High-Throughput Mining of Novel Compounds from Known Microbes: A Boost to Natural Product Screening.

Advanced techniques can accelerate the pace of natural product discovery from microbes, which has been lagging behind the drug discovery era. Therefore, the present review article discusses the various interdisciplinary and cutting-edge techniques to present a concrete strategy that enables the high-throughput screening of novel natural compounds (NCs) from known microbes. Recent bioinformatics methods revealed that the microbial genome contains a huge untapped reservoir of silent biosynthetic gene clusters (BGC). This article describes several methods to identify the microbial strains with hidden mines of silent BGCs. Moreover, antiSMASH 5.0 is a free, accurate, and highly reliable bioinformatics tool discussed in detail to identify silent BGCs in the microbial genome. Further, the latest microbial culture technique, HiTES (high-throughput elicitor screening), has been detailed for the expression of silent BGCs using 500-1000 different growth conditions at a time. Following the expression of silent BGCs, the latest mass spectrometry methods are highlighted to identify the NCs. The recently emerged LAESI-IMS (laser ablation electrospray ionization-imaging mass spectrometry) technique, which enables the rapid identification of novel NCs directly from microtiter plates, is presented in detail. Finally, various trending 'dereplication' strategies are emphasized to increase the effectiveness of NC screening.

Effect of Early Orthodontic Treatment on Long-Term Stability of Class II Malocclusions.

Background: Class II malocclusions are a common orthodontic problem, often requiring comprehensive treatment to achieve proper occlusion and facial harmony. Early orthodontic intervention in the mixed dentition phase has been advocated to address these issues. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on a cohort of 150 patients with class II malocclusions who underwent early orthodontic treatment between the ages of 7 and 10 years. The treatment included fixed or removable appliances, headgear, and functional appliances, depending on individual needs. Records of their initial malocclusion severity, treatment modalities, and long-term follow-up data (mean follow-up duration of 10 years) were collected and analyzed. Stability was assessed by evaluating overjet and overbite changes from post-treatment to the long-term follow-up. Results: The initial mean overjet and overbite values were 8.5 mm and 4.0 mm, respectively. Following early orthodontic intervention, these values were significantly reduced to 3.0 mm and 1.5 mm, respectively (P < 0.001). At the long-term follow-up, the mean overjet and overbite remained stable at 3.2 mm and 1.6 mm, respectively. Analysis revealed that 85% of patients maintained their corrected class II occlusion within clinically acceptable limits, while 15% experienced minor relapse requiring minimal additional treatment. Conclusion: Early orthodontic treatment in class II malocclusions can lead to significant improvements in overjet and overbite, and these corrections tend to remain stable over the long term.

An interpretative review of the wastewater-based surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2: where do we stand on its presence and concern?

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been used for monitoring infectious diseases like polio, hepatitis, etc. since the 1940s. It is also being used for tracking the SARS-CoV-2 at the population level. This article aims to compile and assess the information for the qualitative and quantitative detection of the SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. Based on the globally published studies, we highlight the importance of monitoring SARS-CoV-2 presence/detection in the wastewater and concurrently emphasize the development of early surveillance techniques. SARS-CoV-2 RNA sheds in the human feces, saliva, sputum and mucus that ultimately reaches to the wastewater and brings viral RNA into it. For the detection of the virus in the wastewater, different detection techniques have been optimized and are in use. These are based on serological, biosensor, targeted PCR, and next generation sequencing for whole genome sequencing or targeted amplicon sequencing. The presence of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater could be used as a potential tool for early detection and devising the strategies for eradication of the virus before it is spread in the community. Additionally, with the right and timely understanding of viral behavior in the environment, an accurate and instructive model that leverages WBE-derived data may be created. This might help with the creation of technological tools and doable plans of action to lessen the negative effects of current viral epidemics or future potential outbreaks on public health and the economy. Further work toward whether presence of viral load correlates with its ability to induce infection, still needs evidence. The current increasing incidences of JN.1 variant is a case in point for continued early detection and surveillance, including wastewater.

Assessment of human health risk from potentially toxic elements and predicting groundwater contamination using machine learning approaches.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) at Ishwardi, Bangladesh is planning to go into operation within 2024 and therefore, adjacent areas of RNPP is gaining adequate attention from the scientific community for environmental monitoring purposes especially for water resources management. However, there is a substantial lack of literature as well as environmental datasets for earlier years since very little was done at the beginning of the RNPP's construction phase. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the potential toxic elements (PTEs) contamination in the groundwater and its associated health risk for residents at the adjacent part of the RNPP during the year of 2014-2015. For the purposes of achieving the aim of the study, groundwater samples were collected seasonally (dry and wet season) from nine sampling sites and afterwards analyzed for water quality indicators such as temperature (Temp.), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solid (TDS), total hardness (TH) and for PTEs including Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd) and Arsenic (As). This study adopted the newly developed Root Mean Square water quality index (RMS-WQI) model to assess the scenario of contamination from PTEs in groundwater whereas the human health risk assessment model was utilized to quantify the risk of toxicity from PTEs. In most of the sampling sites, PTEs concentration was found higher during the wet season than the dry season and Fe, Mn, Cd and As exceeded the guideline limit for drinking water. The RMS score mostly classified the groundwater in terms of PTEs contamination into "Fair" condition. The non-carcinogenic risks (expressed as Hazard Index-HI) revealed that around 44% and 89% of samples for adults and 67% and 100% of samples for children exceeded the threshold limit set by USEPA (HI > 1) and possessed risks through the oral pathway during dry and wet season, respectively. Furthermore, the calculated cumulative HI score was found higher for children than the adults throughout the study period. In terms of carcinogenic risk (CR) from PTEs, the magnitude of risk decreased following the pattern of Cr > As > Cd. Although the current study is based on old dataset, the findings might serve as a baseline for monitoring purposes to reduce future hazardous impact from the power plant.

Tau proteins and senescent Cells: Targeting aging pathways in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized by abnormal accumulation of tau proteins and amyloid-ß, leading to neuronal death and cognitive impairment. Recent studies have implicated aging pathways, including dysregulation of tau and cellular senescence in AD pathogenesis. In AD brains, tau protein, which normally stabilizes microtubules, becomes hyperphosphorylated and forms insoluble neurofibrillary tangles. These tau aggregates impair neuronal function and are propagated across the brain's neurocircuitry. Meanwhile, the number of senescent cells accumulating in the aging brain is rising, releasing a pro-inflammatory SASP responsible for neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. This review explores potential therapeutic interventions for AD targeting tau protein and senescent cells, and tau -directed compounds, senolytics, eliminating senescent cells, and agents that modulate the SASP-senomodulators. Ultimately, a combined approach that incorporates tau-directed medications and targeted senescent cell-based therapies holds promise for reducing the harmful impact of AD's shared aging pathways.

Assessment of physiological and biochemical responses of chilli (Capsicum annuum) varieties in floating bed cultivation for adaptation to waterlogged areas of Bangladesh.

Chilli (Capsicum annuum ) is an important spice crop in Bangladesh. This crop is very sensitive to waterlogging. Floating agriculture is an innovative system led by the local people of the southern region of Bangladesh, in which seedlings of vegetables are produced in low-lying areas using different aquatic macrophytes. An experiment was carried out to evaluate the viability of chilli cultivation in waterlogged areas, based on physiological and biochemical responses using floating agriculture. Eight different chilli varieties were subjected to floating agriculture in two different agronomic seasons. A soil-based chilli cultivation system was also trialled, to compare the utility of this method. To evaluate the performance of chilli in floating beds, plant water status, photosynthetic parameters, and leaf tissue concentrations of Na+ , K+ , NO3 - and PO4 3- , chlorophyll, ascorbic acid and proline were assessed. This study shows that macrophytes utilised in floating beds provide favourable conditions for chilli cultivation under waterlogged conditions. Among the different varieties, Sakata 653 in summer and Jhilik in winter responded better than others. As the performance of chilli in the floating agriculture system was satisfactory in comparison with soil-based cultivation, floating agriculture can be an alternative agronomic method for chilli cultivation in waterlogged areas of Bangladesh.

Impact of Lockdown Measures and Meteorological Parameters on the COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality Rate in Bangladesh.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a public health crisis and a global catastrophe for human societies. In the absence of a vaccine, non-pharmaceutical interventions have been implemented across the world to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Recently, several studies have articulated the influence of meteorological parameters on COVID-19 infections in several countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lockdown measures and meteorological parameters on COVID-19 daily confirmed cases and deaths in Bangladesh. Different parameters, such as case fatality rate, recovery rate, number of polymerase chain reaction tests, and percentages of confirmed cases were calculated for data covering March to September 2020. The meteorological data include daily average temperature, humidity, and wind speed, and their effects on COVID-19 data were analyzed after 0, 3, 7, and 14 days. A linear regression analysis revealed that all the studied meteorological parameters were positively correlated with the daily new cases and deaths in Bangladesh, while the highest correlations were observed for the 14 days incubation period. These results provide useful implications for the healthcare authorities to contain the pandemic in Bangladesh and beyond.