Effect of heat exposure on prostaglandin production and expression of COX-2, PGES, PGFS, ITGAV and LGALS15 mRNAs in endometrial epithelial cells of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

BACKGROUND: Early embryonic mortality is one of the major intriguing factors of reproductive failure that causes considerable challenge to the mammalian cell biologists. Heat stress is the major factor responsible for reduced fertility in farm animals. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of heat stress on prostaglandin production and the expression of key genes, including COX-2, PGES, PGFS, ITGAV and LGALS15, in buffalo endometrial epithelial cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: Buffalo genitalia containing ovaries with corpus luteum (CL) were collected immediately post-slaughter. The stages of the estrous cycle were determined based on macroscopic observations of the ovaries. Uterine lumens of the mid-luteal phase (days 6-10 of the estrous cycle) were washed and treated with trypsin to isolate epithelial cells, which were then cultured at control temperature (38.5 °C for 24 h) or exposed to elevated temperatures [38.5 °C for 6 h, 40.5 °C for 18 h; Heat Stressed (HS)]. The supernatant and endometrial epithelial cells were collected at various time points (0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h) from both the control and treatment groups. Although heat stress (40.5 °C) significantly (P < 0.05) increased COX-2, PGES, and PGFS transcripts in epithelial cells but it did not affect the in vitro production of PGF2α and PGE2. The expression of ITGAV and LGALS15 mRNAs in endometrial epithelial cells remained unaltered under elevated temperature conditions. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that elevated temperature did not directly modulate prostaglandin production but, it promoted the expression of COX-2, PGES and PGFS mRNA in buffalo endometrial epithelial cells.

Ythdf2 regulates cardiac remodeling through its mRNA target transcripts.

m6A mRNA methylation controls cardiomyocyte function and increased overall m6A levels are a stereotyping finding in heart failure independent of the underlying etiology. However, it is largely unknown how the information is read by m6A reader proteins in heart failure. Here we show that the m6A reader protein Ythdf2 controls cardiac function and identified a novel mechanism how reader proteins control gene expression and cardiac function. Deletion of Ythdf2 in cardiomyocytes in vivo leads to mild cardiac hypertrophy, reduced heart function, and increased fibrosis during pressure overload as well as during aging. Similarly, in vitro the knockdown of Ythdf2 results in cardiomyocyte growth and remodeling. Mechanistically, we identified the eucaryotic elongation factor 2 as post-transcriptionally regulated by Ythdf2 using cell type specific Ribo-seq data. Our study expands our understanding on the regulatory functions of m6A methylation in cardiomyocytes and how cardiac function is controlled by the m6A reader protein Ythdf2.

Alternaria alternata (SDHY01/02), a fungus associated with Lamellodysidea herbacea: its anticancer potential and responsible constituent(s).

One of the biggest global causes of death is cancer. The side effects of currently available therapies have triggered the search for new drugs. The marine environment, with its vast biodiversity, including sponges, is a rich source of natural products with immense pharmaceutical potential. The aim of the study was to analyze the microbes associated with the marine sponge, Lamellodysidea herbacea, and explore them as resources for anticancer ability. This study includes the isolation of fungi from L. herbacea, and their evaluation for cytotoxic potential against human cancer cell lines such as A-549 (lung), HCT-116 (colorectal carcinoma), HT-1080 (Fibrosarcoma), and PC-3 (prostate) using MTT assay. This revealed that fifteen extracts showed significant anticancer ability (IC50 ≤ 20 µg/mL), at least against one of the cell lines. Three extracts, SPG12, SPG19, and SDHY 01/02, were found significant in terms of anticancer activity, at least against three to four cell lines (IC50 values ≤ 20 µg/mL). The fungus SDHY01/02 was identified by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as Alternaria alternata. Its extract showed IC50 values < 10 µg/mL against all the tested cell lines and was further analysed through light and fluorescence microscopy. The extract of SDHY01/02 was active (lowest IC50 4.27 µg/mL) against A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner and caused apoptotic cell death. Further, the extract was fractionated and analyzed the constituents by GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry). Di-ethyl ether fraction revealed the constituents (having anticancer activity) such pyrrolo[1,2-a] pyrazine-1,4-dione, hexahydro-3-(2-methyl propyl); 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-benzo[C]rhiophene-1-carboxylic acid cyclopropylamide; 17-pentatriacontene; 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z, Z)-, methyl ester; while DCM fraction contained Oleic acid, eicosyl ester. This is the first report of A. alternata with anticancer potential that has been isolated from the sponge L. herbacea, as far as we are aware.This A. alternata can be exploited to get anticancer molecule(s) in the future.

Effect of α-tocopherol in the vitrification medium on the viability, lipid peroxidation, expression of key developmental, apoptotic and stress-related genes in ovine secondary follicles.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of α-tocopherol on viability, lipid peroxidation and the expression of apoptosis, stress and development-related genes in the vitrified sheep secondary follicles. Ovarian secondary follicles (200-300 µm) were isolated and distributed separately to the vitrification treatment and supplemented with 5 mM, 10 mM, 20 mM and 30 mM of α-tocopherol (while the control fresh group was without vitrification and supplementation of α-tocopherol). After a week, the follicles were thawed and evaluated for follicular viability by trypan blue dye exclusion method, lipid peroxidation and gene expression studies. The results showed that the vitrification with 10 and 20 mM of α-tocopherol positively affected (p < .05) the viability of vitrified follicles in comparison with vitrified ones without α-tocopherol but the higher concentration of α-tocopherol, i.e., 30 mM negatively affected the viability (p < .05) in comparison with the 10 and 20 mM of α-tocopherol groups. The malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were significantly (p < .05) higher in the vitrified without α-tocopherol group in comparison to the vitrified with 20 mM of α-tocopherol group. The expression of apoptotic-related gene, BCL2L1 was significantly higher in 10 mM α-tocopherol group compared to the control fresh and CASPASE 3, 9 expressions were significantly higher in the vitrified group when compared to the vitrified with 10 mM α-tocopherol group. Expressions of BAX, BAD, BAK, BMP-15 and GDF-9 showed no significant difference among the groups. The mRNA expression of SOD1 was significantly higher in the vitrified without α-tocopherol group when compared to other groups. We conclude that the supplementation of 10 and 20 mM α-tocopherol in vitrification solution was the efficient vitrification procedure for the vitrification of ovine secondary follicles.

Meta-QTLs, ortho-meta QTLs and related candidate genes for yield and its component traits under water stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Meta-QTLs (MQTLs), ortho-MQTLs, and related candidate genes (CGs) for yield and its seven component traits evaluated under water deficit conditions were identified in wheat. For this purpose, a high density consensus map and 318 known QTLs were used for identification of 56 MQTLs. Confidence intervals (CIs) of the MQTLs were narrower (0.7-21 cM; mean = 5.95 cM) than the CIs of the known QTLs (0.4-66.6 cM; mean = 12.72 cM). Forty-seven MQTLs were co-located with marker trait associations reported in previous genome-wide association studies. Nine selected MQTLs were declared as 'breeders MQTLs' for use in marker-assisted breeding (MAB). Utilizing known MQTLs and synteny/collinearity among wheat, rice and maize, 12 ortho-MQTLs were also identified. A total of 1497 CGs underlying MQTLs were also identified, which were subjected to in-silico expression analysis, leading to identification of 64 differentially expressed CGs (DECGs) under normal and water deficit conditions. These DECGs encoded a variety of proteins, including the following: zinc finger, cytochrome P450, AP2/ERF domain-containing proteins, plant peroxidase, glycosyl transferase, glycoside hydrolase. The expression of 12 CGs at seedling stage (3 h stress) was validated using qRT-PCR in two wheat genotypes, namely Excalibur (drought tolerant) and PBW343 (drought sensitive). Nine of the 12 CGs were up-regulated and three down-regulated in Excalibur. The results of the present study should prove useful for MAB, for fine mapping of promising MQTLs and for cloning of genes across the three cereals studied. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-023-01301-z.

Entrapment of subscapular artery by the splitting of radial nerve- putative clinical implications.

The third part of the axillary artery has an intimate relationship with the cords of the brachial plexus. The subscapular artery, the largest branch of the axillary artery, arises from its third part. The radial nerve is a branch of the posterior cord of the brachial plexus and its supplies the extensors of the arm, forearm and dorsum of the hand. During routine undergraduate dissection of the axilla of a formalin-fixed cadaver of about 70 years, the subscapular artery was found sandwiched between two divisions of the radial nerve. These anterior and posterior divisions of the radial nerve arose immediately after the formation of the radial nerve and encircled the subscapular artery and fused to form a single nerve subsequently. This variant anatomy can lead to conditions like subscapular entrapment causing ischemia of the scapular region and radial nerve compression causing weakness of the extensors of the upper limb. Injury to the nerve and vessel can occur while performing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in the area. Knowledge of these variations provides a precautious approach by surgeons and other interventionists while working on this area.

Effect of Weekly Text Messaging Reminders on Medication Adherence in Hypertension and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus at a Tertiary Care Center in Eastern Nepal.

Background The short-message service (SMS) reminder techniques are found to be important in increasing medication adherence in non-communicable diseases. Objective To assess the effect of SMS on medication adherence in hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Method An observational study was conducted in the outpatient department using a semistructured questionnaire. Patients having hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus and taking at least one medication and having low to medium adherence were enrolled and short-message service was sent to them twice a week for up to two months reminding them to take medications as prescribed. At the end of two months, medication adherence was assessed using SPSS at P-value less than 0.05. Result Out of 105 patients, 64 (60.95%) were females. The mean age (±SD) was 51.15 ± 11.01 years. After two months of the short-message service reminders, majority of the patients were graded as having high adherence (73.33%) followed by medium adherence (20.0%) and low adherence (6.67%). The mean medication adherence scores on day one and after two months were 5.50 ± 1.14 and 7.50 ± 0.93 respectively (P-value=0.000). A high medication adherence was seen in individuals aged above 45 years (75.7%), males (78.0%) and those using a basic mobile phone (76.7%) after two months of follow-up; however it was statistically not significant (P-value > 0.05). Conclusion The SMS reminders had significantly improved the medication adherence in patients with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, none of the baseline variables were significantly associated with improvement in the adherence.

EXPLORING MEDICAL STUDENTS' COMPETENCY IN UNDERSTANDING PRIMARY IMMUNODEFICIENCY DISEASES IN INDIA.

Primary Immunodeficiency Disease (PID) represents a class of diverse illnesses marked by compromised immune system performance. For better patient outcomes, PIDs must be diagnosed and treated quickly. Medical graduates are essential to the detection and treatment of these illnesses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate medical students' knowledge about PIDs in different Indian medical colleges. To perform this analytical investigation, college students from Maharashtra-area universities were enlisted between March and April of 2023. The participants received a questionnaire from mediators from every institution. Of the 500 students in the study, 66% were between the ages of 22 and 24 and 52% were female. Their understanding ratings had an average of 16.3±6.2 and varied between 4 and 32. A set of students classified as below average (86%) and a mean/above average (14%), were separated among the students. The largest percentage of above-average knowledge was demonstrated by VI-year participants (p<0.05). This investigation emphasizes how critical it is to provide focused educational activities to improve medical students' comprehension of PIDs in India.

A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF CHILDHOOD SEPARATION ANXIETY DISORDER AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR ADOLESCENT PSYCHOPATHOLOGY.

A prevalent psychiatric disorder called Child Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is characterized by extreme discomfort when a child gets separated from their primary carers. While SAD's quick consequences on kids are well-researched, its long-term implications for teenage psychopathology have received less attention. This longitudinal study aims to ascertain the connection between child SAD and future psychopathological consequences in adolescents. 500 adolescents were chosen as part of the adolescent depression project, and at the age of 17, we retrospectively evaluated past and present mental disorders. At ages 25 and 32, they conducted diagnostic evaluations of these people during adolescence while they continued to monitor them. Based on childhood/adolescent assessments, the participants were split into different groups: SAD (n=34), other forms of Anxiety (n=76), a control group with combined psychiatric conditions (n=205), and mentally sound control group (n=185). Statistics were evaluated by hierarchical multiple logistic regression after various illnesses and pertinent demographic variables were considered. It implies that SAD has a high risk (80.2%) of being a significant risk indicator for the emergence of mental illnesses in young adults. This study highlights the importance of early SAD management and therapy and the possible advantages of treating SAD in lowering the likelihood of developing other mental health problems in adolescence. It also emphasizes the value of continuous studies to comprehend these connections and enhance the effects on SAD sufferers' psychological well-being.

EFFECTS OF SOCIAL ESTRANGEMENT ON YOUNG PEOPLE'S MATURATION: A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH.

A major issue among adolescents in recent years has been social isolation, or the sensation cut off and alone from peers and society. The effects of social isolation on youngsters and adolescents are investigated with special attention paying to the possible negative effects on their physical and mental health. Multiple studies have shown a link between adversity in life domains and adolescent social isolation. Firstly, it can have a major effect on mental health, raising the probability of experiencing things like anxiety, sadness and even suicidal thoughts. Second, it prevents the development of vital social abilities, making it harder to make and keep close friends. In addition, social isolation is associated with worse academic performance, which in turn reduces the number of courses a student can take and the number of jobs they can have in the future. After looking over 520 papers, 15 were chosen for the systematic review. Four researches reported the implications on general health, while two investigations reported on ramifications affecting the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis area along with social and mental growth of children. In conclusion, social isolation affects youth development across a wide spectrum, including psychological well-being, interpersonal skills, and academic success. Children and adolescents who experience isolation are more likely to suffer from anxiety and sadness, according to the review's findings. Cortical levels rise and mental growth slows in socially isolated children. Children and adolescents should be monitored by health professionals during and after the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that their mental and physical health needs are met.

Leaf rust responsive miRNA and their target genes in wheat.

Small RNA sequencing (sRNA-seq) and degradome analysis were used for the identification of miRNAs and their target host genes in a pair of near-isogenic lines (NILs), which differed for the presence of leaf rust resistance gene Lr28. The study led to identification of (i) 506 known and 346 novel miRNAs; and (ii) 5054 target genes including 4557 in silico predicted and 497 degradome-based genes using 105 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs. A subset of 128 targets (67 in silico + 61 degradome-based) was differentially expressed in RNA-seq data that was generated by us earlier using the same pair of NILs; among these 128 targets, 58 target genes exhibited an inverse relationship with the DE miRNAs (expression of miRNAs and activation/suppression of target genes). Eight miRNAs which belonged to the conserved miRNA families and were known to be induced in response to fungal diseases in plants included the following: miR156, miR158, miR159, miR168, miR169, miR172, miR319, miR396. The target genes belonged to the following classes of genes known to be involved in downstream disease resistance pathways; peroxidases, sugar transporters, auxin response signaling, oxidation-reduction, etc. It was also noticed that although a majority of miRNAs and target genes followed the above classical inverse relationship, there were also examples, where no such relationship was observed. Among the target genes, there were also 51 genes that were not only regulated by miRNAs, but were also differentially methylated at sequences including the following segments: promotors, introns, TSS, exons. The results of the present study suggest a complex interplay among miRNA genes, target genes, and various epigenetic controls, which regulate the expression of genes involved in downstream pathways for disease resistance.

Meta-QTLs, ortho-meta-QTLs and candidate genes for grain yield and associated traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

KEY MESSAGE: In wheat, 2852 major QTLs of 8998 QTLs available for yield and related traits were used for meta-analysis; 141 meta-QTLs were identified, which included 13 breeder's MQTLs and 24 ortho-MQTLs; 1202 candidate genes and 50 homologues of genes for yield from other cereals were also identified. Meta-QTL analysis was conducted using 2852 of the 8998 known QTLs, retrieved from 230 reports published during 1999-2020 (including 19 studies on tetraploid wheat) for grain yield (GY) and the following ten component traits: (i) grain weight (GWei), (ii) grain morphology-related traits (GMRTs), (iii) grain number (GN), (iv) spikes-related traits (SRTs), (v) plant height (PH), (vi) tiller number (TN), (vii) harvest index (HI), (viii) biomass yield (BY), (ix) days to heading/flowering and maturity (DTH/F/M), and (x) grain filling duration (GFD). The study resulted in the identification of 141 meta-QTLs (MQTLs), with an average confidence interval (CI) of 1.4 cM as against a CI of > 12.1 cM (8.8 fold reduction) in the QTLs that were used. The corresponding physical length of CI ranged from 0.01 Mb to 661.9 Mb (mean, 31.5 Mb). Seventy-seven (77) of these 141 MQTLs overlapped marker-trait associations (MTAs) reported in genome-wide association studies. Also, 63 MQTLs (each based on at least 10 QTLs) were considered stable and robust, with 13 MQTLs described as breeder's MQTLs (selected based on small CI, large LOD, and high level of phenotypic variation explained). Thirty-five yield-related genes from rice, barley, and maize were also utilized to identify 50 wheat homologues in MQTLs. Further, the use of synteny and collinearity allowed the identification of 24 ortho-MQTLs which were common among the wheat, barley, rice, and maize. The results of the present study should prove useful for wheat breeding and future basic research in cereals including wheat, barley, rice, and maize.

Meta-QTLs for multiple disease resistance involving three rusts in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

KEY MESSAGE: In wheat, multiple disease resistance meta-QTLs (MDR-MQTLs) and underlying candidate genes for the three rusts were identified which may prove useful for development of resistant cultivars. Rust diseases in wheat are a major threat to global food security. Therefore, development of multiple disease-resistant cultivars (resistant to all three rusts) is a major goal in all wheat breeding programs worldwide. In the present study, meta-QTLs and candidate genes for multiple disease resistance (MDR) involving all three rusts were identified using 152 individual QTL mapping studies for resistance to leaf rust (LR), stem rust (SR), and yellow rust (YR). From these 152 studies, a total of 1,146 QTLs for resistance to three rusts were retrieved, which included 368 QTLs for LR, 291 QTLs for SR, and 487 QTLs for YR. Of these 1,146 QTLs, only 718 QTLs could be projected onto the consensus map saturated with 2, 34,619 markers. Meta-analysis of the projected QTLs resulted in the identification of 86 MQTLs, which included 71 MDR-MQTLs. Ten of these MDR-MQTLs were referred to as the 'Breeders' MQTLs'. Seventy-eight of the 86 MQTLs could also be anchored to the physical map of the wheat genome, and 54 MQTLs were validated by marker-trait associations identified during earlier genome-wide association studies. Twenty MQTLs (including 17 MDR-MQTLs) identified in the present study were co-localized with 44 known R genes. In silico expression analysis allowed identification of several differentially expressed candidate genes (DECGs) encoding proteins carrying different domains including the following: NBS-LRR, WRKY domains, F-box domains, sugar transporters, transferases, etc. The introgression of these MDR loci into high-yielding cultivars should prove useful for developing high yielding cultivars with resistance to all the three rusts.

Clustered papulonodular lesions in an infant.

Non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis is a collective term encompassing a vast group of benign proliferative disorders of histiocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells that do not meet the criteria of Langerhans cell histiocytosis. We describe a case of juvenile xanthogranuloma with an unusual clustered distribution.

Nasopharyngeal Carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotypes Among Healthy Children in Northern India.

Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) infections cause morbidity and mortality among children worldwide. Hence India introduced 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) in 2017 in a phased manner. The primary objective of this study was to assess the proportion of healthy children having nasopharyngeal colonization (NP) with SP. Secondary objective was to determine prevalent serotype of SP among the PCV13 vaccinated and non-vaccinated children. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 4 hospitals of Lucknow District, Northern India. Three hundred healthy children (2-59 months) were recruited between July and August 2019 from vaccination-clinics of hospitals. NP specimen was cultured using 5% sheep blood agar plate containing gentamicin. Pneumococcal isolates were identified by optochin sensitivity and bile-solubility tests. Serotyping was done using Quellung Method. Of the 300 healthy children, 56.7% (170/300) were males and 59.3% (181/300) had received at least one dose of PCV13 vaccine. The NP carriage rate of SP among healthy children was 37.7% (113/300). Vaccine serotypes were found in 33.3% (22/66) in PCV vaccinated children and 48.9% (23/47) in non-vaccinated children (p 0.09). Common vaccine serotypes that isolated were: 18C, 19A, 19F, 23F, 3, 4, 6A, 6B, 9 V. Thus more than one-third of healthy children had NP colonization with SP. Adjusting for age, there was a trend for significant reduction in vaccine serotypes in the NP with one doses versus two or more doses (ptrend = 0.04).

Developing a competency-based undergraduate logbook for pediatrics: Process and lessons.

With the first MBBS batch admitted under the new National Medical Commission (NMC) undergraduate curriculum entering pediatric clinical posting soon, creation of a Pediatric logbook in consonance with this competency-based curriculum was felt to be a need of the hour. No such document is yet available in the public domain. The logbook template, created after enormous brainstorming amongst authors, includes 176 Shows (S), Shows How (SH) and Perform (P) level competencies. These were further segregated into certifiable (23), affective domain (25) and clinic/field visits (9) leaving 51 as documentable competencies. The institutions may use this template to build their own institute-specific logbook based on the infrastructure, faculty strength, clinical patient load, student intake and preferred assessment method(s). It would also be worthwhile to integrate this with the internship logbook (and later the postgraduate one for students opting for post-graduation in pediatrics) to provide a longitudinal record of each student's trajectory of learning.

Regulatory role of Wnt signal in the oestradiol synthesis of different size categories of ovarian follicles in buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

The aim of the present study was to understand the role of Wnt signal in ovarian oestradiol synthesis in various size categories of ovarian follicles. A six-day cell culture system was adopted to test the effect of a Wnt inhibitor i.e. Inhibitor of Wnt response (IWR) on the ovarian granulosa cell oestradiol synthesis and associated genes related to oestradiol synthesis and Wnt signalling (CYP19A1, CCND2, WNT2, FZD6, DVL1, APC, AXIN2, CTNNB1) in buffalo. It was conducted with four groups: Group 1: control, Group 2: control + FSH, Group 3: IWR, Group 4: IWR + FSH. No significant effect of IWR was observed on the ovarian granulosa cell proliferation. No significant difference in the oestradiol levels was found in the spent media harvested after six days of in vitro culture among different groups in small and large-sized ovarian follicles. However, the oestradiol level varied significantly (p < .05) among different treatment groups in medium-sized follicles. The oestradiol level was significantly lower (p < .05) in IWR group compared with the control group and was also significantly lower in IWR + FSH group compared with the FSH group. The Wnt inhibitor had significantly (p < .05) reduced the gene expression of CYP19A1 in large ovarian follicles. Varied effects of IWR-1 and FSH on the expression of other genes were observed. The results indicated that there is a positive role of Wnt signal in oestradiol synthesis in buffalo, but the positive role was more discernible in medium- and large-sized follicles.

COVID-WideNet-A capsule network for COVID-19 detection.

Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, the entire world is grappling with panic over its rapid spread. Consequently, it is of utmost importance to detect its presence. Timely diagnostic testing leads to the quick identification, treatment and isolation of infected people. A number of deep learning classifiers have been proved to provide encouraging results with higher accuracy as compared to the conventional method of RT-PCR testing. Chest radiography, particularly using X-ray images, is a prime imaging modality for detecting the suspected COVID-19 patients. However, the performance of these approaches still needs to be improved. In this paper, we propose a capsule network called COVID-WideNet for diagnosing COVID-19 cases using Chest X-ray (CXR) images. Experimental results have demonstrated that a discriminative trained, multi-layer capsule network achieves state-of-the-art performance on the COVIDx dataset. In particular, COVID-WideNet performs better than any other CNN based approaches for diagnosis of COVID-19 infected patients. Further, the proposed COVID-WideNet has the number of trainable parameters that is 20 times less than that of other CNN based models. This results in fast and efficient diagnosing COVID-19 symptoms and with achieving the 0.95 of Area Under Curve (AUC), 91% of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity respectively. This may also assist radiologists to detect COVID and its variant like delta.

A novel bicistronic DNA vaccine with enhanced protective immune response against Bacillus anthracis through DNA prime-protein boost vaccination approach.

Anthrax, by Bacillus anthracis, remains a dreadful fatal hazard worldwide. The currently used anthrax vaccines are plagued by numerous issues that limit their widespread use. As an immunization approach targeting both extracellular antigens and toxins of B. anthracis may achieve better sterile immunity, the present investigation designed a bicistronic secretory anti-anthrax DNA vaccine targeting immune response against toxin and cells. The efficacy of the vaccine was compared with monocistronic DNA vaccines and the currently used anthrax vaccine. For this, mice were immunized with the developed vaccine containing pag (encoding protective antigen to block toxin) and eag genes (encoding EA1 to target cells) of B. anthracis through DNA-prime/Protein-boost (D/P) and DNA prime/DNA-boost (D/D) approaches. There was a >2 and > 5 fold increase in specific antibody level by D/D and D/P approaches respectively, on 42nd days post-immunization (dpi). Serum cytokine profiling showed that both Th1 and Th2 immune responses were elicited, with more Th2 responses in D/P strategy. More importantly, challenge with 100 times LD50 of B. anthracis at 42nd dpi exhibited maximum cumulative survival (83.33 %) by bicistronic D/P approach. Remarkably, immunization with EA1 delayed mortality onset in infection. The study forms the first report on complement-dependent bactericidal activity of antiEA1 antibodies. In short, co-immunization of PA and EA1 through the developed bicistronic DNA vaccine would be an effective immunization approach in anthrax vaccination. Further, D/P strategy could enhance vaccine-induced immunity against B. anthracis. Altogether, the study generates certain critical insights having direct applications in next-generation vaccine development against anthrax.

Biofortification and bioavailability of Zn, Fe and Se in wheat: present status and future prospects.

KEY MESSAGE: Knowledge of genetic variation, genetics, physiology/molecular basis and breeding (including biotechnological approaches) for biofortification and bioavailability for Zn, Fe and Se will help in developing nutritionally improved wheat. Biofortification of wheat cultivars for micronutrients is a priority research area for wheat geneticists and breeders. It is known that during breeding of wheat cultivars for productivity and quality, a loss of grain micronutrient contents occurred, leading to decline in nutritional quality of wheat grain. Keeping this in view, major efforts have been made during the last two decades for achieving biofortification and bioavailability of wheat grain for micronutrients including Zn, Fe and Se. The studies conducted so far included evaluation of gene pools for contents of not only grain micronutrients as above, but also for phytic acid (PA) or phytate and phytase, so that, while breeding for the micronutrients, bioavailability is also improved. For this purpose, QTL interval mapping and GWAS were carried out to identify QTLs/genes and associated markers that were subsequently used for marker-assisted selection (MAS) during breeding for biofortification. Studies have also been conducted to understand the physiology and molecular basis of biofortification, which also allowed identification of genes for uptake, transport and storage of micronutrients. Transgenics using transgenes have also been produced. The breeding efforts led to the development of at least a dozen cultivars with improved contents of grain micronutrients, although land area occupied by these biofortified cultivars is still marginal. In this review, the available information on different aspects of biofortification and bioavailability of micronutrients including Zn, Fe and Se in wheat has been reviewed for the benefit of those, who plan to start work or already conducting research in this area.