome (pain—sites of the body). The trainers’ lower experience (no or ≤1 year) was associated with higher odds of their trainees’ musculoskeletal pain (OR: 2.53, 95% CI: 1.18–5.44) compared to trainers with >5 years of experience; however, no association was found between the trainers’ education and the risk of their trainees’ musculoskeletal pain, after controlling for potential confounders. Similarly, the trainees trained by trainers with lower experience had more than two-time the risk of having pain in different sites (IRR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.50–2.79). The trainers’ experience may play a pivotal role in the trainees’ musculoskeletal pain. Further study is warranted in this regard.

Objectives: In recent years, green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has gained much interest from researchers as biomedical treatments. The purpose of this study was to determine if AgNPs synthesized from Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. bark extract are an effective stabilizing agent and inhibit Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cell growth. Methods: AgNPs were prepared by the reaction of 0.6mM silver nitrate and 5% bark extract. Synthesis of AgNPs were confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy as well as characterized by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. AgNPs was applied on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) experiments to determine its antioxidant activity as well as its cytotoxic effect against EAC cells. In vivo, the antineoplastic effect of AgNPs was tested against EAC cells. Results: The synthesized AgNPs have a surface plasmon resonance band centered at 475 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra showed major peaks of phytochemicals and proteins involved in AgNPs biosynthesis by identifying different functional groups involved in effective capping of AgNPs. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of AgNPs showed spherical nanoparticles with mean size 90.82 nm. The DPPH and ABTS assays revealed the antioxidant activity of AgNPs with IC50 31.74±2.06 and 15.45±2.72 μg/ml that was comparable to catechin. The synthesized AgNPs exhibited effective cytotoxic activity against EAC cells and the inhibitory concentration (IC50) was recorded at 32.00 µg/ml. AgNPs showed effective cell growth inhibition, increased life span, reduced tumor weight, restored all hematological characteristics to normal level and also induced apoptosis of EAC cells. Conclusion: This study proves that the phyto-synthesized AgNPs show effective anticancer properties against EAC cells.

Reduction in relative water content (RWC) and photosynthesis (dry matter) is a common effect of salinity stress. In the present study, 7 days old rice plants were exposed to 0 (control) and 100 mM NaCl salinity for 7 days to determine the osmolytes accumulation and relative water content (RWC) in leaves. We observed that shoot dry matter, relative water content and K+ content decreased significantly with the increasing of salinity. In contrast, Na+ and proline content excessively increased in the leaves of salinity stressed plant. The results revealed that both the organic (proline) and inorganic (K+ ) osmolytes accumulation may be responsible for stress alleviation by retaining water in cell.