Fundamental Biological Features of Spaceflight: Advancing the Field to Enable Deep-Space Exploration.

Research on astronaut health and model organisms have revealed six features of spaceflight biology that guide our current understanding of fundamental molecular changes that occur during space travel. The features include oxidative stress, DNA damage, mitochondrial dysregulation, epigenetic changes (including gene regulation), telomere length alterations, and microbiome shifts. Here we review the known hazards of human spaceflight, how spaceflight affects living systems through these six fundamental features, and the associated health risks of space exploration. We also discuss the essential issues related to the health and safety of astronauts involved in future missions, especially planned long-duration and Martian missions.

Ensuring carbon neutrality via algae-based wastewater treatment systems: Progress and future perspectives.

The emergence of algal biorefineries has garnered considerable attention to researchers owing to their potential to ensure carbon neutrality via mitigation of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Algae-derived biofuels, characterized by their carbon-neutral nature, stand poised to play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable development initiatives aimed at enhancing environmental and societal well-being. In this context, algae-based wastewater treatment systems are greatly appreciated for their efficacy in nutrient removal and simultaneous bioenergy generation. These systems leverage the growth of algae species on wastewater nutrients-including carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus-alongside carbon dioxide, thus facilitating a multifaceted approach to pollution remediation. This review seeks to delve into the realization of carbon neutrality through algae-mediated wastewater treatment approaches. Through a comprehensive analysis, this review scrutinizes the trajectory of algae-based wastewater treatment via bibliometric analysis. It subsequently examines the case studies and empirical insights pertaining to algae cultivation, treatment performance analysis, cost and life cycle analyses, and the implementation of optimization methodologies rooted in artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms for algae-based wastewater treatment systems. By synthesizing these diverse perspectives, this study aims to offer valuable insights for the development of future engineering applications predicated on an in-depth understanding of carbon neutrality within the framework of circular economy paradigms.

Understanding the helical stability of charged peptides.

Cationic helical peptides play a crucial role in applications such as anti-microbial and anticancer activity. The activity of these peptides directly correlates with their helicity. In this study, we have performed extensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of 25 Lysine-Leucine co-polypeptide sequences of varying charge density ( λ ) and patterns. Our findings showed that, an increase in the charge density on the peptide leads to a gradual decrease in the helicity up to a critical charge density λ c . Beyond λ c , a complete helix to coil transition was observed. The decrease in the helicity is correlated with the increased number of water molecules in first solvation shell, solvent-exposed surface area, and a higher value of the radius of gyration of the peptide.

Hydrophobicity─A Single Parameter for the Accurate Prediction of Disordered Regions in Proteins.

The prediction of disordered regions in proteins is crucial for understanding their functions, dynamics, and interactions. Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) play a key role in many biological processes like cell signaling, recognition, and regulation, but experimentally determining these regions can be challenging due to their high mobility. To address this challenge, we present an algorithm called HydroDisPred (HDP). HDP uses a single parameter, the fraction of hydrophobicity (λ) in each segment of the protein, to accurately predict disordered regions. The algorithm was validated using experimental data from the DisProt database and was found to be on par and, in some cases, more effective than the existing algorithms. HDP is a simple and effective method for identifying disordered regions in proteins, and its prediction is not affected by the availability of training data, unlike other ML approaches. The application is housed in the web server and can be accessed through the URL https://proseqanalyser.iitgn.ac.in/hydrodispred/.

Fate of pesticides in agricultural runoff treatment systems: Occurrence, impacts and technological progress.

The levels of pesticides in air, water, and soil are gradually increasing due to its inappropriate management. In particular, agricultural runoff inflicts the damages on the ecosystem and human health at massive scale. Present study summarizes 70 studies in which investigations on removal or treatment of pesticides/insecticides/herbicides are reported. A bibliometric analysis was also done to understand the recent research trends through the analysis of 2218 publications. The specific objectives of this study are as follows: i) to inventorize the characteristics details of agriculture runoff and analyzing the occurrence and impacts of pesticides, ii) analyzing the role and interaction of pesticides in different environmental segments, iii) investigating the fate of pesticides in agriculture runoff treatment systems, iv) summarizing the experiences and findings of most commonly technology deployed for pesticides remediation in agriculture runoff including target pesticide(s), specifications, configuration of technological intervention. Among the reported technologies for pesticide treatment in agriculture runoff, constructed wetland was at the top followed by algal or photobioreactor. Among various advanced oxidation processes, photo Fenton method is mainly used for pesticides remediation such as triazine, methyl parathion, fenuron and diuron. Algal bioreactors are extensively used for a wide range of pesticides treatment including 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid, alachlor, diuron, chlorpyrifos, endosulfan, and imidacloprid; especially at lower hydraulic retention time of 2-6 h. This study highlights that hybrid approaches can offers potential opportunities for effective removal of pesticides in a more viable manner.

Enhancement in Capacitance of Ionic Type of EAP-Based Strain Sensors.

This paper aims to enhance the capacitance of electroactive polymer (EAP)-based strain sensors. The enhancement in capacitance was achieved by using a free-standing stretchable polymer film while introducing conducting polymer to fabricate a hybrid dielectric film with controlled conductivity. In this work, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) rubber was used as the base material, and dodecyl benzene sulfonate anion (DBSA)-doped polyaniline (PANI) was used as filler to fabricate a hybrid composite conducting film. The maleic anhydride group of the SEBS Rubber and DBSA, the anion of the polyaniline dopant, make a very stable dispersion in Toluene and form a free-standing stretchable film by solution casting. DBSA-doped polyaniline increased the conductivity and dielectric constant of the dielectric film, resulting in a significant enhancement in the capacitance of the EAP-based strain sensor. The sensor presented in this article exhibits capacitance values ranging from 24.7 to 100 µF for strain levels ranging from 0 to 100%, and sensitivity was measured 3 at 100% strain level.

Dengue outbreak update in India: 2022.

Dengue is an emerging illness in India, where it is endemic in some areas and sometimes causes yearly epidemics. Each dengue outbreak starts with high death and morbidity, which has a significant socioeconomic impact. As of September 30, 2022, India had 63,280 dengue cases, according to information provided by the National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control. North India is most severely impacted by each outbreak. In Uttar Pradesh, the state with the most population in India, there have been 2060 confirmed cases of dengue and 1 mortality till September 2022 reported. Patients are being reported from semi-urban, rural, and urban areas. It is essential to properly monitor disease cases through disease surveillance in order to ensure prompt case management if dengue outbreak control is to be achieved. An efficient diagnostic approach for early diagnosis is urgently required to reduce the severity of the sickness, the length of the hospital stay, and clinical consequences.

Design of Pseudo-Mechanisms and Multistable Units for Mechanical Metamaterials.

Mechanisms-collections of rigid elements coupled by perfect hinges which exhibit a zero-energy motion-motivate the design of a variety of mechanical metamaterials. We enlarge this design space by considering pseudo-mechanisms, collections of elastically coupled elements that exhibit motions with very low energy costs. We show that their geometric design generally is distinct from those of true mechanisms, thus opening up a large and virtually unexplored design space. We further extend this space by designing building blocks with bistable and tristable energy landscapes, realize these by 3D printing, and show how these form unit cells for multistable metamaterials.

Understanding the role of hydrophobic patches in protein disaggregation.

Protein folding is a very complex process and, so far, the mechanism of folding still intrigues the research community. Despite a large conformational space available (O(1047) for a 100 amino acid residue), most proteins fold into their native state within a very short time. While small proteins fold relatively fast (a few microseconds) large globular proteins may take as long as several milliseconds to fold. During the folding process, the protein synthesized in the ribosome is exposed to the crowded environment of the cell and is easily prone to misfolding and aggregation due to interactions with other proteins or biomacromolecules present within the cell. These large proteins, therefore, rely on chaperones for their folding and repair. Chaperones are known to have hydrophobic patchy domains that play a crucial role in shielding the protein against misfolding and disaggregation of aggregated proteins. In the current article, Monte Carlo simulations carried out in the framework of the hydrophobic-polar (H-P) lattice model indicate that hydrophobic patchy domains drastically reduce the inter-protein interactions and are efficient in disaggregating proteins. The effectiveness of the disaggregation depends on the size and distribution of these patches on the surface and also on the strength of the interaction between the protein and the surface. Further, our results indicate that when the patch is complementary to the exposed hydrophobic patch of the protein, protein disaggregation is accompanied by stabilization of the protein even relative to its bulk behavior due to favorable protein-surface interactions. We believe that these findings shed light on the role of the class of chaperones known as heat shock proteins (Hsps) on protein disaggregation and refolding.

Assessment of Remineralization Capacity of Various Remineralizing Agents on Artificial Enamel Lesions Using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope: An In Vitro Study.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of diverse remineralizing agents on artificial enamel lesion using confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Totally 80 mandibular premolars which were single rooted were included. All teeth were suspended in a demineralizing solution to create artificial enamel lesions on the exposed enamel. The samples were separated randomly into four groups (20 each) depending on the application of the remineralizing agents as follows: group 1: control; group 2: calcium sucrose phosphate (CaSP); group 3: fluoride varnish; and group 4: casein phosphopeptides-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP). The samples in individual group were treated with the corresponding remineralizing agent (except for the control group) two times a day for 14 days. The experimental and control groups were exposed to CLSM assessment to analyze the data of remineralization and demineralization. RESULTS: The mean depth of remineralization of fluoride varnish group was slightly more compared to other groups. The highest mean depth of remineralization was found in the fluoride varnish group (122.26 ± 0.28) followed by CaSP (110.58 ± 1.34), CPP-ACP (107.08 ± 0.48), and control (157.78 ± 0.46) groups. The different comparisons among the remineralization material groups showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in almost all groups except group 2 vs group 4. CONCLUSION: This study concluded that improved remineralization of artificial enamel lesion could be achieved with the fluoride varnish group when compared to the CaSP and CPP-ACP groups. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Remineralization as a treatment technique has received a lot of consideration from clinicians. The process of remineralization and demineralization is considered an active process categorized by the movement of calcium and phosphate in and out of the enamel. Presently, the attention has changed toward increasing the resistance of the tooth by applying remineralizing agents topically, which has led to the notable fall in dental caries.

Organizational resilience and social-economic sustainability: COVID-19 perspective.

COVID-19 has affected the global economy like no other crisis in the history of mankind. It forced worldwide lockdown and economic shutdown to the point from where the recovery process has been very difficult. It has affected demand, supply, production and consumption in such a way that the entire economic development cycle has gone to its lowest levels. COVID-19 has also affected the social and economic sustainability structure which has led from one crisis to another and the developing countries have been the worst hit. Economic crisis resulted in unemployment leading to labour migrations, inevitable casualties and rising poverty etc. However, at a certain level, a few industries and organizations have shown resilience with better anticipation and survivability which may lead them to a quicker recovery. The current study aims at presenting a holistic view of organizational resilience which leads to the overall sustainable development. The study considers three aspects of organizational resilience as crisis anticipation, organizational robustness and recoverability. It assesses the impact of the aspects of resilience on social sustainability and economic sustainability. The study uses empirical analysis of primary data which is analysed to verify the hypothesized relationships by using a structural equation modelling approach. The study finds out that predicting the crisis and disruptions, building robustness and recoverability have a positive effect on both the social and economic aspects of sustainability. Findings of the study have their practical implications for industry, researchers and society.

Correction to: Metagenome to phenome approach enables isolation and genomics characterization of Kalamiella piersonii gen. nov., sp. nov. from the International Space Station.

In our original published manuscript entitled "Metagenome to phenome approach enables isolation and genomics characterization of Kalamiella piersonii gen. nov., sp. nov. from the International Space Station" (Singh et al. 2019), we found a taxonomic description format error: As per the Rule 27.

Metagenome to phenome approach enables isolation and genomics characterization of Kalamiella piersonii gen. nov., sp. nov. from the International Space Station.

Several evolutionarily distinct, near full-length draft metagenome-resolved genomes (MRG), were assembled from sequences recovered from the International Space Station (ISS) environments. The retrieval of MRGs facilitated the exploration of a large collection of archived strains (~ 500 isolates) and assisted in isolating seven related strains. The whole genome sequences (WGS) of seven ISS strains exhibited 100% identity to the 4.85 × 106 bp of four MRGs. The "metagenome to phenome" approach led to the description of a novel bacterial genus from the ISS samples. The phylogenomics and traditional taxonomic approaches suggested that these seven ISS strains and four MRGs were not phylogenetically affiliated to any validly described genera of the family Erwiniaceae, but belong to a novel genus with the proposed name Kalamiella. Comparative genomic analyses of Kalamiella piersonii strains and MRGs showed genes associated with carbohydrate (348 genes), amino acid (384), RNA (59), and protein (214) metabolisms; membrane transport systems (108), pathways for biosynthesis of cofactors, vitamins, prosthetic groups, and pigments (179); as well as mechanisms for virulence, disease, and defense (50). Even though Kalamiella genome annotation and disc diffusion tests revealed multidrug resistance, the PathogenFinder algorithm predicted that K. piersonii strains are not human pathogens. This approach to isolating microbes allows for the characterization of functional pathways and their potential virulence properties that can directly affect human health. The isolation of novel strains from the ISS has broad applications in microbiology, not only because of concern for astronaut health but it might have a great potential for biotechnological relevance. The metagenome to phenome approach will help to improve our understanding of complex metabolic networks that control fundamental life processes under microgravity and in deep space.

An In Vitro Evaluation of Apical Leakage in Gutta-percha/ AH Plus and Resilon/Epiphany-filled Root Canals Using Two Dye Penetration Techniques.

AIM: Aim of the present study was to evaluate the apical leakage in gutta-percha/AH plus and resilon/epiphany filled root canals using two dye penetration techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty freshly extracted human single-rooted teeth were collected. The crown portion of each tooth was sectioned from the cementoenamel junction using a diamond disk. The canals were instrumented using Step back technique up to a caliber of 40. The roots were randomly divided into four experimental groups of 15 sample units each. All the groups are obturated using lateral compaction technique. Samples were placed in India ink and stored in an incubator for 7 days after which they were thoroughly washed under tap water and dried. The roots were divided into longitudinal splitting technique with diamond disks and using clearing technique was checked for linear dye penetration using stereomicroscope. The surfaces were scanned and surfaces with greatest dye penetration were measured by using De winter Biowizard software system. RESULTS: The mean leakage for groups I, II, III, and IV are 2.31980, 2.68140, 4.11567, and 4.21047 respectively. One-way ANOVA was applied to the mean leakage scores of different groups, found a significant difference between mean leakage scores. F value of 3.266 and it was found to be significant with a p value of 0.028. Significant differences were obtained for mean comparisons of groups I and III, groups I and IV and groups III and IV. Further, between groups I and II, groups II and III, and groups III and IV no significant differences were observed. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, gutta-percha/AH Plus sealed root canals showed lesser leakage than the Resilon Epiphany groups and there was no significant difference in the two different methodologies used for dye penetration. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Tightly adapted endodontic filling material is one of the goals in successful clinical endodontics and Improvements in the adhesive technology have fostered attempts to reduce apical and coronal leakage by bonding to the root canal walls to obtain a solid monoblock.

Multi-drug resistant Enterobacter bugandensis species isolated from the International Space Station and comparative genomic analyses with human pathogenic strains.

BACKGROUND: The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) phenotypic properties, multiple drug resistance (MDR) gene profiles, and genes related to potential virulence and pathogenic properties of five Enterobacter bugandensis strains isolated from the International Space Station (ISS) were carried out and compared with genomes of three clinical strains. Whole genome sequences of ISS strains were characterized using the hybrid de novo assembly of Nanopore and Illumina reads. In addition to traditional microbial taxonomic approaches, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis was performed to classify the phylogenetic lineage. Agar diffusion discs assay was performed to test antibiotics susceptibility. The draft genomes after assembly and scaffolding were annotated with the Rapid Annotations using Subsystems Technology and RNAmmer servers for downstream analysis. RESULTS: Molecular phylogeny and whole genome analysis of the ISS strains with all publicly available Enterobacter genomes revealed that ISS strains were E. bugandensis and similar to the type strain EB-247T and two clinical isolates (153_ECLO and MBRL 1077). Comparative genomic analyses of all eight E. bungandensis strains showed, a total of 4733 genes were associated with carbohydrate metabolism (635 genes), amino acid and derivatives (496 genes), protein metabolism (291 genes), cofactors, vitamins, prosthetic groups, pigments (275 genes), membrane transport (247 genes), and RNA metabolism (239 genes). In addition, 112 genes identified in the ISS strains were involved in virulence, disease, and defense. Genes associated with resistance to antibiotics and toxic compounds, including the MDR tripartite system were also identified in the ISS strains. A multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) locus or MAR operon encoding MarA, MarB, MarC, and MarR, which regulate more than 60 genes, including upregulation of drug efflux systems that have been reported in Escherichia coli K12, was also observed in the ISS strains. CONCLUSION: Given the MDR results for these ISS Enterobacter genomes and increased chance of pathogenicity (PathogenFinder algorithm with > 79% probability), these species pose important health considerations for future missions. Thorough genomic characterization of the strains isolated from ISS can help to understand the pathogenic potential, and inform future missions, but analyzing them in in-vivo systems is required to discern the influence of microgravity on their pathogenicity.

Pervasiveness of UVC254-resistant Geobacillus strains in extreme environments.

We have characterized a broad collection of extremophilic bacterial isolates from a deep subsurface mine, compost dumping sites, and several hot spring ecosystems. Spore-forming strains isolated from these environments comprised both obligate thermophiles/thermotolerant species (growing at > 55 °C; 240 strains) and mesophiles (growing at 15 to 40 °C; 12 strains). An overwhelming abundance of Geobacillus (81.3%) and Bacillus (18.3%) species was observed among the tested isolates. 16S rRNA sequence analysis documented the presence of 24 species among these isolates, but the 16S rRNA gene was shown to possess insufficient resolution to reliably discern Geobacillus phylogeny. gyrB-based phylogenetic analyses of nine strains revealed the presence of six known Geobacillus and one novel species. Multilocus sequence typing analyses based on seven different housekeeping genes deduced from whole genome sequencing of nine strains revealed the presence of three novel Geobacillus species. The vegetative cells of 41 Geobacillus strains were exposed to UVC254, and most (34 strains) survived 120 J/m2, while seven strains survived 300 J/m2, and cells of only one Geobacillus strain isolated from a compost facility survived 600 J/m2. Additionally, the UVC254 inactivation kinetics of spores from four Geobacillus strains isolated from three distinct geographical regions were evaluated and compared to that of a spacecraft assembly facility (SAF) clean room Geobacillus strain. The purified spores of the thermophilic SAF strain exhibited resistance to 2000 J/m2, whereas spores of two environmental Geobacillus strains showed resistance to 1000 J/m2. This study is the first to investigate UV resistance of environmental, obligately thermophilic Geobacillus strains, and also lays the foundation for advanced understanding of necessary sterilization protocols practiced in food, medical, pharmaceutical, and aerospace industries.

Characterization of indoor settled dust and investigation of indoor air quality in different micro-environments.

Present study reports the characterization results of settled dust particles in different indoor micro-environments of an academic institution in India. Field emission scanning electron microscope analysis of indoor dust revealed the presence of mineral particles, fly ash, and soot particles of different morphologies. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of indoor dust indicated that crystal particles are comprised of elements such as C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, and Ti. These elements accounted for more than 99% of the samples. The average content of O (42.7%) and C (18.9%) in the dust particles was found to be higher than their natural abundances. The concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were observed in the range of 88-58, 37-33, 23-29 µg/m3, respectively. Except temperature, other parameters such as volatile organic carbon, carbon dioxide concentration, and relative humidity were found to be within comfort limits of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers. ABBREVIATIONS: ASHRAE: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers; CO2: carbon dioxide; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; EDX: energy-dispersive X-ray; FESEM: field emission scanning electron microscope; FTIR: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; IAP: indoor air pollution; IAQ: indoor air quality; HAP: household air pollution; OAP: outdoor air pollution; PM: particulate matter; VOC: volatile organic carbon; WHO: World Health Organization.

Sparse feature selection for classification and prediction of metastasis in endometrial cancer.

BACKGROUND: Metastasis via pelvic and/or para-aortic lymph nodes is a major risk factor for endometrial cancer. Lymph-node resection ameliorates risk but is associated with significant co-morbidities. Incidence in patients with stage I disease is 4-22% but no mechanism exists to accurately predict it. Therefore, national guidelines for primary staging surgery include pelvic and para-aortic lymph node dissection for all patients whose tumor exceeds 2cm in diameter. We sought to identify a robust molecular signature that can accurately classify risk of lymph node metastasis in endometrial cancer patients. 86 tumors matched for age and race, and evenly distributed between lymph node-positive and lymph node-negative cases, were selected as a training cohort. Genomic micro-RNA expression was profiled for each sample to serve as the predictive feature matrix. An independent set of 28 tumor samples was collected and similarly characterized to serve as a test cohort. RESULTS: A feature selection algorithm was designed for applications where the number of samples is far smaller than the number of measured features per sample. A predictive miRNA expression signature was developed using this algorithm, which was then used to predict the metastatic status of the independent test cohort. A weighted classifier, using 18 micro-RNAs, achieved 100% accuracy on the training cohort. When applied to the testing cohort, the classifier correctly predicted 90% of node-positive cases, and 80% of node-negative cases (FDR = 6.25%). CONCLUSION: Results indicate that the evaluation of the quantitative sparse-feature classifier proposed here in clinical trials may lead to significant improvement in the prediction of lymphatic metastases in endometrial cancer patients.

Bacillus maritimus sp. nov., a novel member of the genus Bacillus isolated from marine sediment.

The taxonomic position of a Gram-stain-positive, endospore-forming bacterium, strain KS16-9T, isolated from a marine sediment sample collected from Kovalam, Kanyakumari coastal region of the Indian Ocean, India, was analysed by a polyphasic approach. Strain KS16-9T had typical phenotypic characteristics and chemotaxonomic features (menaquinones, fatty acids and lipids) that were consistent with the genus Bacillus. omparative analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of the strain with previously published Bacillus type strains confirmed that it belongs to the genus Bacillus and is moderately related to Bacillus persicus B48T (98.42 % similarity), followed by Bacillus foraminis CV53T (97.67 %) and Bacillus rigiliprofundi (97.61 %). Other species in the genus Bacillusshared <97.6 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Strain KS16-9T contained MK-7 as the predominant menaquinone, meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic cell-wall diamino acid, iso-C15 : 0 and anteiso-C15 : 0 as major fatty acids, and diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine as the major phospholipids. The DNA G+C content of strain KS16-9T was 45.4 mol%. Based on data from this polyphasic taxonomic study, strain KS16-9T represents a novel species of the genus Bacillus, for which the name Bacillus maritimus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KS16-9T (=MTCC 12305T=DSM 100413T=KCTC 33834T).