Search

p24 is an immunodominant gagcore protein of HIV-1. The synthetic immunodominant epitope of p24 and the recombinant p24 show poor immunoreactivity and specificity, respectively. Their application is, therefore, severely limited in the serodiagnosis of HIV-1, although it is an important marker for early diagnosis. These limitations have been overcome by conjugating the synthetic p24 to BSA through a decaalanine peptide spacer. The engineered p24 shows about 5-fold more efficient immunoreactivity than the synthetic p24, and, at the same time, shows a several fold reduction in nonspecific cross-reactivity as compared to recombinant p24. Our strategy to conjugate the p24 peptide epitope to BSA worked well as a consistent and reliable immunodiagnostic marker. This strategy may also prove useful for the diagnosis of other diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The transcription repressor REST in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) is upregulated by peripheral nerve injury and promotes the development of chronic pain. However, the genes targeted by REST in neuropathic pain development remain unclear. The expression levels of four opioid receptor genes (Oprm1, Oprd1, Oprl1 and Oprk1) and the cannabinoid CB1 receptor (Cnr1) gene in the DRG regulate nociception. In this study, we determined the role of REST in controlling their expression in the DRG induced by spared nerve injury (SNI). SNI induced chronic pain hypersensitivity in wild-type mice and was accompanied by increased levels of Rest transcript and protein. Transcriptomic analyses of wild-type mouse DRGs suggested that SNI upregulates the expression of Rest transcripts and downregulates the transcripts of all four opioid receptor genes and the Cnr1 gene. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses of these tissues validated these results. Analysis of publicly available bioinformatic data suggested that REST binds to the promoter regions of Oprm1 and Cnr1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses indicated the presence of REST at these promoters. Full-length Rest conditional knockout in primary sensory neurons reduced SNI-induced pain hypersensitivity and rescued the SNI-induced reduction in the expression of Oprd1 and Cnr1 in mouse DRG. Our results suggest that nerve injury represses the transcription of at least the Oprd1 and Cnr1 genes via REST in primary sensory neurons and that REST is a potential therapeutic target for neuropathic pain. Thus, inhibiting REST activity could potentially reduce chronic neuropathic pain and augment opioid/cannabinoid analgesic actions by increasing the transcription of Oprd1 and Cnr1 genes in DRG neurons.

Transborder data flow legislation (TDFL) has recently emerged as an important issue for IS professionals. Transborder data flow (TDF) is the movement of computer readable data across national boundaries. Many countries have enacted legislation barring this free flow of information, citing a concern for the privacy of citizens as the primary motivation. The need for privacy is the reflection of a society's cultural attributes. A framework is developed for exploratory analysis of the cultural motivations for data protection legislation. Based on Hofstede's research, establishes a relationship between certain attributes of culture and nations that have adopted/proposed TDFL. Using this relationship, discusses the reasons for which other nations have not adopted/ proposed TDFL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Microbial Keratitis (MK) is a leading cause of corneal blindness due to infection and its consequences, with a higher incidence in resource-limited nations. Hospital-based patient records from different parts of Nepal suggest patients often use traditional eye medicine to treat MK. Traditional healers (TH) within the community are often the first point of care for MK management. Little is known of their practice, perceptions, and knowledge around MK management. We aimed to understand the role of traditional healers in the management of MK in south-eastern Nepal. Methods A cross-sectional, mixed method, descriptive study was conducted in the Siraha district of Nepal. A total of 109 traditional healers consented to participate in a survey of knowledge, attitude, and practices. Some participants were also invited to participate in in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Interviews and focus groups were conducted and recorded in the Maithili language by a native speaking interviewer and transcribed into English. Descriptive analysis was performed for the survey. Data saturation was considered the endpoint for qualitative data collection, and a thematic was analysis applied. Results Traditional healers believe that infection of the eye can be caused by trauma, conjunctivitis, or evil spirits. They were unclear about differentiating MK from other eye conditions. They provided various types of treatment. Some were confident that they could treat severe ulcers that had not responded to medical therapy, while others thought treating larger diameter ulcers would be difficult. Although there were mixed responses in referring patients with MK, the majority of TH were willing to refer. Conclusion In a weak health system, traditional healers may help address barriers to healthcare access and reduce delays to definitive care, upon integration into the formal health system and referral pathway.

C-reactive protein (CRP) binds to phosphocholine (PCh)-containing substances and subsequently activates the complement system to eliminate the ligand. The PCh-binding function of CRP has been conserved throughout evolution from arthropods to humans. Human CRP, in its structurally altered conformation at acidic pH, also binds to amyloid-β (Aβ) and prevents the formation of Aβ fibrils. It is unknown whether the Aβ-binding function of CRP has also been evolutionarily conserved. The aim of this study was to determine whether CRP isolated from American horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus was also anti-amyloidogenic and whether this function required structural alteration of Limulus CRP (Li-CRP). Two CRP species Li-CRP-I and Li-CRP-II were purified from hemolymph by employing PCh-affinity chromatography and phosphoethanolamine-affinity chromatography, respectively. Both Li-CRP-I and Li-CRP-II bound to immobilized Aβ at physiological pH. Unlike human CRP, Li-CRP did not require any changes in its overall structure to bind to Aβ. Both Li-CRP-I and Li-CRP-II bound to Aβ in the fluid phase also and prevented the fibrillation of Aβ. Additionally, ion-exchange chromatography of purified Li-CRP indicated that a variety of Li-CRP molecules of different subunit compositions were present in Limulus hemolymph, raising the possibility that the presence of various Li-CRP species in hemolymph facilitates the recognition of a range of proteins with differing amyloidogenicity. We conclude that the binding of CRP to Aβ is an ancient function of CRP. In invertebrates, the Aβ-binding function of CRP can protect the host from toxicity caused by amyloidogenic and pathogenic proteins. In humans, the Aβ-binding function of CRP can protect against inflammatory diseases in which the host proteins are ectopically deposited on either host cells or foreign cells in an inflammatory milieu since immobilized proteins may expose Aβ-like structures after deposition at places where they are not supposed to be.

The biosynthesis of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the liver is increased in inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. Previously published data suggest a protective function of CRP in arthritis; however, the mechanism of action of CRP remains undefined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of human CRP on the development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice which is an animal model of autoimmune inflammatory arthritis. Two CRP species were employed: wild-type CRP which binds to aggregated IgG at acidic pH and a CRP mutant which binds to aggregated IgG at physiological pH. Ten CRP injections were given on alternate days during the development of CIA. Both wild-type and mutant CRP reduced the incidence of CIA, that is, reduced the number of mice developing CIA; however, CRP did not affect the severity of the disease in arthritic mice. The serum levels of IL-17, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-2 and IL-1β were measured: both wild-type and mutant CRP decreased the level of IL-17 and IL-6 but not of TNF-α, IL-10, IL-2 and IL-1β. These data suggest that CRP recognizes and binds to immune complexes, although it was not clear whether CRP functioned in its native pentameric or in its structurally altered pentameric form in the CIA model. Consequently, ligand-complexed CRP, through an as-yet undefined mechanism, directly or indirectly, inhibits the production of IL-17 and eventually protects against the initiation of the development of arthritis. The data also suggest that IL-17, not TNF-α, is critical for the development of autoimmune inflammatory arthritis.

ABSTRACTPolyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity is a primary cause of the development of unattractive dark brown discoloration of wheat-based end products. The present study aims to evaluate a set of 41 diverse wheat genotypes grown at three different locations in India for grain phenol color reaction, PPO activity and molecular marker-based characterization of alleles of PPO genes. Relationships among these parameters were analyzed along with the effects of grain PPO activity on dough and chapati color at different time intervals. The mean PPO activity ranged from 7.42 to 27.57 min−1 g−1 10−3 among the genotypes and it showed a significant negative correlation with color brightness (L*) of dough rested for 0 min (r = -0.406), 15 min (r = -0.406), 2 h (r = -0.502) and 4 h (r = -0.551) and whole wheat flour-derived chapati rested for 2 h (r = -0.267) and 4 h (r = -0.424). The overall quality color score was negatively correlated with PPO activity (r = -0.863) and showed a positive correlation with both dough and chapati visual color measured at different time intervals. PPO activity in the genotypes carrying different alleles was found to be Ppo-A1a>Ppo-A1b; Ppo-B2d>Ppo-B2a; and Ppo-D1b>Ppo-D1a. The allelic constitution Ppo-A1bPpo-B2aPpo-D1a and Ppo-A1bPpo-B2dPpo-D1 was found to produce the lowest PPO activity, and thus these alleles are recommended to be used in marker assisted breeding for low PPO activity genotypes to minimize the discoloration of wheat-based end-products.

Abstract Biosynthesis of specialized metabolites (SM), including phenolics, terpenoids, and alkaloids, is stimulated by many environmental factors including light. In recent years, significant progress has been made in understanding the regulatory mechanisms involved in light-stimulated SM biosynthesis at the transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and posttranslational levels of regulation. While several excellent recent reviews have primarily focused on the impacts of general environmental factors, including light, on biosynthesis of an individual class of SM, here we highlight the regulation of three major SM biosynthesis pathways by light-responsive gene expression, microRNA regulation, and posttranslational modification of regulatory proteins. In addition, we present our future perspectives on this topic.

In this study, a new species Fusarium indicum belonging to the Fusarium concolor species complex is established to accommodate an endophytic fungus isolated from Bambusa sp. and collected from Himachal Pradesh. The identity of this isolate was confirmed based on the asexual morphs, its cultural characteristics, and phylogenetic analyses. This isolate revealed out to be distinct by showing less similarity with described species in the genus Fusarium based on molecular sequence data, approximately 93.9% similarity based on translation elongation factor 1-alpha, and 94.2% similarity based on RNA polymerase II subunit. Furthermore, to increase knowledge about this novel species, whole-genome sequencing was carried out. The results displayed that Fusarium indicum NFCCI 5145 possesses a 40.2 Mb genome and 48.39% of GC content. Approximately 12,963 functional protein-coding genes were carefully predicted and annotated using different BLAST databases, such as Uniprot, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), Gene Ontology (GO), Pathogen Host Interactions (PHI), Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG), and Carbohydrate-Active enzymes (CAZy). The orthologous proteins were identified using OrthoFinder and used for the phylogenetic analysis. ANIb confirmed that the isolate is closely related to the F. concolor species complex. It is known that Fusarium strains can produce a wide range of bioactive secondary metabolites. Therefore, in-depth mining for biosynthetic gene clusters for secondary metabolite biosynthesis of Fusarium indicum NFCCI 5145 was investigated using Antibiotics and Secondary Metabolites Analysis Shell (AntiSMASH) annotation. AntiSMASH results displayed that this isolate possesses 45 secondary metabolites of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). These findings significantly improved our understanding of the strain Fusarium indicum NFCCI 5145 and its possible applications in different sectors including industry for the secondary metabolites and enzymes it can produce.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is fatal and the study of therapeutic resistance, disease progression, and drug discovery in GBM or glioma stem cells is often hindered by limited resources. This limitation slows down progress in both drug discovery and patient survival. Here we present a genetically engineered human cerebral organoid model with a cancer-like phenotype that could provide a basis for GBM-like models. Specifically, we engineered a doxycycline-inducible vector encoding shRNAs enabling depletion of the TP53, PTEN, and NF1 tumor suppressors in human cerebral organoids. Designated as inducible short hairpin-TP53-PTEN-NF1 (ish-TPN), doxycycline treatment resulted in human cancer-like cerebral organoids that effaced the entire organoid cytoarchitecture, while uninduced ish-TPN cerebral organoids recapitulated the normal cytoarchitecture of the brain. Transcriptomic analysis revealed a proneural GBM subtype. This proof-of-concept study offers a valuable resource for directly investigating the emergence and progression of gliomas within the context of specific genetic alterations in normal cerebral organoids.

Synthetic dyes are generally not safe for human health or the environment, leading to the continuous search and growing demand for natural pigments that are considered safer, biodegrade more easily, and are environmentally beneficial. Among micro-organisms, fungi represent an emerging source of pigments due to their many benefits; therefore, they are readily viable on an industrial scale. Among all the bioactive pigments produced by fungi, melanin is an enigmatic, multifunctional pigment that has been studied for more than 150 years. This dark pigment, which is produced via the oxidative polymerization of phenolic compounds, has been investigated for its potential to protect life from all kingdoms, including fungi, from biotic and abiotic stresses. Over time, the research on fungal melanin has attracted a significant amount of scientific interest due to melanin’s distinct biological activities and multifarious functionality, which is well-documented in the literature and could possibly be utilized. This review surveys the literature and summarizes the current discourse, presenting an up-to-date account of the research performed on fungal melanin that encompasses its types, the factors influencing its bioactivity, the optimization of fermentation conditions to enhance its sustainable production, its biosynthetic pathways, and its extraction, as well as biochemical characterization techniques and the potential uses of melanin in a wide range of applications in various industries. A massive scope of work remains to circumvent the obstacles to obtaining melanin from fungi and exploring its future prospects in a diverse range of applications.

Though soils sequester large amounts of carbon (C), variations in physical and chemical characteristics of top and deep layers necessitate the study of factors governing topsoil and deep soil C sequestration to predict land-use changes to alleviate climate change. Land-use systems involving pasture, trees, trees pasture and fallow were considered. The upper soil (0–15 cm) had ∼12, 34 and 59% higher microbial biomass C than the 15–30, 30–45 and 45–60 cm layers, respectively. Fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and dehydrogenase activities had similar trends. Across the land uses, topsoil layers had ∼17% lower silt + clay (s + c) content than deep layers. Amorphous iron content significantly increased with soil depth. In the top two soil layers, s + c accounted for ∼19–30% of total soil organic carbon (SOC); in the next two layers s + c could store >30% of total SOC. Stepwise regression analysis revealed FDA to be the most significant biological driver for SOC sequestration. Structural equation modeling showed that biological factors controlled C sequestration in topsoil layers, while s + c and amorphous iron were the major factors of C sequestration in deep layers. Current land uses are largely deficient of SOC and have the potential to store an additional22 Mg CO2e per ha.

Abstract Purpose Corneal collagen crosslinking has been proven to be a useful technique to slow the progression of keratoconus. With its increasing use, we are encountering rare complications. We describe a case that developed bilateral viral keratitis after corneal collagen crosslinking with riboflavin and ultraviolet A for progressive keratoconus. Case report An 18-year-old boy underwent corneal collagen crosslinking in both the eyes at the same setting for bilateral progressive keratoconus. He was discharged with a soft bandage contact lens and asked to follow up in 5 days. Seven days later, the patient returned with severe pain, redness, and photophobia for the last 2 days. The bandage contact lens was removed. There was a central corneal lesion in a branching dendritic pattern in both the eyes and the corneal sensation was reduced. Based on the findings, a clinical diagnosis of bilateral viral keratitis was made. The dendrite healed completely in 10 days with oral and topical acyclovir treatment, and the cornea had a faint scar at 1 month follow-up with best-corrected visual acuity of 6/9 in both eyes with a rigid gas permeable lens. Discussion and conclusion Ultraviolet A light could be a stimulus to trigger reactivation of latent HSV infections even in patients with no history of clinically evident herpes virus ocular infections. Early diagnosis and timely treatment can have good visual outcome. Prophylactic antiviral medication may be useful to prevent this complication in individuals with prior history of viral keratitis.

The aim of this paper is to present the estimation procedure for the step-stress partially accelerated life test model under the generalized progressive hybrid censoring scheme. The uncertainties are assumed to be governed by Lindley distribution. The problem with point and interval estimation of the parameters as well as the acceleration factor using maximum likelihood approach for the step-stress partially accelerated life test model has been considered. A simulation study is conducted to monitor the performance of the estimators on the basis of the mean squared error under the considered censoring scheme. The expected total time of the test under an accelerated condition is computed to examine the effects of the parameters on the duration of the test. In addition, a graph of the expected total time of the test under accelerated and un-accelerated conditions is provided to highlight the effect due to acceleration. One real data set has been analyzed for illustrative purposes.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a component of innate immunity. The concentration of CRP in serum increases in microbial infections including Streptococcus pneumoniae infection. Employing a mouse model of pneumococcal infection, it has been shown that passively administered human wild-type CRP protects mice against infection, provided that CRP is injected into mice within two hours of administering pneumococci. Engineered CRP (E-CRP) molecules have been reported recently; unlike wild-type CRP, passively administered E-CRP protected mice against infection even when E-CRP was injected into mice after twelve hours of administering pneumococci. The current study was aimed at comparing the protective capacity of E-CRP with that of an antibiotic clarithromycin. We established a mouse model of pneumococcal infection in which both E-CRP and clarithromycin, when used alone, provided minimal but equal protection against infection. In this model, the combination of E-CRP and clarithromycin drastically reduced bacteremia and increased survival of mice when compared to the protective effects of either E-CRP or clarithromycin alone. E-CRP was more effective in reducing bacteremia in mice treated with clarithromycin than in untreated mice. Also, there was 90% reduction in antibiotic dosing by including E-CRP in the antibiotic-treatment for maximal protection of infected mice. These findings provide an example of cooperation between the innate immune system and molecules that prevent multiplication of bacteria, and that should be exploited to develop novel combination therapies for infections against multidrug-resistant pneumococci. The reduction in antibiotic dosing by including E-CRP in the combination therapy might also resolve the problem of developing antibiotic resistance.

C-reactive protein (CRP) binds to several species of bacterial pathogens including Streptococcus pneumoniae. Experiments in mice have revealed that one of the functions of CRP is to protect against pneumococcal infection by binding to pneumococci and activating the complement system. For protection, however, CRP must be injected into mice within a few hours of administering pneumococci, that is, CRP is protective against early-stage infection but not against late-stage infection. It is assumed that CRP cannot protect if pneumococci got time to recruit complement inhibitor factor H on their surface to become complement attack-resistant. Since the conformation of CRP is altered under inflammatory conditions and altered CRP binds to immobilized factor H also, we hypothesized that in order to protect against late-stage infection, CRP needed to change its structure and that was not happening in mice. Accordingly, we engineered CRP molecules (E-CRP) which bind to factor H on pneumococci but do not bind to factor H on any host cell in the blood. We found that E-CRP, in cooperation with wild-type CRP, was protective regardless of the timing of administering E-CRP into mice. We conclude that CRP acts via two different conformations to execute its anti-pneumococcal function and a model for the mechanism of action of CRP is proposed. These results suggest that pre-modified CRP, such as E-CRP, is therapeutically beneficial to decrease bacteremia in pneumococcal infection. Our findings may also have implications for infections with antibiotic-resistant pneumococcal strains and for infections with other bacterial species that use host proteins to evade complement-mediated killing.

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that C-reactive protein (CRP) protects against the development of atherosclerosis and that a conformational alteration of wild-type CRP is necessary for CRP to do so. Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory cardiovascular disease and CRP is a plasma protein produced by the liver in inflammatory states. The co-localization of CRP and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) at atherosclerotic lesions suggests a possible role of CRP in atherosclerosis. CRP binds to phosphocholine-containing molecules but does not interact with LDL unless the phosphocholine groups in LDL are exposed. However, CRP can bind to LDL, without the exposure of phosphocholine groups, if the native conformation of CRP is altered. Previously, we reported a CRP mutant, F66A/T76Y/E81A, generated by site-directed mutagenesis, that did not bind to phosphocholine. Unexpectedly, this mutant CRP, without any more conformational alteration, was found to bind to atherogenic LDL. We hypothesized that this CRP mutant, unlike wild-type CRP, could be anti-atherosclerotic and, accordingly, the effects of mutant CRP on atherosclerosis in atherosclerosis-prone LDL receptor-deficient mice were evaluated. Administration of mutant CRP into mice every other day for a few weeks slowed the progression of atherosclerosis. The size of atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta of mice treated with mutant CRP for 9 weeks was ~40% smaller than the lesions in the aorta of untreated mice. Thus, mutant CRP conferred protection against atherosclerosis, providing a proof of concept that a local inflammation-induced structural change in wild-type CRP is a prerequisite for CRP to control the development of atherosclerosis.

C-reactive protein (CRP), a component of the innate immune system, is an antipneumococcal plasma protein. Human CRP has been shown to protect mice against infection with lethal doses of Streptococcus pneumoniae by decreasing bacteremia. in vitro, CRP binds to phosphocholine-containing substances, such as pneumococcal C-polysaccharide, in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Phosphocholine-complexed human CRP activates the complement system in both human and murine sera. The mechanism of antipneumococcal action of CRP in vivo, however, has not been defined yet. In this study, we tested a decades-old hypothesis that the complement-activating property of phosphocholine-complexed CRP contributes to protection of mice against pneumococcal infection. Our approach was to investigate a CRP mutant, incapable of activating murine complement, in mouse protection experiments. We employed site-directed mutagenesis of CRP, guided by its three-dimensional structure, and identified a mutant H38R which, unlike wild-type CRP, did not activate complement in murine serum. Substitution of His38 with Arg in CRP did not affect the pentameric structure of CRP, did not affect the binding of CRP to pneumococci, and did not decrease the stability of CRP in mouse circulation. Employing a murine model of pneumococcal infection, we found that passively administered H38R CRP failed to protect mice against infection. Infected mice injected with H38R CRP showed no reduction in bacteremia and did not survive longer, as opposed to infected mice treated with wild-type CRP. Thus, the hypothesis that complement activation by phosphocholine-complexed CRP is an antipneumococcal effector function was supported. We can conclude now that complement activation by phosphocholine-complexed CRP is indeed essential for CRP-mediated protection of mice against pneumococcal infection.

This study was performed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of the first fifty patients who underwent Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) during the 3-month postoperative period and to describe the challenges encountered during the learning curve. In this retrospective study, we reviewed the charts of patients who underwent DMEK. All information regarding patient demographics, indication for surgery, preoperative and postoperative visual acuity at 3 months, donor age, and complications encountered intraoperatively and postoperatively was recorded. Donor endothelial cell count at the time of surgery and during the 3-month follow-up was noted. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17. Fifty eyes of 49 patients were included in the study with majority being female patients (male : female = 2 : 3). Mean age of patients was 56.8 ± 11.4 years with the age range of 22–78 years. The common indications for DMEK were pseudophakic bullous keratopathy –57.1%, Fuchs endothelial dystrophy-34.7%, failed grafts-6.1% (Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) and failed penetrating keratoplasty), and others. Preoperative best spectacle-corrected visual acuity was 20/63 in 41.8% of the cases, and 93% had visual acuity of 20/200 or better. Donor size was 8 mm, and average donor endothelial cell count (ECC) was 2919 ± 253 cells/mm2. Average ECC at 3 months postoperatively was 1750 ± 664 cells/mm2, which showed a 40% decrease in ECC. The most common encountered complication was graft detachment, which occurred in 16% cases for which rebubbling was done. Regular follow-up and timely identification of graft detachment may prevent the need for retransplantation.

Penicillium paradoxum has an enigmatic Aspergillus-like anamorphic state; earlier named as Aspergillus paradoxus with a teleomorph state Hemicarpenteles paradoxus. The present paper describes the rediscovery of this species from India after five decades and includes a phylogenetic study of this strain. This is the first record of this strain from peninsular India including the Western Ghats.

Our previous studies have shown that the regulatory network that maintains pluripotency in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) is regulated in a context-dependent manner and can be modulated, at least in part, by re-calibration of an intracellular network of pluripotency factors as well as cues arising from the extracellular matrix. The transcriptional repressor REST represses miR-21 and, thus, regulates self-renewal in E14Tg2a.4 mESCs cultured in the absence of mouse embryonic fibroblast feeder cell effects. However, how miR-21 connects to the nuclear regulatory network has not been clear. Here, we show that miR-21, a direct target of REST-mediated repression, directly targets Sox2. Exogenously added miR-21 to mESCs decreases the expression of Sox2, decreasing mESC self-renewal, and this effect of miR-21 on mESC self-renewal can be blocked by expression of exogenous Sox2. Conversely, destabilization of Sox2 by miR-21 can be blocked by anti-miR-21. Thus, the REST–miR-21–Sox2 axis connects REST to the core nuclear pluripotency regulators in E14Tg2a.4 mESCs cultured in the absence of feeder cells.

The public’s demand for natural, eco-friendly, and safe pigments is significantly increasing in the current era. Natural pigments, especially fungal pigments, are receiving more attention and seem to be in high demand worldwide. The immense advantages of fungal pigments over other natural or synthetic pigments have opened new avenues in the market for a wide range of applications in different industries. In addition to coloring properties, other beneficial attributes of fungal pigments, such as antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activity, have expanded their use in different sectors. This review deals with the study of fungal pigments and their applications and sheds light on future prospects and challenges in the field of fungal pigments. Furthermore, the possible application of fungal pigments in the textile industry is also addressed.

The principal objective of the study was to study social work professionals psychologically. This study was conducted on a sample of 178 participants. The findings depict role efficacy to be associated positively with emotional intelligence and internal locus of control, but negatively with external locus of control. Similarly, emotional intelligence was found to be associated positively with internality, but negatively related to externality. The findings also indicated that emotional intelligence alone accounts for 43% of the variance on role efficacy of social work professionals. The findings of the study have major implications for non-governmental organizations and are discussed.

Hardly any behavioural scientist ever thought of empirically studying newspaper reporters from a psychological perspective. Realising the dearth of study from psychological viewpoints this investigation was designed to examine the relationships as well as relative impact of the antecedent variables of Background information, organisational climate, organisational role stress, and journalistic writing attitude on to the role effectiveness of the lower level reporters and the higher level reporters. The results obtained were discussed in the light of the past researches in the area of effectiveness in-a-role in-an-organisation. Opsomming Bykans geen gedragswetenskaplike het al aan die idee gedink om koerant-verslaggewers vanuit ’n sielkundige perspektief te bestudeer nie. Gegewe die skaarste aan navorsing vanuit ’n sielkundige gesigshoek, is hierdie ondersoek ontwerp om die verhouding sowel as die relatiewe impak van oorsaaklike veranderlikes van agtergrondinligting, organisasieklimaat, organisatoriese rolstres en die joernalistieke skryfhouding op die roldoeltreffendheid van die laevlak verslaggewers en die hoëvlak verslaggewers te ondersoek. Die verkreë resultate word bespreek in die lig van die vorige navorsing ten opsigte van roldoeltreffenheid in ’n organisasie.