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The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the country that triggered en masse exodus of a new wave of Afghan refugees desperate to flee the clutches of the Taliban. Although Pakistan and Iran had traditionally been the two main destinations of refuge for Afghans, yet for some Afghans—especially for the non-Muslim minority communities of Afghanistan, namely the Afghan Hindus and Sikhs—India has always been the foremost destination for refuge. The article aims to understand the experiences of the mentioned communities, as they moved from pre-conflict, to conflict, displacement and finally to the settlement phase in India. Thus, the article throws light on the experiences of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs both in their home and host countries and, in the process, engages with various aspects of the negotiations and marginalisation endured by them. It then strives to explore their sense of belonging at the scales of state, individual and community by discussing the significance and impact of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, specifically for the members of Afghan Hindu and Sikh diaspora in India. A plethora of research has been produced that focuses on various aspects of India’s relation with Afghanistan, but the issues of the Afghan religious minorities in India remained a neglected topic of scholarly research. This article attempts to remedy this lack of literature by examining the unexplored dimension of India’s engagement and support for Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.

Insulin fibril formation is considered as the hallmark of several debilitating pathological conditions. To develop effective therapeutics that are able to control the amyloidogenesis process and inhibit fibril formation, herein we have designed a side-chain proline (Pro)-based homopolymer and block copolymers through the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization technique and further explored their obligatory role in the in vitro insulin fibrillation process. Using a variety of biophysical tools, including turbidity measurements, thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence kinetics, tyrosine (Tyr) fluorescence study, Nile red (NR) fluorescence assay, dynamic light scattering (DLS) study, circular dichroism (CD) measurements, and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) techniques, we demonstrated that Pro-based polymers can significantly inhibit the insulin fibrillation process. Among them, the Pro-based homopolymer acts as the most potent inhibitor of insulin fibrillation as confirmed by ThT assay, CD study, and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analysis. Tyrosine fluorescence measurements and NR fluorescence assay revealed that hydrophobic interactions are the crucial factor that mainly controls the inhibition process. Apart from hydrophobic interactions, polar interactions may also be responsible for the inhibition process as evaluated by ITC study.

Estuaries are one of the most productive ecosystems and their productivity is maintained by resident microbial communities. Recent alterations driven by climate change have further escalated these stressors leading to the propagation of traits such as antibiotic resistance and heavy metal resistance in microbial communities. Surface water samples from eleven stations along the Thakuran and Matla estuaries of the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR) of Sundarbans mangrove located in South Asia were sampled in monsoon (June) 2019 to elucidate resident microbial communities based on Nanopore sequencing. Metagenomic analyses revealed the widespread dominance of Proteobacteria across all the stations along with a high abundance of Firmicutes. Other phyla, including Euryarchaeota, Thaumarchaeota, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Cyanobacteria showed site-specific trends in abundance. Further taxonomic affiliations showed Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria to be dominant classes with high abundances of Bacilli in SBR_Stn58 and SBR_Stn113. Among the eukaryotic communities, the most abundant classes included Prasinophyceae, Saccharyomycetes and Sardariomycetes. Functional annotation showed metabolic activities such as carbohydrate, amino acid, nitrogen and phosphorus metabolisms to be uniformly distributed across all the studied stations. Pathways such as stress response, sulphur metabolism and motility-associated genes appeared in low abundances in SBR. Functional traits such as antibiotic resistance showed overwhelming dominance of genes involved in multidrug resistance along with widespread resistance towards commonly used antibiotics including Tetracycline, glycopeptide and aminoglycoside. Metal resistance genes including arsenic, nickel and copper were found in comparable abundances across the studied stations. The prevalence of ARG and MRG might indicate presence of pollutants and hint toward deteriorating ecosystem health status of Sundarbans mangrove.

Tannic acid is a secondary compound produced by vascular plants and is a major component of mangrove litterfall. Tannic acid is water soluble, leaches out from mangrove litterfall and contributes to DOC and DON pools in adjacent estuaries. About 50% of the litterfall may be degraded and channelized into the marine microbial loop. The influence of tannic acid on bacterioplankton community structure was tested by setting up laboratory-based barrel experiments. Estuarine water from Stn3 of Sundarbans Biological Observatory Time Series (SBOTS) was enriched with tannic acid, and the change in concentration of dissolved nutrients was determined on a daily basis over a span of 15 days. Concentrations of tannic acid, gallic acid and other dissolved nutrients such as nitrate and ortho-phosphate were determined using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Tannic acid significantly affected the concentrations of gallic acid and dissolved nitrate in the barrels. Degradation of tannic acid was tracked by a decrease in concentration of tannic acid and generation of gallic acid. The influence of tannic acid on bacterioplankton community structure was analysed on the start (day 0), intermediate (day 3, day 5, day 7 and day 9) and end (day 15) of the experiment. Bacterioplankton community structure was elucidated by sequencing the V3–V4 region of 16S ribosomal RNA on an Illumina MiSeq platform. Proteobacteria was found to be the most dominant bacterial phylum in control and tannic acid–enriched barrels (barrels 1 and 2) on day 0. With the progression of experiment, the abundance of Proteobacteria altered significantly in the control barrel indicating the possible role of this phylum in the breakdown of tannic acid within estuarine mangroves. The abundance of Proteobacteria in the tannic acid–enriched barrels remained high, indicating that members of Proteobacteria may be capable of using tannic acid as a source of carbon and nitrogen. Tannic acid appeared to inhibit most of the other bacterioplankton phyla including Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria and Verrucomicrobia that existed in large abundance in the control barrel on day 15 but were almost absent in the tannic acid–enriched barrels. At class level, Bacteroides was found to be present in highest abundance in the tannic acid–enriched barrels. Tannic acid appeared to strongly influence the abundant bacterioplankton phyla and families as indicated by Pearson’s correlation coefficient and non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination plots. Gallic acid is one of the final products of tannic acid degradation. Breakdown of tannic acid could influence the marine nitrogen and carbon cycling by releasing DON and DOC, respectively, into the adjacent estuaries. Information of breakdown and remineralization of components of litterfall such as tannic acid would also be important for calculation of carbon and nitrogen budgets of coastal ecosystems including in mangroves.

Antibacterial activity against a series of potentially pathogenic bacterial strains was evaluated in both liquid and solid matrices using ciprofloxacin (a well-known fluoroquinolone antibiotic) based polymeric systems with pendant cationic charge and zwitterionic units. The ciprofloxacin containing polymeric architecture was designed to incorporate bioactive killing properties of cationic moieties, whereas biopassive activity was regulated by the bacterial cell repelling capacity of the zwitterionic group. tert-Butyl carbamate (Boc)-leucine hydroxyethylmethacrylate (Boc-Leu-HEMA), Boc-ciprofloxacin hydroxyethylmethacrylate (Boc-Cipro-HEMA) and zwitterionic sulphabetaine methacrylate (SBMA) are copolymerized, followed by deprotection of Boc groups from the copolymer under acidic conditions. Boc deprotection resulted in water soluble polymers with cationic charge from the leucine moiety and retained the antibiotics in their active original form. The antibacterial activity of the polymeric system was evaluated against several bacterial species, namely, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Vibrio alginolyticus (V. alginolyticus), and Vibrio chemaguriensis Iso1 (V. chemaguriensis), in both liquid and solid matrices. The copolymer displayed significant bactericidal efficacy against non-biofilm forming E. coli and B. subtilis in both liquid and solid matrices. However, the antibacterial effect on biofilm forming V. chemaguriensis was comparatively less prominent in the liquid matrix. Optical microscope images of Gram staining revealed an enhanced surface area of individual cells and chain formation in cells of V. chemaguriensis. The non-cytotoxic profile of the polymer towards mammalian red blood cells (RBCs) and enhanced bactericidal effect in the physiological to basic pH (7.0–9.5) range against potentially pathogenic V. chemaguriensis using a multitude of microscopic techniques hinted toward the need to develop new antibiotics to combat possible clinical infections in the near future.

A diazotrophic cyanobacterium, Nostoc ellipsosporum strain NOK, was isolated from an arsenic contaminated paddy field of the Bengal Delta Plains (BDP). Located across India and Bangladesh, BDP, is one of the worst arsenic (As)-affected regions of the world. Previous studies have shown this isolate to be tolerant to high concentration of arsenic (≦400 μM). The genome of this isolate was sequenced to identify the genes involved in various metabolic pathways including arsenic resistance and biofilm formation. Whole genome analyses showed Nostoc ellipsosporum strain NOK to be closely related to N. punctiforme strain PCC73102. The genome is about 10.9 Mbp which assembled into 694 contigs. Genome annotation identified 10120 genes out of which 10000 were CDSs. There are a total of 9927 protein coding genes in addition to 120 RNA coding genes. The genome codes three 5S rRNA, four 16S rRNA and three 23S rRNA genes along with 103 tRNAs, 7 ncRNAs and 73 pseudo-genes. The G + C% of the genome is 54.28. The genome codes for crucial genes involved in biofilm formation in response to stress conditions including arsenic stress. The arsBHC operon is present within the genome which makes this tolerant to high concentration of arsenic which might lead to biofilm formation. A number of ABC transporters including cysUW and sbp (sulfate/thiosulfate), nrtABC (nitrate/nitrite/cyanate), cmpABCD (bicarbonate), ssuABC (alkane sulfonate), modABCF (molybdate; 2 copies), afuAC (iron), pstA (phosphate; 2 copies), pstBC, pstS (4 copies), cbiOQ (cobalt and nickel) and opuBC, opuBB and opuBA (osmoprotectants) were identified.

Accurately evaluating ecosystem status is vital for effective conservation. The Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the global standard for assessing the risk of ecosystem collapse. Such tools are particularly needed for large, dynamic ecosystem complexes, such as the Indian Sundarbans mangrove forest. This ecosystem supports unique biodiversity and the livelihoods of millions, but like many mangrove forests around the world is facing substantial pressure from a range of human activities. Holistic, standardised and quantitative environment risk assessment frameworks are essential here, because previous assessments have either been qualitative in nature, or have generally considered single threats in isolation. We review these threats and utilise the RLE framework to quantitatively assess the risk of ecosystem collapse. Historical clearing and diminishing fish populations drove a status of Endangered (range: Vulnerable to Endangered), and ongoing threats including climate change and reduced freshwater supply may further impact this ecosystem. However, considering recent change, the outlook is more optimistic. Mangrove extent has stabilised, and analysis of mangrove condition highlights that only a small proportion of the forest is degraded. Using the RLE provides an authoritative avenue for further protection and recognition of the issues facing this UNESCO World Heritage Site. We also identify knowledge and data gaps in the Sundarbans that are likely common to coastal systems globally. By articulating these and presenting opportunities and recommendations, we aim to further the conservation goals of the IUCN and the implementation of its new assessment framework.

A new species of Vibrio (annotated as SBOTS_Iso1) was isolated in August 2014 from the Stn1 located in Chemaguri creek of Sundarbans mangrove ecoregion and taxonomically characterized using a polyphasic approach. Phenotypic analysis including biochemical tests and growth across a wide range of salinities indicated the typical estuarine characteristics of this new species. The bacterium was Gram negative, rod-shaped, oxidase and catalase negative and grows in the presence of NaCl. FAME analysis indicated 31.7% of the cellular fatty acids to be made up of 16:1 ω7c/16:1 ω6c. Amplification and sequencing of 16S rRNA and multilocus sequence analysis of four loci (2040 bp; rpoA, topA, mreB, pyrH) and additional sequence data of ftsZ, atpD, ompW and rpoB genes showed this isolate to be a member of Harveyi clade of the genus Vibrio. The closest phylogenetic neighbour was Vibrio alginolyticus ATCC 17749T with 96.8% similarity. Whole-genome sequence data indicates the presence of ~ 5 Mbp genome. GGDC, orthoANIu and AAI indicated 45%, 92% and 0.962 identity respectively with genome of Vibrio alginolyticus ATCC 17749T. The isolate SBOTS_Iso1 has been named Vibrio chemaguriensis sp. nov. on the name of the site from where it was first isolated.

Rapid human pressure in semi-urban and urban areas along with increasing industrial activities has resulted in release of untreated sewage and other forms of pollutants into major rivers globally including in the Ganga. In this study, nine sites represented by 59 stations along the lower stretch of the River Ganga were monitored seasonally to understand the effect of monsoonal precipitation on environmental variables and Water Quality Index (WQI). Sampling was undertaken in pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons (2019). In situ surface water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS) and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured along with dissolved nutrients and Chlorophyll-a. Both pH and DO were strongly influenced by monsoon and affected WQI. TDS was higher in point source (PS) stations during pre-monsoon (113–538 ppm) compared to surface water (SW) stations (113–248 ppm) with strong influence of monsoon (PS-27.4-310.3 ppm; SW-27-68.9 ppm). Dissolved nutrients including nitrate and o-phosphate concentration showed significant seasonal variation and influenced monsoonal precipitation. In PS stations across studied seasons dissolved nitrate concentration varied from 26.33–646 μM while in SW the range was from 21.22–148.06 μM. In the studied sites, higher concentration of dissolved nutrients in PS stations reflected the release of untreated municipal and industrial sewage directly into the river. The effect of precipitation and resulting environmental variables was clearly evident on biological variable (concentration of Chl-a) with observed values in PS stations (0–21 mg l−1) which were lesser compared to SW stations (0–89.3 mg l−1) during monsoon. Non-metric multidimensional scaling revealed three distinct clusters with greater overlap between PS and SW stations in monsoon. The WQI values (14–52) determined for lower stretch of Ganga revealed very poor water quality in majority stations and monsoonal precipitation did not have any influence on the observed trends.

The authors would like to correct the errors in the publication of the original article. The corrected details are given below.

The whole genome of Synechococcus moorigangaii CMS01 isolated from Indian Sundarbans mangroves of Bay of Bengal is about 5.5 Mbp in size and contains approximately 0.5 Mbp plasmids. Genome annotation revealed total of 5806 genes out of which 5701 were CDSs. Of these, 5616 coding genes with 5616 protein coding CDSs were found. Along with genes coding for essential metabolic proteins, transport proteins and other cellular apparatus, genome also codes for proteins involved in flagella and pilus formation which has not been widely reported before in any coastal species of Synechococcus. The genome contains one incomplete prophage sequence. The genome analysis revealed adaptive features of S. moorigangaii CMS01 and establishes its ubiquitous distribution in coastal water of Bay of Bengal.

A subset of acute myeloid and lymphoid leukemia cases harbor a t(10;11)(p13;q14) translocation resulting in the CALM-AF10 fusion gene. Standard chemotherapeutic strategies are often ineffective in treating patients with CALM-AF10 fusions. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify molecular pathways dysregulated in CALM-AF10-positive leukemias which may lay the foundation for novel targeted therapies. Here we demonstrate that the Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 gene BMI1 is consistently overexpressed in adult and pediatric CALM-AF10-positive leukemias. We demonstrate that genetic Bmi1 depletion abrogates CALM-AF10-mediated transformation of murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Furthermore, CALM-AF10-positive murine and human AML cells are sensitive to the small-molecule BMI1 inhibitor PTC-209 as well as to PTC-596, a compound in clinical development that has been shown to result in downstream degradation of BMI1 protein. PTC-596 significantly prolongs survival of mice injected with a human CALM-AF10 cell line in a xenograft assay. In summary, these results validate BMI1 as a bona fide candidate for therapeutic targeting in AML with CALM-AF10 rearrangements.

A subset of acute myeloid and lymphoid leukemia cases harbor a t(10;11)(p13;q14) translocation resulting in the CALM-AF10 fusion gene. Standard chemotherapeutic strategies are often ineffective in treating patients with CALM-AF10 fusions. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify molecular pathways dysregulated in CALM-AF10-positive leukemias which may lay the foundation for novel targeted therapies. Here we demonstrate that the Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 geneBMI1is consistently overexpressed in adult and pediatric CALM-AF10-positive leukemias. We demonstrate that geneticBmi1depletion abrogates CALM-AF10-mediated transformation of murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Furthermore, CALM-AF10-positive murine and human AML cells are profoundly sensitive to the small-molecule BMI1 inhibitor PTC209 as well as to PTC596, a compound in clinical development that has been shown to result in downstream degradation of BMI1 protein. PTC-596 significantly prolongs survival of mice injected with a human CALM-AF10 cell line in a xenograft assay. In summary, these results validate BMI1 as abonafidecandidate for therapeutic targeting in AML with CALM-AF10 rearrangements.

Understanding structure and function of microbial communities within an environment is a key to understanding processes and fluxes which ultimately have consequences from food security to global climate. In the modern era of microbial ecology, molecular tools offer ways to assess structure and diversity of microbial communities. Moreover, molecular tools can also aid in developing strategies for culture-based approaches to explore microbes. More recently, advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized our understanding of microbial communities across a range of environments. This chapter discusses some of the tools used in assessing microbial diversity with examples particularly from aquatic bacterioplankton communities. A deeper insight into aspects including applicability of NGS has been also highlighted in this chapter with relevant examples.

When Afghans started fleeing abroad in the aftermath of the Saur Revolution of April 1978, Afghanistan’s immediate neighbour Pakistan became one of the main destinations. Since the 1980s, millions of Afghans have sought refuge in Pakistan due to factors ranging from geographical proximity to ethnic ties, religious affiliations, and pre-established trans-regional networks. This contribution attempts to provide insights into one of the most significant aspects of Afghanistan–Pakistan relations: cross-border population movement. Acknowledging that regional movement and return have ebbed and flowed for generations, this study will begin by looking at the context of Afghan migration and identify four major waves of population movement between Afghanistan and Pakistan since the Soviet intervention, in 1979. Subsequently, an attempt will be made to look at the continuities and changes in Pakistan’s policy response to the Afghan refugees over the years and to identify the major factors that might have influenced the policy shifts of the host government. To conclude, it will be assessed if the Afghan refugees have been an asset or a liability for Pakistan.

The design of a new drug material through modification of some well-known antibiotics to combat pathogenic bacteria must include a complete understanding of matrix regulation because the human body consists of primarily three types of matrices, that is, solid, semisolid, and liquid, all of which have a tendency to regulate antibacterial efficacy along with the bactericidal mechanism of several antimicrobial agents. Herein, matrix-dependent action of ciprofloxacin-based polymeric hydrogel scaffold was explored against a new species of Vibrio, namely, Vibrio chemaguriensis Iso1 ( V. chemaguriensis), which is resistant to most of the common antibiotics and possess genes that can be linked to pathogenicity. Ciprofloxacin was attached to the polymeric system consisting of hydrophilic polyethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) and zwitterionic sulphabetaine methacrylate (SBMA) with an antifouling nature via covalent linkage leading to effective polymer antibiotic conjugates (PACs) with linear and hyperbranched architectures. The hyperbranched PAC was transformed to a polymeric gel exhibiting greater antibacterial efficacy in solid matrix than that of the liquid one with a complete bactericidal effect and rod to spherical switching of bacterial cell followed by chain formation via "dual" contact activity and release mechanism through sustained removal of thiol-terminated ciprofloxacin fragment along with an equilibrium swelling and deswelling process. Lower killing efficacy was displayed in the liquid matrix with an intact cell morphology that is due to lack of forced contact between the cell wall and gel surface as well as entrapment of released bioactive fragment via an additional thick exopolysaccharide (EPS) layer, which represents a great challenge to modern medical sciences.