Direct and indirect effects of CYTOR lncRNA regulate HIV gene expression.

The implementation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has effectively restricted the transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and improved overall clinical outcomes. However, a complete cure for HIV remains out of reach, as the virus persists in a stable pool of infected cell reservoir that is resistant to therapy and thus a main barrier towards complete elimination of viral infection. While the mechanisms by which host proteins govern viral gene expression and latency are well-studied, the emerging regulatory functions of non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) in the context of T cell activation, HIV gene expression and viral latency have not yet been thoroughly explored. Here, we report the identification of the Cytoskeleton Regulator (CYTOR) long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) as an activator of HIV gene expression that is upregulated following T cell stimulation. Functional studies show that CYTOR suppresses viral latency by directly binding to the HIV promoter and associating with the cellular positive transcription elongation factor (P-TEFb) to activate viral gene expression. CYTOR also plays a global role in regulating cellular gene expression, including those involved in controlling actin dynamics. Depletion of CYTOR expression reduces cytoplasmic actin polymerization in response to T cell activation. In addition, treating HIV-infected cells with pharmacological inhibitors of actin polymerization reduces HIV gene expression. We conclude that both direct and indirect effects of CYTOR regulate HIV gene expression.

Antibiotic Resistance of Helicobacter pylori: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications.

Helicobacter pylori is a pathogenic bacterium associated with various gastrointestinal diseases, including chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, and gastric cancer. The increasing rates of H. pylori antibiotic resistance and the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains pose significant challenges to its treatment. This comprehensive review explores the mechanisms underlying the resistance of H. pylori to commonly used antibiotics and the clinical implications of antibiotic resistance. Additionally, potential strategies for overcoming antibiotic resistance are discussed. These approaches aim to improve the treatment outcomes of H. pylori infections while minimizing the development of antibiotic resistance. The continuous evolution of treatment perspectives and ongoing research in this field are crucial for effectively combating this challenging infection.

Receptor model-based source-specific health risks of toxic metal(loid)s in coal basin-induced agricultural soil in northwest Bangladesh.

Toxic metal(loid)s (TMLs) in agricultural soils cause detrimental effects on ecosystem and human health. Therefore, source-specific health risk apportionment is very crucial for the prevention and control of TMLs in agricultural soils. In this study, 149 surface soil samples were taken from a coal mining region in northwest Bangladesh and analyzed for 12 TMLs (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Cu, As, Se, and Hg). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) and absolute principal component score-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) receptor models were employed to quantify the pollution sources of soil TMLs. Both models identified five possible sources of pollution: agrochemical practice, industrial emissions, coal-power-plant, geogenic source, and atmospheric deposition, while the contribution rates of each source were calculated as 28.2%, 17.2%, 19.3%, 19% and 16.3% in APCS-MLR, 22.2%, 13.4%, 24.3%, 15.1% and 25.1% in PMF, respectively. Agrochemical practice was the major source of non-carcinogenic risk (NCR) (adults: 32.37%, children: 31.54%), while atmospheric deposition was the highest source of carcinogenic risk (CR) (adults: 48.83%, children: 50.11%). NCR and CR values for adults were slightly higher than for children. However, the trends in NCR and CR between children and adults were similar. As a result, among the sources of pollution, agrochemical practices and atmospheric deposition have been identified as the primary sources of soil TMLs, so prevention and control strategies should be applied primarily for these pollution sources in order to protect human health.

Comparison of Culture, Antigen Test, and Polymerase Chain Reaction for Pneumococcal Detection in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Children.

BACKGROUND: Sensitivity of culture for the detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae is limited by prior antibiotic exposure. Immunochromatographic test (ICT) is highly sensitive and specific for pneumococcal antigen detection in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of meningitis cases. We determined the specificity and sensitivity of culture, ICT, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the effect of antibiotic exposure on their performance. METHODS: CSF specimens from suspected meningitis cases admitted to Dhaka Shishu Hospital, Bangladesh, were tested using culture, ICT and PCR. Additionally, 165 specimens collected from 69 pneumococcal cases after antibiotic treatment were tested. RESULTS: Of 1883 specimens tested, culture detected 9, quantitative PCR (qPCR) detected 184, and ICT detected 207 pneumococcal cases (including all culture and qPCR positives). In comparison to ICT, sensitivity of culture was 4.4% and of qPCR was 90.6%; both were 100% specific. After antibiotic exposure, culture sensitivity plummeted rapidly; conventional PCR and qPCR sensitivity disappeared after day 6 and 20, respectively. ICT detected pneumococcal antigen for >10 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: While culture provides the most information about bacterial characteristics, in high antibiotic exposure settings, ICT exhibits maximum sensitivity. We recommend culture and ICT as mainstay for pneumococcal diagnosis and surveillance; qPCR can generate additional molecular data where possible.

Melatonin Modulates Plant Tolerance to Heavy Metal Stress: Morphological Responses to Molecular Mechanisms.

Heavy metal toxicity is one of the most devastating abiotic stresses. Heavy metals cause serious damage to plant growth and productivity, which is a major problem for sustainable agriculture. It adversely affects plant molecular physiology and biochemistry by generating osmotic stress, ionic imbalance, oxidative stress, membrane disorganization, cellular toxicity, and metabolic homeostasis. To improve and stimulate plant tolerance to heavy metal stress, the application of biostimulants can be an effective approach without threatening the ecosystem. Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine), a biostimulator, plant growth regulator, and antioxidant, promotes plant tolerance to heavy metal stress by improving redox and nutrient homeostasis, osmotic balance, and primary and secondary metabolism. It is important to perceive the complete and detailed regulatory mechanisms of exogenous and endogenous melatonin-mediated heavy metal-toxicity mitigation in plants to identify potential research gaps that should be addressed in the future. This review provides a novel insight to understand the multifunctional role of melatonin in reducing heavy metal stress and the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Preliminary assessment of heavy metals in surface water and sediment in Nakuvadra-Rakiraki River, Fiji using indexical and chemometric approaches.

River water and sediment embody environmental characteristics that give valuable environmental management information. However, indexical and chemometric appraisal of heavy metals (HMs) in river water and sediment is very scarce in Island countries including Fiji. In this research, forty-five sediment and fifteen water samples from the Nakuvadra-Rakiraki River, Fiji were analyzed for appraising spatial distribution, pollution, and source identification of selected heavy metals (HMs) using the coupling tools of self-organizing map (SOM), compositional data analysis (CDA), and sediment and water quality indices. The mean concentration of HMs increased in the order of Cd < Co < Pb < Cu < Zn < Ni < Cr < Mn < Fe for sediment and Cd < Pb < Cu < Ni < Zn < Co < Cr < Fe < Mn for water, respectively. The outcomes of the enrichment factor, geo-accumulation index and contamination factor index varied spatially and most of the sediment samples were polluted by Pb, Mn, and Cu. The potential ecological risk recognized Cd, and Pb as ecological and public health risks to the surrounding communities. Based on SOM and CDA, three potential sources (e.g., point, nonpoint and lithological sources) of HMs for sediment and two sources (e.g., geogenic and human-induced sources) of HMs for water were identified. The spatial patterns of EWQI values revealed that the northern and northeast zones of the studied area possess a high degree of water pollution. The entropy weight indicated Ni and Cd as the main pollutants degrading the water quality. This study gives a baseline dataset for combined eco-environmental measures for the river's water and sediment pollution as well as contributes to an inclusive appraisal of HMs contamination in global rivers.

Water resources pollution associated with risks of heavy metals from Vatukoula Goldmine region, Fiji.

Although mining is essential for human economic development, is amongst the most polluting anthropogenic sources that influence seriously in water resources. Thus, understanding the presence and concentration of heavy metals in water and sediment in the vicinity of mines is important for the sustainability of the ecosystem. In this work, a multidisciplinary approach was developed to characterize the contamination level, source apportionment, co-existence, and degree of ecological and human health risks of HMs on water resources in the Vatukoula Goldmine region (VGR), Fiji. The outcomes suggested significant contamination by Cd (range: 0.01-0.95 g/L), Pb (range: 0.03-0.53 g/L), and Mn (range: 0.01-3.66 g/L) in water samples surpassed the level set by Fiji and international laws, whereas higher concentration of Cd (range: 2.60-23.16 mg/kg), Pb (range: 28.50-200.90 mg/kg) and Zn (range: 36.50-196.66 mg/kg) were detected in sediment samples. Lead demonstrated a strong significant co-existence network with other metals (e.g., Mn, Ni). Source apportionment recognized four source patterns (Cd, Pb, Ni, and Mn) for water and (Cr, Cd-Pb, Mn, and Zn) for sediment which was further confirmed by principal component analysis. The mine inputs source mainly contributed to Cd (66.07%) for water, while mineral processing mostly contributed to Zn (76.10%) for sediment. High non-carcinogenic (>1) and carcinogenic (>10-4) health risks, particularly in children, are related to the elevated Cd, Pb and Cr contents from the VGR. Uncertainty analysis demonstrates that the 90th quantile of Cd led to higher carcinogenic risk. Pollution indices disclosed a moderate to extremely contamination status mainly along the Toko dam which poses high ecological risks identified by index calculation. However, sediment quality indicators based on probable effect levels showed that there was a 75% of likelihood that the concentrations of Cd and Pb adjacent to the VGR have a severe toxic impact on aquatic lives.

Effect of meteorological factors on COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh.

This work is intended to examine the effects of Bangladesh's subtropical climate on coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) transmission. Secondary data for daily meteorological variables and COVID-19 cases from March 8 to May 31, 2020, were collected from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) and Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR). Distributed lag nonlinear models, Pearson's correlation coefficient and wavelet transform coherence were employed to appraise the relationship between meteorological factors and COVID-19 cases. Significant coherence between meteorological variables and COVID-19 at various time-frequency bands has been identified in this work. The results showed that the minimum (MinT) and mean temperature, wind speed (WS), relative humidity (RH) and absolute humidity (AH) had a significant positive correlation while contact transmission had no direct association with the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases. When the MinT was 18 °C, the relative risk (RR) was the highest as 1.04 (95%CI 1.01-1.06) at lag day 11. For the WS, the highest RR was 1.03 (95% CI 1.00-1.07) at lag day 0, when the WS was 21 km/h. When RH was 46%, the highest RR was 1.00 (95% CI 0.98-1.01) at lag day 14. When AH was 23 g/m3, the highest RR was 1.05 (95% CI 1.01-1.09) at lag day 14. We found a profound effect of meteorological factors on SARS-CoV-2 transmission. These results will assist policymakers to know the behavioral pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 virus against meteorological indicators and thus assist to devise an effective policy to fight against COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Residual transpiration as a component of salinity stress tolerance mechanism: a case study for barley.

BACKGROUND: While most water loss from leaf surfaces occurs via stomata, part of this loss also occurs through the leaf cuticle, even when the stomata are fully closed. This component, termed residual transpiration, dominates during the night and also becomes critical under stress conditions such as drought or salinity. Reducing residual transpiration might therefore be a potentially useful mechanism for improving plant performance when water availability is reduced (e.g. under saline or drought stress conditions). One way of reducing residual transpiration may be via increased accumulation of waxes on the surface of leaf. Residual transpiration and wax constituents may vary with leaf age and position as well as between genotypes. This study used barley genotypes contrasting in salinity stress tolerance to evaluate the contribution of residual transpiration to the overall salt tolerance, and also investigated what role cuticular waxes play in this process. Leaves of three different positions (old, intermediate and young) were used. RESULTS: Our results show that residual transpiration was higher in old leaves than the young flag leaves, correlated negatively with the osmolality, and was positively associated with the osmotic and leaf water potentials. Salt tolerant varieties transpired more water than the sensitive variety under normal growth conditions. Cuticular waxes on barley leaves were dominated by primary alcohols (84.7-86.9%) and also included aldehydes (8.90-10.1%), n-alkanes (1.31-1.77%), benzoate esters (0.44-0.52%), phytol related compounds (0.22-0.53%), fatty acid methyl esters (0.14-0.33%), ß-diketones (0.07-0.23%) and alkylresorcinols (1.65-3.58%). A significant negative correlation was found between residual transpiration and total wax content, and residual transpiration correlated significantly with the amount of primary alcohols. CONCLUSIONS: Both leaf osmolality and the amount of total cuticular wax are involved in controlling cuticular water loss from barley leaves under well irrigated conditions. A significant and negative relationship between the amount of primary alcohols and a residual transpiration implies that some cuticular wax constituents act as a water barrier on plant leaf surface and thus contribute to salinity stress tolerance. It is suggested that residual transpiration could be a fundamental mechanism by which plants optimize water use efficiency under stress conditions.

Casein Kinase 2 (CK2)-mediated Phosphorylation of Hsp90ß as a Novel Mechanism of Rifampin-induced MDR1 Expression.

The P-glycoprotein (P-gp) encoded by the MDR1 gene is a drug-exporting transporter located in the cellular membrane. P-gp induction is regarded as one of the main mechanisms underlying drug-induced resistance. Although there is great interest in the regulation of P-gp expression, little is known about its underlying regulatory mechanisms. In this study, we demonstrate that casein kinase 2 (CK2)-mediated phosphorylation of heat shock protein 90ß (Hsp90ß) and subsequent stabilization of PXR is a key mechanism in the regulation of MDR1 expression. Furthermore, we show that CK2 is directly activated by rifampin. Upon exposure to rifampin, CK2 catalyzes the phosphorylation of Hsp90ß at the Ser-225/254 residues. Phosphorylated Hsp90ß then interacts with PXR, causing a subsequent increase in its stability, leading to the induction of P-gp expression. In addition, inhibition of CK2 and Hsp90ß enhances the down-regulation of PXR and P-gp expression. The results of this study may facilitate the development of new strategies to prevent multidrug resistance and provide a plausible mechanism for acquired drug resistance by CK2-mediated regulation of P-gp expression.

Unsteady magneto porous convective transport by micropolar binary fluid due to inclined plate: An inclusive analogy.

In this investigation , the consequence of viscous dissipation on the unstable magneto porous convective transport by a micropolar binary fluid due to an inclined surface with viscous dissipation and thermal radiation is examined. Viscous dissipation plays a noteworthy role in industrial applications. The governing PDEs are converted to combined ODEs with the Boussinesq approximation using a similarity analysis. The obtained non-linear ODEs are resolved using the shooting method with "ODE45 MATLAB" coding assistance. The numerical outcomes are revealed graphically for various dimensionless parameters and numbers, including temperature, concentration, velocity, and micro-rotation. The temperature, micro-rotation, and velocity fields escalate with increasing Eckert numbers. The radiation parameter and variable viscosity parameter increase the flow rate of the fluid. Increasing radiation parameters, suction parameters, and Prandtl numbers lessen the fluid temperature. The buoyancy parameters have symmetrical impacts on the velocity and microrotation of fluid particles in the cooling and heating modes. Improving Eckert number, inclined angle, Schmidt number, Prandtl number, and magnetic parameter reduces skin friction. The heat transmission rate escalates in quantity due to larger Prandtl number values. Rising Prandtl, Eckert, and Schmidt numbers accelerate the mass transfer rate. The current research result is compared to previously published article's result with good agreement.

Effectiveness of ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on invasive pneumococcal disease among children <2 years old: A prospective population-based study in rural Bangladesh.

The 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) was introduced in March 2015 in Bangladesh. In this study, we aimed to estimate the impact of PCV10 on invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) identified by blood cultures and severe pneumonia identified clinically and its effectiveness on invasive disease caused by vaccine serotypes. We conducted population-based surveillance among children aged 2- <24 months between April 2012 through March 2019 in Mirzapur, a rural sub-district of Bangladesh. We compared incidence of IPD and severe pneumonia before (April 2012 to March 2015) and after (April 2015 to March 2019) the introduction of PCV10. Vaccine effectiveness was measured using an indirect cohort analysis of data from four sentinel sites in which PCV10 vaccination status was compared between children with IPD caused by vaccine serotype vs. non-vaccine serotypes. We identified 24 IPD cases by blood culture and 1,704 severe pneumonia hospitalizations during the surveillance period. IPD incidence in under-2-year-old children fell 25 % (95 % CI: -1.2 % to 76 %; p-value = 0.59) from 106 cases per 100,000 child-years at baseline to 79.3 in April 2018- March 2019. Vaccine serotype-IPD incidence was lower (77 % reduction, 95 % CI: -0.45 % to 96 %; p-value = 0.068) in April 2018 - March 2019 than in the pre-vaccine period (85.7 cases to 19.8/100,000 child-years). A significant decline of 54.0 % (95 % CI: 47.0 % to 59.0 %; p-value < 0.001) was observed in hospitalizations due to severe pneumonia. From indirect cohort analysis, the effectiveness of PCV10 against vaccine serotype IPD was 37 % (95 % CI: -141.0 % to 83.5 %; p = 0.5) after the 1st dose and 63.1 % (95 % CI: -3.3 % to 85.9 %, p = 0.0411) after the 2nd or the 3rd dose. This study demonstrates that PCV10 introduction prevented hospitalizations with severe pneumonia and provided individual protection against vaccine serotypes.

How Does Stomatal Density and Residual Transpiration Contribute to Osmotic Stress Tolerance?

Osmotic stress that is induced by salinity and drought affects plant growth and development, resulting in significant losses to global crop production. Consequently, there is a strong need to develop stress-tolerant crops with a higher water use efficiency through breeding programs. Water use efficiency could be improved by decreasing stomatal transpiration without causing a reduction in CO2 uptake under osmotic stress conditions. The genetic manipulation of stomatal density could be one of the most promising strategies for breeders to achieve this goal. On the other hand, a substantial amount of water loss occurs across the cuticle without any contribution to carbon gain when the stomata are closed and under osmotic stress. The minimization of cuticular (otherwise known as residual) transpiration also determines the fitness and survival capacity of the plant under the conditions of a water deficit. The deposition of cuticular wax on the leaf epidermis acts as a limiting barrier for residual transpiration. However, the causal relationship between the frequency of stomatal density and plant osmotic stress tolerance and the link between residual transpiration and cuticular wax is not always straightforward, with controversial reports available in the literature. In this review, we focus on these controversies and explore the potential physiological and molecular aspects of controlling stomatal and residual transpiration water loss for improving water use efficiency under osmotic stress conditions via a comparative analysis of the performance of domesticated crops and their wild relatives.

Measuring residual transpiration in plants: a comparative analysis of different methods.

Residual transpiration (RT) is defined as a loss of water through the leaf cuticle while stomata are closed. Reduced RT might be a potentially valuable trait for improving plant performance under water deficit conditions imposed by either drought or salinity. Due to the presence of stomata on the leaf surface, it is technically challenging to measure RT. RT has been estimated by the water loss through either astomatous leaf surface or isolated astomatous cuticular layers. This approach is not suitable for all species (e.g. not applicable to grasses) and is difficult and too time consuming for large-scale screening in breeding programs. Several alternative methods may be used to quantify the extent of RT; each of them comes with its own advantages and limitations. In this study, we have undertaken a comparative assessment of eight various methods of assessing RT, using barley (Hordeum vulgare ) plants as a model species. RT measured by water retention curves and a portable gas exchange (infrared gas analyser; IRGA) system had low resolution and were not able to differentiate between RT rates from young and old leaves. Methods based on quantification of the water loss at several time-points were found to be the easiest and least time-consuming compared to others. Of these, the 'three time-points water loss' method is deemed as the most suitable for the high throughput screening of plant germplasm for RT traits.

Heat generation and radiative effects on time-dependent free MHD convective transport over a vertical permeable sheet.

This paper investigates the role of heat absorption or production on time-dependent free MHD convective transport over a vertical porous plate with thermal radiation. The PDEs are changed into non-dimensional couple ODEs by adopting proper similarity analysis. Then the finite difference method (FMD) is used for solving the converted non-dimensional coupled ODEs. The roles of the dimensionless parameters or numbers like the radiative parameter (R), internal heat absorption or generation(Q), the suction (v0), the magnetic force parameter (M), the Schmidt number (Sc), and Prandtl number (Pr) the on the numerical results of the temperature, velocity, and concentration distributions are explained in graphically. The results indicate that improving values of the heat absorption or production with thermal radiation improves the thermal boundary layer thickness. The local skin friction coefficient increases by about 11 % and the heat transfer rate reduces by about 85 % due to improving values of Q from 1.0 to 2.0. Growing values of the radiative parameter from 1.0 to 4.0 improves the local skin friction coefficient by about 13 %. The heat transfer rate lessens by about 41 %. Our numerical results are more compared with the published paper.

Viscous dissipation effect on unsteady magneto-convective heat-mass transport passing in a vertical porous plate with thermal radiation.

The effects of radiative and viscous dissipation on the transfer of unsteady magnetic-conductive heat-mass across a vertically porous sheet is studied in this article. The non-dimensional ODEs are solved by applying the Finite Difference Method (FDM) through the MATLAB software numerically. The fluid temperature and velocity enhance for uplifting values of the Eckert number. Enhancing values of the transpiration parameter the velocity, concentration, and temperature distributions reduce. The local skin friction enhances about 9%, and 18% due to increase the Eckert number (0.5-3.0) and Dufour number (0.5-4.0), respectively and reduces 17%, 38%, and 31% due to increase Prandtl number (0.71-7.0), magnetic force parameter (0.5-3.0), and suction parameter (0.5-3.0), respectively. Enhancing values of the Eckert number (0.5-3.0) reduces the heat transfer rate by 40%. The increasing value of the Prandtl number (0.71-7.0) and the suction parameter (0.5-3.0) increases the heat transfer rate by 27% and 92%, respectively. With an increase in the values of the Schmidt number (0.22-0.67), the mass transfer rate increased by approximately 94%. At last, the numerical results of this paper has compared with the previously published paper. We noticed that the comparison has an excellent acceptance.

ARPC5 isoforms and their regulation by calcium-calmodulin-N-WASP drive distinct Arp2/3-dependent actin remodeling events in CD4 T cells.

CD4 T cell activation induces nuclear and cytoplasmic actin polymerization via the Arp2/3 complex to activate cytokine expression and strengthen T cell receptor (TCR) signaling. Actin polymerization dynamics and filament morphology differ between nucleus and cytoplasm. However, it is unclear how the Arp2/3 complex mediates distinct nuclear and cytoplasmic actin polymerization in response to a common stimulus. In humans, the ARP3, ARPC1, and ARPC5 subunits of the Arp2/3 complex exist as two different isoforms, resulting in complexes with different properties. Here, we show that the Arp2/3 subunit isoforms ARPC5 and ARPC5L play a central role in coordinating distinct actin polymerization events in CD4 T cells. While ARPC5L is heterogeneously expressed in individual CD4 T cells, it specifically drives nuclear actin polymerization upon T cell activation. In contrast, ARPC5 is evenly expressed in CD4 T cell populations and is required for cytoplasmic actin dynamics. Interestingly, nuclear actin polymerization triggered by a different stimulus, DNA replication stress, specifically requires ARPC5 but not ARPC5L. TCR signaling but not DNA replication stress induces nuclear actin polymerization via nuclear calcium-calmodulin signaling and N-WASP. Diversity in the molecular properties and individual expression patterns of ARPC5 subunit isoforms thus tailors Arp2/3-mediated actin polymerization to different physiological stimuli.

Prevalence and associated factors of depression among Bangladeshi university students: A cross-sectional study.

Objective:  The study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among university students in Bangladesh. Participants: A total of 403 undergraduate students from Patuakhali Science and Technology University, and Barisal University participated in the study. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted using Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). Result: The prevalence of depression (BDI ≥ 14) was 47.14%. Depression was 3.4 times (95% CI: 1.6-7.1), 3.8 times (95% CI: 1.7-8.6), and 3.9 times (95% CI: 1.5-8.9) higher among 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-year students, respectively than 1st-year students. Students with a history of stressful life events (aOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.7-4.4), suicidal attempts (aOR = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.2-7.9), and who received inadequate monthly allowance from their family (aOR = 0.53 95% CI: 0.3-0.9) were more likely to develop depressive symptoms. Conclusion: This study reports a high level of depression among university students which needs further discussion, exploration, and calls for designing appropriate interventions.

Thermal Radiation Effect on Unsteady Magneto-Convective Heat-Mass Transport Passing in a Vertical Permeable Sheet with Chemical Reaction.

The unsteady magneto-convective heat-mass transport passing in a vertical porous sheet with the thermal radiation and the chemical reaction effects has been examined numerically. The governing PDEs have been transferred into ODEs by applying the local similarity transformation. The nondimensional governing equations including the boundary conditions are solved by applying the superposition method with the help of the "MATLAB ODE45" software numerically. The influence of emerging nondimensional numbers/parameters, for example, the Prandtl number (Pr), thermal radiation parameter (R), Schmidt number (Sc), and chemical reaction parameter (K r), on fluid velocity, concentration, and thermal radiation within the boundary layer has been examined. The outcomes indicate that enhancing values of the Soret and Dufour numbers reduce the thermal boundary layer thickness. Uplifting values of the thermal radiation (0.5-3.5) enhance the local skin friction coefficient and mass transfer rate by approximately 15% and 78% but decrease the heat transfer rate by 47%. The local skin friction coefficient enhances about 21%, and the mass transfer rate reduces about 64% due to an increase in the chemical reaction parameter (0.5-2.0). Finally, we compared our numerical results with previously published literature and observed them to have a good agreement.

Elevated aqueous endothelin-1 concentrations in advanced diabetic retinopathy.

PURPOSE: Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a potent vasoconstrictor which seems to be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR). However, studies on intraocular ET-1 in DR have been limited. Thus, we investigated aqueous ET-1 levels in patients with DR. METHODS: A total 85 subjects were included in this prospective study. Those were classified into three groups: advanced DR group included those with severe nonproliferative DR or proliferative DR, whereas early DR group included those with mild nonproliferative DR or moderative nonproliferative DR. Those who underwent cataract surgery and had no concomitant ocular disease were included in the control group. Aqueous humor levels of ET-1 were obtained before intravitreal bevacizumab injection (IVB) and after 1 month for the DR patients, and at the time of cataract surgery for the control group. RESULTS: Advanced DR group included 40 eyes (47.1%), whereas early DR group did 19 eyes (22.4%), and control group (26 eyes, 30.5%). Mean aqueous ET-1 level was 10.1±4.1 pg/mL (6.0-21.0 pg/mL) in advanced DR group, 1.9±0.7 pg/mL (0.6-2.8 pg/mL) in early DR group, and 2.1±1.0 pg/mL (0.7-3.9 pg/mL) in control group (P < 0.001). Advanced DR group was further subdivided into severe nonproliferative DR (15 eyes, 12.8%) and proliferative DR (25 eyes, 34.3%). Mean aqueous ET-1 level was 10.1±4.3 pg/mL (6.0-20.1 pg/mL) in patients with severe nonproliferative DR, and 10.0±4.0 pg/mL (6.0-21.0 pg/mL) in those with proliferative DR (P = 0.928) at baseline. Mean ET-1 level at 1 month after intravitreal injection was 2.5±1.0 pg/mL (0.3-4.8 pg/mL) in patients with severe proliferative DR and 2.9±1.7 pg/mL (1.0-7.0 pg/mL) in those with proliferative DR (P = 0.443). Mean aqueous ET-1 level was significantly reduced in both groups (P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: The mean aqueous ET-1 level was significantly higher in the eyes with advanced DR than those with early DR and the control group. The mean aqueous ET-1 level was significantly reduced after intravitreal injections in the advanced DR group. Based on our results, future studies on the exact role of ET-1 in the pathogenesis of DR and future implication for intervention would be helpful for managing DR.