ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This work was undertaken to evaluate the protective effect of Arsenicum album 30C against COVID-19. DESIGN: The work was designed as a prospective parallel cluster cohort study. INTERVENTION: Participants were enrolled in a homeopathy intervention (HI) cohort (who received Arsenicum album) or in a non-intervention (NI) cohort (who received no systematic intervention) from COVID-19 containment areas of Delhi. Individuals of age 5 years or above were given four medicated pills of Arsenicum album 30C, while those from 1 to 5 years old were given two medicated pills in each dose. RESULTS: The analysis included 10,180 individuals residing in 11 COVID-19 containment areas in Delhi, out of which 6,590 individuals were in the HI cohort and 3,590 individuals were in the NI cohort. The overall protective effect of Arsenicum album 30C was 83.43% (95% confidence interval [CI], 76.77 to 88.17): 45 cases per 6,590 (8.34 per 10,000 person-weeks) in the Arsenicum album 30C group versus 143 cases per 3,590 (45.01 per 10,000 person-weeks) in the NI cohort. The protective effect of Arsenicum album 30C against laboratory confirmed COVID-19 was 74.40% (95% CI, 55.08 to 85.41): 18 cases per 6,590 (3.32 per 10,000 person-weeks) in the Arsenicum album 30C group versus 38 cases per 3,590 (11.85 per 10,000 person-weeks) in the NI cohort. CONCLUSION: The use of Arsenicum album 30C was associated with some protection against probable and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in a containment-zone setting. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm or refute these results.
Subject(s)
Arsenicals , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , COVID-19 , Homeopathy , Humans , Child, Preschool , Infant , Arsenicals/therapeutic use , Homeopathy/methods , COVID-19/prevention & control , Cohort Studies , Prospective Studies , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , IndiaABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of Eupatorium perfoliatum (EP) 30C on the incidence of dengue fever and acute febrile illness (AFI) during the 2017 dengue outbreak. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, open-label, community-based parallel cohort study involving apparently healthy individuals residing in 06 urban slums (JJ colony) of Delhi. The participants were enrolled in two cohorts - the medicine cohort (MC) and the control cohort (CC). Participants in MC were given weekly one dose of EP 30C for 10 weeks along with Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material regarding dengue. Participants in the CC were provided with the IEC material only. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of dengue fever as per case definitions notified in the national guidelines for clinical management of dengue fever by the Government of India during the 10 weeks follow-up period. The secondary outcome measures were the incidence of AFI and the hospitalization of confirmed dengue cases. RESULTS: The analysis included 40,769 participants residing in 06 slum clusters of Delhi out of which 28,321 participants were in MC and 12,448 participants were in CC. The incidence of laboratory-confirmed dengue in the MC was 2.57 per 10,000 person-weeks (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.02-3.22) in comparison with 7.55 per 10,000 person-weeks (95% CI, 6.12-9.21) in the CC. The incidence of AFI in the MC was 19.66 per 10,000 person-weeks (95% CI, 18.07-21.36) in comparison with 40.96 per 10,000 person-weeks (95% CI, 37.48-44.67) in the CC. The overall protective effect of EP against laboratory-confirmed dengue was 65.77% (95% CI, 53.37-74.87; p = 0.0001) and against AFI was 52.58% (95% CI, 46.37-58.07; p = 0.0001). Hospitalization reported in the MC was nil as against 4.35% in the CC. No dengue-related case fatalities were reported from either cohort. None of the participants from the MC reported any adverse events owing to the prophylactic intervention. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that EP 30C was able to prevent dengue significantly. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm or refute our findings.
Subject(s)
Dengue , Eupatorium , Humans , Poverty Areas , Cohort Studies , Prospective Studies , Disease Outbreaks , Dengue/epidemiology , Dengue/prevention & controlABSTRACT
We have performed transcript and metabolite profiling of isolated cambial meristem cells of the model tree aspen during the course of their activity-dormancy cycle to better understand the environmental and hormonal regulation of this process in perennial plants. Considerable modulation of cambial transcriptome and metabolome occurs throughout the activity-dormancy cycle. However, in addition to transcription, post-transcriptional control is also an important regulatory mechanism as exemplified by the regulation of cell-cycle genes during the reactivation of cambial cell division in the spring. Genes related to cold hardiness display temporally distinct induction patterns in the autumn which could explain the step-wise development of cold hardiness. Factors other than low temperature regulate the induction of early cold hardiness-related genes whereas abscisic acid (ABA) could potentially regulate the induction of late cold hardiness-related genes in the autumn. Starch breakdown in the autumn appears to be regulated by the 'short day' signal and plays a key role in providing substrates for the production of energy, fatty acids and cryoprotectants. Catabolism of sucrose and fats provides energy during the early stages of reactivation in the spring, whereas the reducing equivalents are generated through activation of the pentose phosphate shunt. Modulation of gibberellin (GA) signaling and biosynthesis could play a key role in the regulation of cambial activity during the activity-dormancy cycle as suggested by the induction of PttRGA which encodes a negative regulator of growth in the autumn and that of a GA-20 oxidase, a key gibberellin biosynthesis gene during reactivation in spring. In summary, our data reveal the dynamics of transcriptional and metabolic networks and identify potential targets of environmental and hormonal signals in the regulation of the activity-dormancy cycle in cambial meristem.
Subject(s)
Meristem/physiology , Plant Physiological Phenomena , Plants/metabolism , Transcription, Genetic , Base Sequence , DNA Primers , Fatty Acids/biosynthesis , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Genes, cdc , Meristem/growth & development , Plants/genetics , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , TemperatureABSTRACT
The establishment of the dormant state in meristems involves considerable physiological and metabolic alterations necessary for surviving unfavourable growth conditions. However, a global molecular analysis of dormancy in meristems has been hampered by the difficulty in isolating meristem cells. We used cryosectioning to isolate purified cambial meristem cells from the woody plant Populus tremula during active growth and dormancy. These samples were used to generate meristem-specific cDNA libraries and for cDNA microarray experiments to define the global transcriptional changes underlying cambial dormancy. The results indicate a significant reduction in the complexity of the cambial transcriptome in the dormant state. Although cell division is terminated in the dormant cambium, the cell cycle machinery appears to be maintained in a skeletal state as suggested by the continued presence of transcripts for several cell cycle regulators. The downregulation of PttPIN1 and PttPIN2 transcripts explains the reduced basipetal polar auxin transport during dormancy. The induction of a member of the SINA family of ubiquitin ligases implicated in auxin signalling indicates a potential mechanism for modulation of auxin sensitivity during cambial dormancy. The metabolic alterations during dormancy are mirrored in the induction of genes involved in starch breakdown and the glyoxysomal cycle. Interestingly, the induction of RGA1 like gene suggests modification of gibberellin signalling in cambial dormancy. The induction of genes such as poplar orthologues of FIE and HAP2 indicates a potential role for these global regulators of transcription in orchestrating extensive changes in gene expression during dormancy.
Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Meristem/physiology , Populus/physiology , Transcription, Genetic/physiology , Cell Cycle , DNA, Complementary/metabolism , Expressed Sequence Tags , Gene Library , Genomics , Indoleacetic Acids/metabolism , Meristem/cytology , Meristem/metabolism , Plant Physiological Phenomena , Populus/cytology , Populus/growth & development , Populus/metabolism , Signal TransductionABSTRACT
Two cDNA libraries were prepared, one from leaves of a field-grown aspen (Populus tremula) tree, harvested just before any visible sign of leaf senescence in the autumn, and one from young but fully expanded leaves of greenhouse-grown aspen (Populus tremula x tremuloides). Expressed sequence tags (ESTs; 5,128 and 4,841, respectively) were obtained from the two libraries. A semiautomatic method of annotation and functional classification of the ESTs, according to a modified Munich Institute of Protein Sequences classification scheme, was developed, utilizing information from three different databases. The patterns of gene expression in the two libraries were strikingly different. In the autumn leaf library, ESTs encoding metallothionein, early light-inducible proteins, and cysteine proteases were most abundant. Clones encoding other proteases and proteins involved in respiration and breakdown of lipids and pigments, as well as stress-related genes, were also well represented. We identified homologs to many known senescence-associated genes, as well as seven different genes encoding cysteine proteases, two encoding aspartic proteases, five encoding metallothioneins, and 35 additional genes that were up-regulated in autumn leaves. We also indirectly estimated the rate of plastid protein synthesis in the autumn leaves to be less that 10% of that in young leaves.
Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant/genetics , Plant Leaves/genetics , Seasons , Arabidopsis Proteins , Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases/genetics , Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases/metabolism , Cell Respiration/genetics , Cell Respiration/physiology , Computational Biology , Cysteine Endopeptidases/genetics , Cysteine Endopeptidases/metabolism , Databases, Genetic , Expressed Sequence Tags , Gene Expression Profiling/methods , Lipid Metabolism , Metallothionein/genetics , Metallothionein/metabolism , Photosynthesis/genetics , Plant Leaves/growth & development , Plant Proteins/genetics , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Populus/genetics , Populus/growth & development , RNA, Plant/genetics , RNA, Plant/metabolismABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We have developed genomic tools to allow the genus Populus (aspens and cottonwoods) to be exploited as a full-featured model for investigating fundamental aspects of tree biology. We have undertaken large-scale expressed sequence tag (EST) sequencing programs and created Populus microarrays with significant gene coverage. One of the important aspects of plant biology that cannot be studied in annual plants is the gene activity involved in the induction of autumn leaf senescence. RESULTS: On the basis of 36,354 Populus ESTs, obtained from seven cDNA libraries, we have created a DNA microarray consisting of 13,490 clones, spotted in duplicate. Of these clones, 12,376 (92%) were confirmed by resequencing and all sequences were annotated and functionally classified. Here we have used the microarray to study transcript abundance in leaves of a free-growing aspen tree (Populus tremula) in northern Sweden during natural autumn senescence. Of the 13,490 spotted clones, 3,792 represented genes with significant expression in all leaf samples from the seven studied dates. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a major shift in gene expression, coinciding with massive chlorophyll degradation, that reflected a shift from photosynthetic competence to energy generation by mitochondrial respiration, oxidation of fatty acids and nutrient mobilization. Autumn senescence had much in common with senescence in annual plants; for example many proteases were induced. We also found evidence for increased transcriptional activity before the appearance of visible signs of senescence, presumably preparing the leaf for degradation of its components.
Subject(s)
Aging/genetics , Chronobiology Phenomena/genetics , Seasons , Transcription, Genetic/genetics , Cell Death/genetics , DNA, Complementary/genetics , DNA, Plant/genetics , Expressed Sequence Tags , Gene Expression Profiling/methods , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant/genetics , Gene Library , Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis/methods , Plant Leaves/genetics , Populus/cytology , Populus/genetics , RNA, Plant/genetics , Sequence Analysis, DNA/methodsABSTRACT
Trees present a life form of paramount importance for terrestrial ecosystems and human societies because of their ecological structure and physiological function and provision of energy and industrial materials. The genus Populus is the internationally accepted model for molecular tree biology. We have analyzed 102,019 Populus ESTs that clustered into 11,885 clusters and 12,759 singletons. We also provide >4,000 assembled full clone sequences to serve as a basis for the upcoming annotation of the Populus genome sequence. A public web-based EST database (POPULUSDB) provides digital expression profiles for 18 tissues that comprise the majority of differentiated organs. The coding content of Populus and Arabidopsis genomes shows very high similarity, indicating that differences between these annual and perennial angiosperm life forms result primarily from differences in gene regulation. The high similarity between Populus and Arabidopsis will allow studies of Populus to directly benefit from the detailed functional genomic information generated for Arabidopsis, enabling detailed insights into tree development and adaptation. These data will also valuable for functional genomic efforts in Arabidopsis.