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Plant bacterial pathogens transmitted by Hemipteran vectors pose a large threat to the agricultural industry worldwide. While virus-vector relationships have been widely investigated, a significant gap exists in our understanding of the molecular interactions between circulative bacteria and their insect vectors, mainly leafhoppers and psyllids. In this review, we will describe how these bacterial pathogens adhere, invade, and proliferate inside their insect vectors. We will also highlight the different transmission routes and molecular factors of phloem-limited bacteria that maintain an effective relationship with the insect host. Understanding the pathogen-vector relationship at the molecular level will help in the management of vector-borne bacterial diseases.

We present an automated approach to segment key structures of the eye, viz., the iris, pupil and sclera in images obtained using an Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR) application. This is done using a two-step classifier: In the first step, we use an auto encoder-decoder network to obtain a pixel-wise classification of regions that comprise the iris, sclera and the background (image pixels that are outside the region of the eye). In the second step, we perform a pixel-wise classification of the iris region to delineate the pupil. The images in the study are from the OpenEDS challenge and were used to evaluate both the accuracy and computational cost of the proposed segmentation method. Our approach achieved a score of 0.93 on the leaderboard, outperforming the baseline model by achieving a higher accuracy and using a smaller number of parameters. These results demonstrate the great promise pipelined models hold along with the benefit of using domain-specific processing and feature engineering in conjunction with deep-learning based approaches for segmentation tasks.

The main purpose of the study was to identify the various issues of the Indian Tourism sector faced by tourists of different age groups. This study was undertaken based on the primary method of data collection i.e. through an online questionnaire and various published secondary sources of data collection. In this study, convenient non-probability sampling technique was used to collect responses from 110 respondents. The hypothesis of the study was tested by using Kruskal Wallis Non-Parametric Test. The null hypothesis was not accepted by the researcher. The study concluded that there is a significant difference in the opinion of the tourists of different age groups regarding the persisting issues of the Indian tourism sector. Various age groups of tourists face different issues and are concerned with different challenges of the Indian tourism sector while travelling.

A recent independent study resulted in a ranking system which ranked Astronomy and Computing (ASCOM) much higher than most of the older journals highlighting its niche prominence. We investigate the notable ascendancy in reputation of ASCOM by proposing a novel differential equation based modeling. The modeling is a consequence of knowledge discovery from big data-centric methods, namely L1-SVD. The inadequacy of the ranking method in explaining the reason behind the growth in reputation of ASCOM is reasonable to understand given that the study is post-facto. Thus, we propose a growth model by accounting for the behavior of parameters that contributes to the growth of a field. It is worthwhile to spend some time in analyzing the cause and control variables behind rapid rise in reputation of a journal in a niche area. We intend to identify and probe the parameters responsible for its growing influence. Delay differential equations are used to model the change of influence on a journal’s status by exploiting the effects of historical data. The manuscript justifies the use of implicit control variables and models those accordingly demonstrating certain behavior and patterns in the journal influence.

Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso) transmitted by the carrot psyllid, Bactericera trigonica causes carrot yellows in Israel, and has recently gained much importance due to the excessive economical loss. Understanding the interactions between CLso and the psyllid at the cellular level is fundamental for the disease management. Here, we demonstrate the role of calcium ATPase, cytosolic calcium and most importantly Beclin1 in regulating autophagy and its association with Liberibacter. Presence of CLso generates reactive oxygen species and induces the expression of the detoxification enzymes in the psyllid midguts. CLso also induces the expression of both sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump (SERCA) and 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (ITPR) in the midguts, followed by high levels of calcium in the cytosol. Silencing these proteins individually disrupted the calcium levels in the cytosol leading to direct effects on autophagy and thus on Liberibacter. On the other hand, inhibiting Beclin1-phosphorylation through different calcium induced kinases altered the expression of autophagy and CLso abundance. This study establishes a direct correlation between cytosolic calcium levels, autophagy and CLso in the carrot psyllid midgut.

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia that affects the elderly around the world. Chronic type 2 diabetes (T2DM) has been proven to be closely related to neurodegeneration, especially AD. T2DM is characterized by the cell's failure to take up insulin as well as chronic hyperglycemia. In the central nervous system, insulin plays vital regulatory roles, while in chronic hyperglycemia, it leads to the formation and accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Inflammation plays a crucial role in development of insulin resistance in AD and T2DM. The microtubule-related protein tau is involved in the pathogenesis of several neurological diseases known as tauopathies, and is found to be abnormally hyperphosphorylated in AD and accumulated in neurons. Chronic neuroinflammation causes the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) observed in tauopathies. The development of pro-inflammatory signaling molecules, such as cytokines, chemokines from glial cells, neurons and endothelial cells, decides the structural integrity of BBB and immune cell migration into the brain. This review highlights the use of antidiabetic compounds as promising therapeutics for AD, and also describes several new pathological molecular mechanisms associated with diabetes that increase AD pathogenesis.

Background: At present, the cell-phone is not only a talking tool but also a virtual network connection in the individual’s daily life as people can connect easily in one click of finger through internet. Use mobile for more time may enhance the chance to several health risk and psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders and depression. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study is to access sleep quality and internet addiction in these students using Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and internet addiction scale, respectively. Materials and Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional and questionnaire-based study. This study has been conducted among 300 college students in India through online, emails, and social media. Data analysis has been done on PSQI score and Internet addition score among the subjects. Results: The results of this study demonstrated significant associations of Internet addiction and poorer quality of sleep in those who have moderate and severe internet addiction than normal internet users. Conclusion: In the present study, more percentage of students met the criteria for poor sleep quality and internet addiction as well as have positive association with the different degrees of internet addiction.

Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso) haplotype D, transmitted by the carrot psyllid Bactericera trigonica is a major constraint in carrot production in Israel. Understanding the molecular interactions between the psyllid vector and CLso can facilitate non-chemical approaches for controlling CLso caused-diseases. In this study, we used CLso outer membrane protein (OmpA) and flagellin as baits to screen for psyllid interacting proteins in a yeast-two hybrid assay. We identified psyllid vitellogenin (Vg) protein to interact with both OmpA and flagellin of CLso. As Vg is often involved in innate immunity with its expression tightly linked to autophagy, a major component of the immune response in the cell, we also analyzed the expression of autophagy-related genes to further elucidate this interaction. We used the juvenile hormone (JH-III) to induce the expression of Vg, thapsigargin for suppressing autophagy, and rapamycin for inducing autophagy. The results revealed that Vg negatively regulates autophagy and vice versa. JH-III induced Vg expression significantly suppressed autophagy and, the levels of CLso significantly increased resulting in a significant mortality of the insect. Although the specific role of Vg remains obscure, the findings presented here identify Vg as an important component in the insect immune responses against CLso and may help in understanding the initial molecular response in the vector against Liberibacter.

Lipaphis erysimi Kaltenbach is one of the economically important pests of Indian mustard Brassica juncea. Plant defense against these pests include impairing digestive processes in the inse...

Several vector-borne plant pathogens have evolved mechanisms to exploit and to hijack vector host cellular, molecular, and defense mechanisms for their transmission. In the past few years, Liberibacter species, which are transmitted by several psyllid vectors, have become an economically important group of pathogens that have devastated the citrus industry and caused tremendous losses to many other important crops worldwide. The molecular mechanisms underlying the interactions of Liberibacter species with their psyllid vectors are poorly studied. “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum,” which is associated with important vegetable diseases, is transmitted by the carrot psyllid Bactericera trigonica in a persistent manner. Here, we elucidated the role of the B. trigonica Arp2/3 protein complex, which plays a major role in regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, in the transmission of “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum.” “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum” colocalized with ArpC2, a key protein in this complex, and this colocalization was strongly associated with actin filaments. Silencing of the psyllid ArpC2 disrupted the colocalization and the dynamics of F-actin. Silencing of RhoGAP21 and Cdc42, which act in the signaling cascade leading to upregulation of Arp2/3 and F-actin bundling, showed similar results. On the other hand, silencing of ArpC5, another component of the complex, did not induce any significant effects on F-actin formation. Finally, ArpC2 silencing caused a 73.4% reduction in “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum” transmission by psyllids, strongly suggesting that transmission of “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum” by B. trigonica is cytoskeleton dependent and “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum” interacts with ArpC2 to exploit the intracellular actin nucleation process for transmission. Targeting this unique interaction could lead to the development of a novel strategy for the management of Liberibacter-associated diseases. IMPORTANCE Plant diseases caused by vector-borne pathogens are responsible for tremendous losses and threaten some of the most important agricultural crops. A good example is the citrus greening disease, which is caused by bacteria of the genus Liberibacter and is transmitted by psyllids; it has devastated the citrus industry in the United States, China, and Brazil. Here, we show that psyllid-transmitted “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” employs the actin cytoskeleton of psyllid gut cells, specifically the ArpC2 protein in the Arp2/3 complex of this system, for movement and transmission in the vector. Silencing of ArpC2 dramatically influenced the interaction of “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum” with the cytoskeleton and decreased the bacterial transmission to plants. This system could be targeted to develop a novel approach for the control of Liberibacter-associated diseases.

Taurine is a conditionally essential amino acid present in the body in free form. Mammalian taurine is synthesized in the pancreas via the cysteine sulfinic acid pathway. Anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation are two main properties through which it exerts its therapeutic effects. Many studies have shown its excellent therapeutic potential against diabetes mellitus and related complications like diabetic neuropathy, retinopathy, nephropathy, hematological dysfunctions, reproductive dysfunctions, liver and pancreas related complications etc. Not only taurine, a number of its derivatives have also been reported to be important in ameliorating diabetic complications. The present review has been aimed to describe the importance of taurine and its derivatives against diabetic metabolic syndrome and related complications.

Neglected tropical diseases include a wide range of diseases characterized by the lack of funding and research related to prevention and cure. The role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of schistosomiasis, echinococcosis, and trypanosomiasis are discussed in this chapter. These diseases are prevalent in the poorest regions, mainly in the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and North and South America. The protective role of various bioactive compounds against these diseases is exhibited through their antioxidant properties or by oxidative insult which evades the antioxidant defense of the parasites within the host body. Further investigation of such protective effects in other compounds needs to be undertaken.

Spleen, a secondary lymphoid organ, is the site of initiation of most of the immune responses. The present study is centered on the ameliorative role of ferulic acid against diabetic complications in the spleen of male Wistar rats. Induction of diabetes by STZ (at a dose of 50 mg kg−1 body wt, i.p.) reduced the spleen size, plasma insulin level, enhanced the blood glucose level and disrupted the intracellular antioxidant machineries along with the depletion of splenic white pulp. Induction of oxidative stress mediated inflammation and apoptosis (upregulation in the levels of inflammatory cytokines, translocation of NF ĸB in the nucleus, alteration in Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, activation of caspase-9 and 3, PARP cleavage and DNA fragmentation) were evidenced from immunoblot analyses, DNA fragmentation and TUNEL assay. However, ferulic acid administration post diabetes induction, (at a dose of 50 mg kg−1 body wt, orally for eight weeks) could reverse such adverse effects. Therefore, ferulic acid, as a potential therapeutic agent may hold promise in evading oxidative stress mediated diabetic splenotoxicity in rats.

A recent independent study resulted in a ranking system which ranked Astronomy and Computing (ASCOM) much higher than most of the older journals highlighting the niche prominence of the particular journal. We investigate the remarkable ascendancy in reputation of ASCOM by proposing a novel differential equation based modeling. The Modeling is a consequence of knowledge discovery from big data-centric methods, namely L1-SVD. The inadequacy of the ranking method in explaining the reason behind the growth in reputation of ASCOM is reasonable to understand given that the study was post-facto. Thus, we propose a growth model by accounting for the behavior of parameters that contribute to the growth of a field. It is worthwhile to spend some time in analysing the cause and control variables behind rapid rise in reputation of a journal in a niche area. We intent to probe and bring out parameters responsible for its growing influence. Delay differential equations are used to model the change of influence on a journal's status by exploiting the effects of historical data.

Heat shock proteins (HSP) also referred to as stress proteins are a family of proteins produced by cells in response to exposure to stressful conditions like heat, cold, different kinds of environmental stress, such as infection, inflammation, exercise, exposure of the cell to toxins (ethanol, arsenic, trace metals, and UV light, among many others), starvation, hypoxia (oxygen deprivation), nitrogen deficiency (in plants), water deprivation and during wound healing or tissue remodeling. In this review, the authors have elucidated the role of heat shock proteins in stress tolerance both in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Here, the role of heat shock proteins in survival during more extreme conditions and maintenance of normal cellular homeostasis have also been briefly discussed.

The Nuclear factor erythroid2-related factor2 (Nrf2), a master regulator of redox homoeostasis, is a key transcription factor regulating a wide array of genes for antioxidant and detoxification enzymes. It protects organs from various kinds of toxic insults. On the other hand, activation of Nrf2 is also correlated with cancer progression and chemoresistance. Downregulation of Nrf2 activity has attracted an increasing amount of attention as it may provide an alternative cancer therapy. In this review, we examine recent studies on roles of Nrf2 in several pathophysiological conditions emphasising cancer. We discuss elaborately the current knowledge on Nrf2 regulation including KEAP1-dependent and KEAP1-independent cascades. KEAP1/Nrf2 system is a master regulator of cellular response against a variety of environmental stresses. We also highlight several tightly controlled regulations of Nrf2 by numerous proteins, small molecules, toxic metals, etc. In addition, we evaluate the possible therapeutic approaches of increasing chemosensitivity via modulating Nrf2 signaling. Keywords: Nrf2, Transcription factor, KEAP1, Oxidative stress, Cell proliferation, Carcinogenesis, Chemoprevention

Transgenic mustard plants ( Brassica juncea ) expressing non-allergenic and biologically safe RiD peptide show higher tolerance against Lipaphis erysimi. Rorippa indica defensin (RiD) has previously been reported as a novel insecticidal protein derived from a wild crucifer Rorippa indica. RiD was found to have an effective insecticidal property against mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi. In the present study, RiD was highly upregulated in R. indica during aphid infestation initiating a defense system mediated by jasmonic acid (JA), but not by salicylic acid (SA)/abscisic acid (ABA). RiD has also been assessed for biosafety according to the FAO/WHO guideline (allergenicity of genetically modified foods; Food And Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, 2001) and Codex Alimentarius Guideline (Guidelines for the design and implementation of national regulatory food safety assurance programme associated with the use of veterinary drugs in food producing animals. Codex Alimentarius Commission. GL, pp 71–2009, 2009). The purified protein was used to sensitize BALB/c mice and they showed normal histopathology of lung and no elevated IgE level in their sera. As the protein was found to be biologically safe and non-allergenic, it was used to develop transgenic Brassica juncea plants with enhanced aphid tolerance, which is one of the most important oilseed crops and is mostly affected by the devastating pest—L. erysimi. The transgene integration was monitored by Southern hybridization, and the positive B. juncea lines were further analyzed by Western blot, ELISA, immunohistolocalization assays and in planta insect bioassay. Transgenic plants expressing RiD conferred a higher level of tolerance against L. erysimi. All these results demonstrated that RiD is a novel, biologically safe, effective insecticidal agent and B. juncea plants expressing RiD are important components of integrated pest management.

Rorippa indica, a wild crucifer, has been previously reported as the first identified plant in the germplasm of Brassicaceae known to be tolerant towards the mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi Kaltenbach. We herein report the full-length cloning, expression, purification and characterization of a novel R. indica defensin (RiD) and its efficacy against L. erysimi. Structural analysis through homology modeling of RiD showed longer α-helix and 3rd β-sheet as compared to Brassica juncea defensin (BjD). Recombinant RiD and BjD was purified for studying its efficacy against L. erysimi. In the artificial diet based insect bioassay, the LC50 value of RiD against L. erysimi was found to be 9.099 ± 0.621 µg/mL which is far lower than that of BjD (43.51 ± 0.526 µg/mL). This indicates the possibility of RiD having different interacting partner and having better efficacy against L. erysimi over BjD. In the transient localization studies, RiD signal peptide directed the RiD: yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) fusion protein to the apoplastic regions which indicates that it might play a very important role in inhibiting nutrient uptake by aphids which follow mainly extracellular route to pierce through the cells. Hence, the present study has a significant implication for the future pest management program of B. juncea through the development of aphid tolerant transgenic plants. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40064-016-2144-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.