SLAM (CD150) receptor homologous peptides block the peste des petits ruminants virus entry into B95a cells.

The fusion of haemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein of peste des petits ruminant (PPR) virus with signaling lymphocyte activation molecules (SLAM) host cell receptor consequences the virus entry and multiplication inside the host cell. The use of synthetic SLAM homologous peptides (i.e., molecular decoy for HN protein of PPR virus) may check PPR infection at the preliminary stage. Hence, the predicted SLAM homologous peptides using bioinformatics tools were synthesized by solid phase chemistry with standard Merrifield's 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) chemistry and were purified by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. The secondary structures of synthesized peptides were elucidated by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The in vitro interactions of these peptides were studied through indirect Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) and visual surface plasmon UV-visible spectroscopy. The SLAM homologous peptides were able to interact with the peste des petits ruminant virus (PPRV) with varying binding efficiency. The interaction of SLAM homologous peptide with the PPR virus was ascertained by the change in the plasmon color from red wine to purple during visual detection and also by bathochromic shift in absorbance spectra under UV-visible spectrophotometry. The cytotoxic and anti-PPRV effect of these peptides were also evaluated in B95a cell line using PPR virus (Sungri/96). The cytotoxic concentration 50 (CC50 ) value of each peptide was greater than 1000 µg mL-1 . The anti-PPRV efficiency of SLAM-22 was relatively high among SLAM homologous peptides, SLAM-22 at 25 µg mL-1 concentration showed a reduction of more than log10 3 virus titer by priming of B95a cell line while the use of SLAM-15 and Muco-17 at the same concentration dropped virus titer from log10 4.8 to log10 2.5 and log10 3.1 respectively. The concentration of SLAM homologous peptide (25 µg mL-1 ) to exert its anti-PPRV effect was much less than its CC50 level (>1000 µg mL-1 ). Therefore, the synthetic SLAM homologous peptides may prove to be better agents to target PPRV.

The Efficacy of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.

BACKGROUND: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been increasingly used for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Although several meta-analyses have explored its effectiveness and safety, there is no umbrella review specifically focused on rTMS for OCD. This umbrella review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and analyzed relevant meta-analyses on rTMS for OCD. METHODS: Twenty-three articles were identified from PubMed, and after screening, 12 meta-analyses were included in the review. The studies analyzed in the meta-analyses ranged from 10 to 27, with total participants ranging from 282 to 791. The most commonly studied regions were the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), supplementary motor area (SMA), and orbito-frontal cortex (OFC). RESULT: The majority of the meta-analyses consistently supported the effectiveness of rTMS in reducing OCD symptoms when applied to the DLPFC and SMA. Encouraging results were also observed when targeting the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) through deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS). However, there was a high level of heterogeneity in the findings of nine out of 12 meta-analyses. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, existing evidence suggests that rTMS targeting the DLPFC and SMA consistently reduces OCD symptoms, but targeting the mPFC and ACC through dTMS shows variable results. However, the high heterogeneity in the study findings indicates a need for further research and standardization in the field.

Evaluation of catalytic activity of human and animal origin viral neuraminidase: Current prospect.

With the exception of plants, almost all living organisms synthesize neuraminidase/sialidase. It is a one among the crucial proteins that controls how virulent a microorganism is. An essential enzyme in orthomyxoviruses and paramyxoviruses that destroys receptors is neuraminidase. It plays a number of roles throughout the viral life cycle in addition to one that involves the release of progeny virus particles. This protein is an important target for therapeutic interventions and diagnostic assays. Neuraminidase inhibitors effectively prevent the spread of disease and viral infection. Sensitive, quick, and inexpensive high throughput assays are needed to screen for specific neuraminidase inhibitory chemicals. To characterize the neuraminidase catalytic activity, however, the traditional assays are still the most common in laboratories. This review gives a brief overview of these neuraminidase assays and recent, innovative developments, particularly those involving biosensors.

Long-Term Changes in the Quality of Media Reporting of Suicide Following a Celebrity Suicide in India.

Online portals of selected English and local language newspapers and television channels were searched to identify suicide news reports published one year after the celebrity suicide (ACS). These reports (n = 1952) were compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, immediately following the celebrity suicide (ICS) (n = 2486), and a three-month period before the celebrity suicide (BCS) (n = 1381) to assess longitudinal changes in quality of media reporting. There was a decline in reporting of several potentially harmful characteristics over time such as mentioning the deceased's age and gender (p < .001 for both), and location of suicide (p < .001). The quality of media reporting of suicide was significantly better at one year compared to the period immediately following celebrity suicide. This change was mainly driven by an improvement in the reporting quality of English news reports while local language reports continued to remain poorly adherent to reporting guidelines.

Changing trends in quality of media reporting of suicide in the community following a celebrity suicide in India.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about changes in quality of media reporting of suicide in the community following a celebrity suicide. Our objective was to compare trends in quality of media reporting of suicide, before and after the suicide of an Indian entertainment celebrity, against the World Health Organization suicide reporting guidelines. METHOD: Online news portals of English and local language newspapers, as well as television channels, were searched to identify relevant suicide-related news articles. Comparison of reporting characteristics before and after the celebrity suicide was performed using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: A total of 3867 eligible news reports were retrieved. There was a significant increase in harmful reporting characteristics, such as reporting the name, age and gender of the deceased (p < 0.001 for all comparisons), mentioning the location (p < 0.001) and reason for suicide (p = 0.04) and including photos of the deceased (p = 0.002) following the celebrity suicide. Helpful reporting practices were less affected; there was a significant rise in inclusion of expert opinion (p = 0.04) and mention of suicide-related warning signs (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Following a celebrity suicide, significant changes in the quality of media reporting of suicide were noted with an increase in several potentially harmful reporting characteristics.

Recent progress in electrochemical biosensors as point of care diagnostics in livestock health.

Livestock are critical component for supporting the sustainable agriculture in the current global scenario. In the era of artificial intelligence and automation in field of livestock, sensors play an important role. Electrochemical sensor is the type of sensor which holds reliability and tremendous promise in raising the animal productivity in developing world. An early and accurate diagnosis of the animal pathogen and metabolic status are the cornerstone for better animal productivity. The available diagnostic techniques require tedious sample preparation, sophisticated instrument, dedicated laboratory, trained personnel and it is time consuming also. The electrochemical biosensor technology might be a smart solution because of its sensitivity, simplicity, low cost, possible miniaturization and potential ability for real-time analysis. In the veterinary disease diagnostics, various biosensors including electrochemical biosensors have been developed recently, based on disease specific biomarkers. The main focus of article is on reviewing the research in detection of animal infectious and metabolic diseases, hormonal analysis and sweat analysis with electrochemical biosensor.

Modified Pringle maneuver for laparoscopic liver resection.

BACKGROUND: The Pringle maneuver is widely used in liver surgery to reduce intraoperative blood loss. However, total vascular inflow occlusion is frequently associated with ischemia reperfusion injury leading to postoperative liver dysfunction and impaired recovery. We describe herein an original procedure of modified Pringle maneuver (MPM) during laparoscopic liver resection with selective clamping of hepatic arterial inflow. METHODS: Of 183 laparoscopic major hepatectomies performed at the Institute Mutualiste Montsouris between January 1998 and March 2014, 19 patients required vascular clamping, and MPM was used in 6 patients. The video showed this procedure in a 58-year-old woman with multiple colorectal liver metastases planned for laparoscopic right trisectionectomy. After the division of the right hepatic artery and the right portal vein, the parenchymal transection was performed with 12 mm Hg of pneumoperitoneum pressure using MPM in order to control the bleeding. RESULTS: The total operative time was 187 min and estimated blood loss was 70 ml. A right trisectionectomy were performed successfully with a purely laparoscopic procedure. After an uneventful postoperative recovery, the patient was discharged on the fifth postoperative day. Among 6 patients in whom this technique was applied, only one patient experienced grade II postoperative liver failure according to Clavien-Dindo classification. CONCLUSIONS: Selective clamping of hepatic arterial inflow may be a preferred surgical strategy for high-risk patients, with elective application of this maneuver preemptively in all cases where excessive bleeding is anticipated.

Totally laparoscopic right hepatectomy combined with resection of the inferior vena cava by anterior approach.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic right hepatectomy has become a standard procedure for laparoscopic resection in specialized centers;1-6 however, tumor involvement of the inferior vena cava (IVC) is still considered a contraindication. Here, we describe a safe technique of totally laparoscopic extended right hepatectomy to segment 1 combined with IVC resection using an anterior approach. METHODS: We performed 61 totally laparoscopic right hepatectomies by an anterior approach between January 2009 and April 2014. The video illustrates this procedure in a 58-year-old female with bilateral colorectal liver metastases involving the right-anterior wall of the retrohepatic IVC. Right hepatectomy was performed by initial hilar dissection and ligation of vascular inflow followed by division of the hepatic parenchyma with en-bloc segmentectomy 1, to expose the left side of the retrohepatic IVC. The right hepatic vein was divided using an endoscopic vascular stapler. As the involved portion of IVC could be isolated with the application of a single vascular clamp, the right IVC wall was divided using an endoscopic stapler. Thereafter, posterior mobilization of the right liver was performed. RESULTS: The surgical duration was 270 min and blood loss was 50 mL. The postoperative period was uneventful, and the patient was discharged 9 days after surgery. Histopathological examination confirmed the presence of a colorectal metastasis with tumor-free margin. CONCLUSION: We devised a secure procedure to perform totally laparoscopic right hepatectomy combined with IVC resection using an anterior approach; this may be a safe and useful technique to perform laparoscopic right hepatectomy.

Shape-responsive liquid crystal elastomer bilayers.

Monodomain liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are shape-responsive materials, but shape changes are typically limited to simple uniaxial extensions or contractions. Here, we demonstrate that complex surface patterns and shape changes, including patterned wrinkles, helical twisting, and reversible folding, can be achieved in LCE-polystyrene (PS) bilayers. LCE-PS bilayer shape changes are achieved in response to simple temperature changes and can be controlled through various material parameters including overall aspect ratio and LCE and polystyrene film thicknesses. Deposition of a patterned PS film on top of an LCE enables the preparation of an elastomer that reversibly twists and a folding leaf-like elastomer, which opens and closes in response to temperature changes. The phenomena are captured through finite element simulations, in quantitative agreement with experiments.

Thermoresponsive PNIPAAM bottlebrush polymers with tailored side-chain length and end-group structure.

We explore the phase behaviour, solution conformation, and interfacial properties of bottlebrush polymers with side-chains comprised of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAM), a thermally responsive polymer that exhibits a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water. PNIPAAM bottlebrush polymers with controlled side-chain length and side-chain end-group structure are prepared using a "grafting-through" technique. Due to reduced flexibility of bottlebrush polymer side-chains, side-chain end-groups have a disproportionate effect on bottlebrush polymer solubility and phase behaviour. Bottlebrush polymers with a hydrophobic end-group have poor water solubilities and depressed LCSTs, whereas bottlebrush polymers with thiol-terminated side-chains are fully water-soluble and exhibit an LCST greater than that of PNIPAAM homopolymers. The temperature-dependent solution conformation of PNIPAAM bottlebrush polymers in D2O is analyzed by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and data analysis using the Guinier-Porod model shows that the bottlebrush polymer radius decreases as the temperature increases towards the LCST for PNIPAAM bottlebrush polymers with relatively long 9 kg mol(-1) side-chains. Above the LCST, PNIPAAM bottlebrush polymers can form a lyotropic liquid crystal phase in water. Interfacial tension measurements show that bottlebrush polymers reduce the interfacial tension between chloroform and water to levels comparable to PNIPAAM homopolymers without the formation of microemulsions, suggesting that bottlebrush polymers are unable to stabilize highly curved interfaces. These results demonstrate that bottlebrush polymer side-chain length and flexibility impact phase behavior, solubility, and interfacial properties.

Treatment-emergent sexual dysfunctions due to antidepressants: A primer on assessment and management strategies.

Antidepressants (ADs) are among the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide. Persons with mental illness taking ADs commonly report sexual dysfunction (SD) related to treatment. A brief discussion on the neurobiology of sexual functioning and mechanism of treatment-emergent SD (TESD) was performed. The incidence of prevalence of TESD in various studies has been reviewed. TESD impacts patients as it frequently leads to nonadherence, while psychiatrists have challenges in proceeding forward with treatment in such patients. Assessment of patients with suspected TESD is described with a focus on practical tips for clinicians. Five strategies (watchful waiting, drug holiday, downward titration, switching, and add-on therapy) to manage TESD have been extensively discussed with evidence in the literature. Each strategy comes with its own bag of advantages and drawbacks, which have been pointed out for simplicity. A detailed discussion on individual pharmacological strategies is given, and options for non-pharmacological management that can be tried are enlisted. Common clinical case scenarios have been discussed to incorporate the implementation of this literature.

Transcranial direct current stimulation as early augmentation in adolescent obsessive compulsive disorder: A pilot proof-of-concept randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is proven to be safe in treating various neurological conditions in children and adolescents. It is also an effective method in the treatment of OCD in adults. AIM: To assess the safety and efficacy of tDCS as an add-on therapy in drug-naive adolescents with OCD. METHODS: We studied drug-naïve adolescents with OCD, using a Children's Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (CY-BOCS) scale to assess their condition. Both active and sham groups were given fluoxetine, and we applied cathode and anode over the supplementary motor area and deltoid for 20 min in 10 sessions. Reassessment occurred at 2, 6, and 12 wk using CY-BOCS. RESULTS: Eighteen adolescents completed the study (10-active, 8-sham group). CY-BOCS scores from baseline to 12 wk reduced significantly in both groups but change at baseline to 2 wk was significant in the active group only. The mean change at 2 wk was more in the active group (11.8 ± 7.77 vs 5.25 ± 2.22, P = 0.056). Adverse effects between the groups were comparable. CONCLUSION: tDCS is safe and well tolerated for the treatment of OCD in adolescents. However, there is a need for further studies with a larger sample population to confirm the effectiveness of tDCS as early augmentation in OCD in this population.

CRISPR-based electrochemical biosensors for animal health: Recent advances.

Animal diseases are a major concern to animal welfare, human health and the global economy. Early detection, prevention and control of these animal diseases are crucial to ensure sustainability of livestock sector, to reduce farm losses and protecting public health. Points of care (POC) devices are small, portable instruments that provide rapid results thus reduce the risk of disease transmission and enable early intervention. CRISPR based diagnostics offer more accurate and efficient solution for monitoring animal health due to their quick response, can detect very low level of pathogenic organism or disease markers and specificity. These diagnostics are particularly useful in the in area with limited resources or access to common diagnostic methods, especially in developing countries. The ability of electrochemical sensors to detect accurately very low analyte concentration makes them suitable for POC diagnostics and field application. CRISPR base electrochemical biosensors show great potential in revolutionizing disease detection and diagnosis including animal health. However, challenges, such as achieving selectivity and sensitivity, need to be addressed to enhance the competitiveness of these biosensors. Currently, most CRISPR based bioassay research focuses on nucleic acid target detection, but researchers exploring to monitor small organic/inorganic non-nucleic acid molecules like toxins and proteins. Emerging diagnostics would be centered on CRISPR-Cas system will offer great potential as an accurate, specific and effective means to identify microorganism, virus, toxins, small molecules, peptides and nucleic acid related to various animal health disorders particularly when integrated into electrochemical biosensing platform.

Development of Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase Homologous Peptides as Novel Promising Therapeutic Agents Against Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus.

The lack of specific antiviral therapy and complications associated with the existing peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccines accentuates the search of novel antiviral blocking agents in order to curtail the PPR infection at initial level. The synthetic hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) homologous peptides may compete with the natural HN protein of PPR virus for binding to signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) receptor, consequently, may disrupt peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) at entry level. Therefore, insilico analysis, synthesis, purification and subsequent characterization of HN homologous peptides were conducted in this study. The HN homologous peptides were synthesized by means of solid phase chemistry and were purified by reversed-phase-high performance liquid chromatography. The mass as well as sequence of HN homologous peptides were assessed by mass spectroscopy while its secondary structure was elucidated by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The binding (interaction) efficacy of HN homologous peptides with PPRV antibodies was assessed via indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, visual detection test (red wine to purple), bathochromic shift under UV-Vis spectrophotometry and lateral flow immunochromatographic strip test. The antiviral properties and cytotoxicity of these peptides were also assessed in B95a cell line with changes in cytopathic effect and titer of PPRV (Sungri/96). The presence of green fluorescein isothiocyanate over the B95a cell surface pointed towards the binding of HN homologous peptides with surface SLAM receptor. Moreover, the intact beta sheet configuration in water and lower cytotoxicity [cytotoxic concentration 50 (CC50) > 1000 µg/ml] of these peptides signifies its in vivo use. Among HN homologous peptides, the binding efficacy and antiviral properties of pep A was relatively high in comparison to pep B and Pep ppr peptides. The prerequisite concentration of HN homologous peptides (pep A = 12.5 µg/ml; pep B = 25 µg/ml; pep ppr = 25 µg/ml) to exemplify its antiviral effect was much lower than its CC50 level. Hence, this study signifies the therapeutic potential of synthetic HN homologous peptides.

Unusually Giant Solitary Osteochondroma of the Ilium: A Case Report with Review of Literature.

Introduction: Osteochondroma is the most common benign bone tumor where a chondrogenic lesion is derived from aberrant cartilage from the perichondral ring. Although it commonly arises from the growing ends of long bones, less commonly, it may arise from the scapula, pelvis, or vertebra. Case Report: We encountered a 16-year-old male patient with a painless left pelvic solid mass for 3 years, which was suggestive of osteochondroma on X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging findings. Besides cosmetic issues, the main indication for surgery was the constant discomfort in wearing pants/shorts/belts. He underwent en bloc excision followed by a biopsy of the surgical specimen by two independent histopathologists confirming the tumor to be osteochondroma. He was followed up for 2 years with no signs of post-operative complications or recurrence. This case represents one of the very few reported so affecting the iliac wing, where the excision was performed before skeletal maturation. We also performed a review of the current literature on iliac wing osteochondroma to understand the tumor better, identify gaps in current knowledge, and suggest areas for future research. Conclusion: Since one of the differential diagnoses includes secondary chondrosarcoma, which could be a rare progression of osteochondroma, early recognition and comprehensive evaluation of such unusual cases needs to be dealt with a high index of suspicion to avoid misdiagnosis and to provide effective treatment.

Mpox vaccination in global perspective: priorities and challenges.

After the global panic created by COVID-19, the monkeypox (Mpox) virus emerged as a new challenge for the world population. As of 19 January 2023, a total of 84,733 cases across 110 countries/territories including 80 deaths has been reported. The virus has been transmitted to nonendemic countries in a short span of 6 months warranting WHO to declare Mpox, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 23 July 2022. As the Mpox virus is crossing geographical boundaries without established transmission patterns, there is an urgent need for new scientific strategies from global researchers to contain it before turning into the next pandemic. The control of Mpox outbreaks primarily relies on various public health measures such as proper surveillance, contact tracing, rapid diagnosis, isolation and care of patients, and vaccination. At present, there are three vaccines viz. ACAM2000, MVABN, and LC16 are in consideration and have been approved in several jurisdictions for ongoing Mpox outbreak. Prioritization of individuals along with the production of specific Mpox vaccine is need of the hour to meet out the global demand of Mpox vaccination.

Detection of porcine enteric picornaviruses from faecal samples of Indian pigs.

Porcine enteric picornaviruses often consequence diarrhoea and nervous complications in pig and pose enormous loss to pig farming. The present study expands the limited Indian data of porcine enteric picornaviruses which is needed for the early implementation of control measures and to check further outbreaks. A total of 398 porcine faecal samples from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand state of India were screened for porcine teschovirus (PTV), porcine sapelovirus (PSV) and enterovirus G (EV-G) by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using 5'UTR-specific primers. The prevalence of PTV, PSV and EV-G was found to be 12.81% (51/398), 5.77% (23/398) and 24.37% (97/398), respectively. EV-G was relatively higher in circulation in Indian pigs among all the included enteric picornaviruses. Conversely, the concurrent infection of more than one enteric picornavirus was also frequent. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13337-022-00756-0.

Non-infectious outer membrane vesicles derived from Brucella abortus S19Δper as an alternative acellular vaccine protects mice against virulent challenge.

The prime human and animal safety issues accentuate the search of promising newer alternative vaccine candidates to resolve complications associated with the live attenuated Brucella abortus strain19 (S19) vaccine. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs S19 Δper) extracted from Brucella abortus S19Δper (S19Δper) as an alternative subunit vaccine candidate has been explored in the present study as OMVs are endowed with immunogenic molecules, including LPS and outer membrane proteins (OMPs) and do not cause infection by virtue of being an acellular entity. The LPS defective S19Δper released a higher amount of OMVs than its parent strain S19. Under transmission electron microscopy (TEM), OMVs were seen as nano-sized outward bulge from the surface of Brucella. Dynamic light scattering analysis of OMVs revealed that OMVs S19Δper showed the less polydispersity index (PDI) than OMVs S19 pointing towards relatively more homogenous OMVs populations. Both OMVs S19Δper and OMVs S19 with or without booster dose and S19 vaccine were used for immunization of mice and subsequently challenged with 2 × 105 CFU virulent Brucella abortus strain 544 (S544) to assess protective efficacy of vaccines. The less splenic weight index and less S544 count in OMVs immunized mice in comparison to unimmunized mice after S544 challenge clearly indicated good protective efficacy of OMVs. OMVs S19 Δper induced relatively high titer of IgG than OMVs S19 but conferred nearly equal protection against brucellosis. An ELISA based determination of IgG and its isotype response, Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) based quantitation of serum cytokines and FACS based enumeration of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells revealed high titer of IgG, production of both Th1 (IgG2a) and Th2 (IgG1) related antibodies, stimulation of IL-2, TNF (Th1) and IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 (Th2) cytokines, and induced T cell response suggested that OMVs S19Δper elicited Th1 and Th2 type immune response and ensured protection against S544 challenge in murine model.

Exploration of antigenic determinants in spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV2 and identification of five salient potential epitopes.

Emerging pathogens have been an eternal threat to mankind. In a series of pandemics caused by notorious coronaviruses, a newly emerged SARS-CoV2 virus is creating panic among the world population. The unavailability of reliable theranostics insists the exploration of antigenic determinants in spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV2. The four novel inserts ('70VSGTNGT76', '150KSWM153', 247SYLTPG252 and 674QTQTNSPRR682) in SARS-CoV2 spike protein were unraveled via multiple sequence alignment of spike proteins of SARS-CoV2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV. The three-dimension (3D) modeling of the spike protein of the SARS-CoV2 and their interaction with the ACE2 receptor was delineated with the help of SWISS-MODEL and 3DLigandSite web servers. The predicted 3D model of SARS-CoV2 was further verified by SAVES, RAMPAGE, and ProSA-web tools. The potential B-cell immunogenic epitopes of SARS-CoV2 were predicted out by using various software viz. IEDB B-cell epitopes prediction tool, BepiPred linear epitope prediction tool, Emini Surface Accessibility Prediction tool, and Kolaskar-Tongaonkar antigenicity web tool. The five epitopes (i.e. '71SGTNGTKRFDN81, 247SYLTPG252, 634RVYST638, 675QTQTNSPRRARSV687, and 1054QSAPH1058) were selected as potent antigenic determinants. The quantum of information generated by this study will prove beneficial for the development of effective therapeutics, diagnostics, and multi-epitopic vaccines to combat this ongoing menace.

Gold nanoparticle based immunochromatographic biosensor for rapid diagnosis of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infection using recombinant protein.

Highly infectious and obvious withstand ability of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) to environment as well as lack of on-site field diagnostic methods notably hampers the paratuberculosis (PTB) control. The existing intricacy, time-consuming and complicated diagnostic methods of PTB accentuate the development of novel and easy-to-perform on-site test. A gold nanoparticle (GNP) based lateral-flow assay (LFA) using MAP recombinant protein (44 kDa) has been developed for sensitive and specific detection of PTB in field conditions. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the LFA for MAP specific antibodies was found approximately 84.2% and 83.3% in comparison to indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Consequently, the newly developed GNP based LFA offers on-site and cost-effective method for the prompt diagnosis of PTB and precludes the time-consuming laboratory screening.