Biomarkers in sepsis.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition characterized by dysregulated host response to infection leading to organ dysfunction. Despite advances in understanding its pathology, sepsis remains a global health concern and remains a major contributor to mortality. Timely identification is crucial for improving clinical outcomes, as delayed treatment significantly impacts survival. Accordingly, biomarkers play a pivotal role in diagnosis, risk stratification, and management. This review comprehensively discusses various biomarkers in sepsis and their potential application in antimicrobial stewardship and risk assessment. Biomarkers such as white blood cell count, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, presepsin, and procalcitonin have been extensively studied for their diagnostic and prognostic value as well as in guiding antimicrobial therapy. Furthermore, this review explores the role of biomarkers in risk stratification, emphasizing the importance of identifying high-risk patients who may benefit from specific therapeutic interventions. Moreover, the review discusses the emerging field of transcriptional diagnostics and metagenomic sequencing. Advances in sequencing have enabled the identification of host response signatures and microbial genomes, offering insight into disease pathology and aiding species identification. In conclusion, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the current understanding and future directions of biomarker-based approaches in sepsis diagnosis, management, and personalized therapy.

Entamoeba histolytica induced NETosis and the dual role of NETs in amoebiasis.

Entamoeba histolytica (Eh), a microaerophilic parasite, causes deadly enteric infections that result in Amoebiasis. Every year, the count of invasive infections reaches 50 million approximately and 40,000 to 1,00,000 deaths occurring due to amoebiasis are reported globally. Profound inflammation is the hallmark of severe amoebiasis which is facilitated by immune first defenders, neutrophils. Due to size incompatibility, neutrophils are unable to phagocytose Eh and thus, came up with the miraculous antiparasitic mechanism of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). This review provides an in-depth analysis of NETosis induced by Eh including the antigens involved in the recognition of Eh and the biochemistry of NET formation. Additionally, it underscores its novelty by describing the dual role of NETs in amoebiasis where it acts as a double-edged sword in terms of both clearing and exacerbating amoebiasis. It also provides a comprehensive account of the virulence factors discovered to date that are implicated directly and indirectly in the pathophysiology of Eh infections through the lens of NETs and can be interesting drug targets.

Organic solid waste: Biorefinery approach as a sustainable strategy in circular bioeconomy.

Waste generation is associated with numerous environmental consequences, making it a point of discussion in the environmental arena. Efforts have been made around the world to develop a systematic management approach coupled with a sustainable treatment technology to maximize resource utilization of organic solid waste. Biorefineries and bio-based products play a critical role in lowering total emissions and supporting energy systems. However, economic viability of biorefineries, on the other hand, is a stumbling hurdle to their commercialization. This communication provides a thorough study of the concept of biorefinery in waste management, as well as technological advancements in this field. In addition, the notion of techno-economic assessment, as well as challenges and future prospects have been covered. To find the most technologically and economically viable solution, further techno-economic study to the new context is required. Overall, this communication would assist decision-makers in identifying environmentally appropriate biorefinery solutions ahead of time.

Neonatal sepsis at point of care.

Sepsis, which includes infection followed by inflammation, is one of the leading causes of death among neonates worldwide. The major attribute of this disease process is dysregulated host response to infection leading to organ dysfunction and potentially death. A comprehensive understanding of the host response as well as the pathogen itself are important factors contributing to outcome. Early diagnosis is paramount, as it leads to accurate assessment and improved clinical management. Accordingly, a number of diagnostic platforms have been introduced to assess the presence of blood stream pathogens in septic neonates. Unfortunately, current point-of-care (POC) methods rely on a single parameter/biomarker and thus lack a comprehensive evaluation. The emerging field of biosensing has, however, resulted in the development of a wide range of analytical devices that may be useful at POC. This review discusses currently available methods to screen the inflammatory process in neonatal sepsis. We describe POC sensor-based methods for single platform multi-analyte detection and highlight the latest advances in this evolving technology. Finally, we critically evaluate the applicability of these POC devices clinically for early diagnosis of sepsis in neonates.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of RabX3, a tandem GTPase from Entamoeba histolytica.

Ras superfamily GTPases regulate signalling pathways that control multiple biological processes by modulating the GTP/GDP cycle. Various Rab GTPases, which are the key regulators of vesicular trafficking pathways, play a vital role in the survival and virulence of the enteric parasite Entamoeba histolytica. The Rab GTPases act as binary molecular switches that utilize the conformational changes associated with the GTP/GDP cycle to elicit responses from target proteins and thereby regulate a broad spectrum of cellular processes including cell proliferation, cytoskeletal assembly, nuclear transport and intracellular membrane trafficking in eukaryotes. Entamoeba histolytica RabX3 (EhRabX3) is a unique GTPase in the amoebic genome, the only member in the eukaryotic Ras superfamily that harbours tandem G-domains and shares only 8-16% sequence identity with other GTPases. Recent studies suggested that EhRabX3 binds to a single guanine nucleotide through its N-terminal G-domain (NTD), while the C-terminal G-domain (CTD) plays a potential role in binding of the nucleotide to the NTD. Thus, understanding the intermolecular regulation between the two GTPase domains is expected to reveal valuable information on the overall action of EhRabX3. To provide structural insights into the inclusive action of this unique GTPase, EhRabX3 was crystallized by successive micro-seeding using the vapour-diffusion method. A complete data set was collected to 3.3 Šresolution using a single native EhRabX3 crystal at 100 K on BM14 at the ESRF, Grenoble, France. The crystal belonged to monoclinic space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a=198.6, b=119.3, c=89.2 Å, ß=103.1°. Preliminary analysis of the data using the Matthews Probability Calculator suggested the presence of four to six molecules in the asymmetric unit.