Methods: In this study, AA was administered orally at an individual dose of 300 and 2000 mg/kg body weight to group 1 and 2 respectively, while group 3 served as normal control. All the animals were observed for 2 weeks to determine any behavioral and physical changes. On day 15, blood was collected for hematological and biochemical investigation, later animals from all the three groups were euthanized to harvest and store essential organs for histopathological analysis. Four different staining techniques; hematoxylin and eosin, Masson trichrome, Periodic acid Schiff and Oil O Red were used to investigate any alterations in different tissues through microscopical observation.
Results: The results of the study showed no morbidity and mortality at two different dosage of AA treatment. Daily food & water intake, body weight, relative organ weight, hematological and biochemical parameters were detected to be normal with no severe alteration seen through microscopical investigation in the structure of harvested tissues. Our findings support the safety profile of AA, which was well tolerated at higher dose. Thus, an in-detail study on the subacute disease model is warranted.
METHODS: The study was focused on assessing the impact of tilapia culture at sites nearer to the AIZ vs more distant sites, the former with a greater likelihood of receiving escapees. Two major sites were chosen; within 5 km (near-cage) and within 5-15 km (far-cage) radii from the AIZ. Fish sampling was conducted using multiple mesh sizes of gill nets (3.7, 5.1, 6.5, 7.6, and 10.2 cm) deployed at the littoral zone of the sampling points. Species diversity, abundance, dietary habits, and habitat preference were investigated.
RESULTS: The CPUE (individual/hour) of native fish species at the far-cage site of the AIZ Reservoir was found to be significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that at the near-cage site. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on diet and habitat preferences showed that the tilapia, O. niloticus had almost overlapping diet resources and habitat with native fish species.
CONCLUSION: We conclude that there is a correlation between the reduced catches of native species (based on CPUE) and the high presence of tilapia. Thus, appropriate actions must be implemented for strategic and effective planning in terms of native fish conservation.
Methods: Herein, we report a comprehensive study of the dynamics of H5N1 mutations by analysis of the aligned overlapping nonamer positions (1-9, 2-10, etc.) of more than 13,000 protein sequences of avian and human influenza A (H5N1) viruses, reported over at least 50 years. Entropy calculations were performed on 9,408 overlapping nonamer position of the proteome to study the diversity in the context of immune system. The nonamers represent the predominant length of the binding cores for peptides recognized by the cellular immune system. To further dissect the sequence diversity, each overlapping nonamer position was quantitatively analyzed for four patterns of sequence diversity motifs: index, major, minor and unique.
Results: Almost all of the aligned overlapping nonamer positions of each viral proteome exhibited variants (major, minor, and unique) to the predominant index sequence. Each variant motif displayed a characteristic pattern of incidence change in relation to increased total variants. The major variant exhibited a restrictive pyramidal incidence pattern, with peak incidence at 50% total variants. Post this peak incidence, the minor variants became the predominant motif for majority of the positions. Unique variants, each sequence observed only once, were present at nearly all of the nonamer positions. The diversity motifs (index and variants) demonstrated complex inter-relationships, with motif switching being a common phenomenon. Additionally, 25 highly conserved sequences were identified to be shared across viruses of both hosts, with half conserved to several other influenza A subtypes.
Discussion: The presence of distinct sequences (nonatypes) at nearly all nonamer positions represents a large repertoire of reported viral variants in the proteome, which influence the variability dynamics of the viral population. This work elucidated and provided important insights on the components that make up the viral diversity, delineating inherent patterns in the organization of sequence changes that function in the viral fitness-selection. Additionally, it provides a catalogue of all the mutational changes involved in the dynamics of H5N1 viral diversity for both avian and human host populations. This work provides data relevant for the design of prophylactics and therapeutics that overcome the diversity of the virus, and can aid in the surveillance of existing and future strains of influenza viruses.
METHOD: This was an unmatched case-control study in which children with ASD were recruited from an autism early intervention center and typically developed (TD) children were recruited from government-run nurseries and preschools. Urine samples were collected at home, assembled temporarily at study locations, and transported to the laboratory within 24 h. The Al concentration in the children's urine samples was determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).
RESULT: A total of 155 preschool children; 81 ASD children and 74 TD children, aged 3 to 6 years, were enlisted in the study. This study demonstrated that ASD children had significantly higher urinary Al levels than TD children (median (interquartile range (IQR): 2.89 (6.77) µg/dL versus 0.96 (2.95) µg/dL) (p 1, p
Methods: The extraction behaviors of impregnation in terms of stability and adsorption kinetics via protein-aqueous polymer impregnated resin were studied. Impregnation stability was determined by the leaching factor of polyethylene glycol (PEG). The major factors such as PEG molecular weights and concentration, pH of aqueous salt solution, extraction methods (sonication and agitation) and types of adsorbent material and concentration of aqueous salt phase influencing on partitioning of biomolecule were also investigated.
Results: For impregnation stability, the leaching factor for Amberlite XAD4 did not exceed 1%. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image analysis of Amberlite XAD4 attributes the structural changes with impregnation of resins. For adsorption kinetics, Freundlich adsorption isotherm with the highest R2 value (0.95) gives an indication of favorable adsorption process. Performance of AIRS impregnated with 40% (w/w) of PEG 2000 was found better than aqueous-two phase system (ATPS) by yielding the highest recovery of BSA (53.72%). The outcomes of this study propound the scope for the application of AIRS in purification of biomolecules.
Methods: PRISMA guidelines were used as the basis of this systematic review. Relevant studies were identified by searching the following databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (PubMed), as well as Epistemonikos for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials published not later than January 2021 involving adults with prediabetes and diabetes mellitus who were consuming brown rice compared to those consuming white rice. The primary outcomes measured were glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels. The secondary outcomes were body weight, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels, LDL and HDL-cholesterol levels. The mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between brown and white-rice-diet groups were calculated using a random-effects model.
Results: Seven trials involving 417 adults with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes were included in this study. Brown-rice diet did not improve the glycemic control because it had no effect on the HbA1c level (p = 0.15) and the FBG level (p = 0.95) compared to white-rice diet. Brown-rice diet reduced body weight (p
Methods: A pool of items was generated from a qualitative study, literature reviews, and expert reviews. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the original 40 items of the E-CIS and followed by 27 items for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A total of 470 elderly people with chronic constipation were involved.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 68.64 ± 6.57. Finally, only 22 items were indicated as appropriately representing the E-CIS, which were grouped into seven subscales: 'daily activities', 'treatment satisfaction', 'lack of control of bodily function', 'diet restriction', 'symptom intensity', 'anxiety' and 'preventive actions'. The scale was confirmed as valid (root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.04, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.961, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.952 and chi-square/degree of freedom (chiSq/df) = 1.44) and reliable (Cronbach's alpha: 0.66-0.85, composite reliability (CR) = 0.699-0.851) to assess the impact of chronic constipation on the elderly's QoL.
Conclusions: The E-CIS is useful to measure the impact of chronic constipation on the elderly's QoL. A further test is needed to determine the validity and reliability of this scale in other elderly population.
METHODS: This systematic review was performed conforming to preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) model. Four different databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Medline databases) as well as manual searching were adopted. Relevant studies from January 2000 till September 2021 were retrieved. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) was used to assess the quality of the selected studies.
RESULTS: Out of 755 articles, only 14 which met the eligibility criteria were included. Six studies found that titanium dioxide nanotube (TNT) reduced oxidative stress and promoted osteoblastic activity through its effect on Wnt, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and forkhead box protein O1 (FoxO1) signaling pathways. On the other hand, three studies confirmed that titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) induce oxidative stress, reduce ostegenesis and impair antioxidant defense system as a significant negative correlation was found between decreased SIR3 protein level and increased superoxide (O2 •-). Moreover, five studies proved that titanium implant alloy enhances the generation of ROS and induces cytotoxicity of osteoblast cells via its effect on NOX pathway.
CONCLUSION: TiO2NPs stimulate a wide array of oxidative stress related pathways. Scientific evidence are in favor to support the use of TiO2 nanotube-coated titanium implants to reduce oxidative stress and promote osteogenesis in bone remodeling. To validate the cellular and molecular cross talk in bone remodeling of the present review, well-controlled clinical trials with a large sample size are required.
SURVEY METHODOLOGY AND OBJECTIVES: A traditional rather than a systematic review approach was taken to focus on fungal responses to temperature stress elucidated using proteomic approaches. The effects of temperature stress on fungal metabolic pathways and, in particular, heat shock proteins (HSPs) are discussed. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the effects of temperature stress on fungal proteomes.
CONCLUDING REMARKS: Elucidating fungal proteomic response under temperature stress is useful in the context of increasing understanding of fungal sensitivity and resilience to the challenges posed by contemporary climate change processes. Although useful, a more thorough work is needed such as combining data from multiple -omics platforms in order to develop deeper understanding of the factor influencing and controlling cell physiology. This information can be beneficial to identify potential biomarkers for monitoring environmental changes in soil, including the agricultural ecosystems vital to human society and economy.