Non-compliance to social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative cross-sectional study between the developed and developing countries

Background: Despite mass vaccination campaigns, the world has seen a steady rise in the number of SARS-CoV-2 cases, with 178,765,626 cases and 3,869,994 COVID-19 related deaths by June 19th, 2021. Therefore, it is important to enforce social distancing to control its spread. With the variation observed in the severity of the pandemic in different countries, it is also imperative to study the social distancing behaviors amongst the population in developed and developing countries. Design and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 384 participants from 14 different countries were surveyed via an online REDCap form. Results: In this study, it was highlighted that despite adequate knowledge, the overall compliance to COVID-19 related preventive measures remains poor, the lowest being in the senior age group (≥ 65 years), and the highest being in adults aged between 25-64 years (p-value =0.003). Population from the developing countries were more compliant to all preventative measures against COVID-19 spread, except for handwashing, where the difference between the two populations remained insignificant (p-value = 0.038, \u3c0.001, 0.016). Socioeconomic status, prior history of COVID-19 infection, or presence of comorbidities did not significantly affect compliance rates, however, participants with no prior history of this infection were found to be more compliant to donning a mask in public as compared to those with a positive history (p-value = 0.044). Conclusions: Since compliance remains subpar in both the developing and the developed countries, mass campaigns about COVID-19 related preventive measures remain essential in controlling the disease spread

Wettability of two different artificial saliva substitutes on injection moulded heat polymerized acrylic resin and CAD-CAM acrylic resin: an in vitro study.

Aim: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the wettability of two different artificial saliva substitutes on injection moulded heat-polymerized acrylic resin and CAD-CAM acrylic resin and to compare these properties with natural saliva and distilled water. Materials and method: Forty heat polymerized (injection moulded) acrylic resin specimens and forty CAD-CAM acrylic resin specimens were fabricated with each specimen measuring 10x10x2mm. Four groups of liquids namely distilled water, Wet mouth™, Mouth Kote™ and human saliva were used. A contact angle goniometer was used to measure the contact angles. Two contact angle readings were obtained on the right side and on the left side of the test specimen. The observations were recorded and a mean of the two readings was calculated. The same procedure was repeated for all specimens (heat cure resin and CAD-CAM) with all the four test groups of liquids. Results: Contact angle measurements were significantly higher in Wet mouth™ and Mouth Kote™ solution of heat cure resin group compared to the CAD-CAM group (p-value<0.05 for both). Mouth Kote™ had lower mean contact angle (62.63 ± 4.59) than Wet mouth™ (77.46 ± 9.16) on CAD/CAM denture base resin. Mouth Kote also had lower mean contact angle (70.80 ± 4.79) than Wet mouth™ (97.77 ± 7.79) on injection moulded denture base resin. Conclusion: Mouth kote had better wettability than wet mouth on both CAD-CAM and injection moulded acrylic resin. Both the saliva substitutes had better wettability on CAD-CAM than on injection moulded acrylic resin

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability

Box–Behnken design based statistical modelling to study the effects of spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) incorporation on nutritional standards of vegan snack product

The purpose of this research is to develop a Protein enriched Vegan snack product with high protein, low fat, high-fiber, and high fiber, which can boost the immune system. Adding Spirulina content to the snack food will increase the nutritional value of the food as Spirulina is one of the highest proteins containing organic foods in the world. Spirulina is well-known for its high protein content, which includes all the essential amino acids. Spirulina can be incorporated into snack foods to provide a plant-based protein source, making them suitable for people looking for protein-rich vegetarian or vegan snack options. Its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties make it a product of enormous benefits. The potential of Spirulina can be easily observed when used with finger millet flour (Ragi) and gram flour to prepare an extruded product. In this study, we used a four-factor Box–Behnken design to design the experiments. Design Expert 13.0 performed a statistical analysis of the following responses: frying time, moisture content, ash content, protein content, and fat content in terms of the effect of independent variables on responses. The output data for all responses were examined, and were maximum at 90 days storage time with finger millet at 10 gm, gram flour at 90 gm, and Spirulina powder at 8%. With the help of a manually operated extruder, samples were fried in soybean oil for a particular time and stored in Low-density Polyethylene packaging for 90 days for a shelf-life study. Ultimately the addition of Spirulina and finger millet resulted in positive outcomes and can be further improvised at the industrial level

Different Infectivity of Mediterranean and Southern Asian Tomato Leaf Curl New Delhi Virus Isolates in Cucurbit Crops

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) became an alerting virus in Europe from 2017 to 2020 because of its significant damage to Cucurbitaceae cultivation. Until now, just some cucurbit crops including sponge gourd, melon, pumpkin, and cucumber were reported to be resistant to ToLCNDV, but no commercial cultivars are available. In this study, a new isolate of ToLCNDV was identified in Pakistan and analyzed together with ToLCNDV-ES which was previously isolated in Italy. Furthermore, infectious clones of two ToLCNDV isolates were constructed and agroinoculated into different cucurbit crops to verify their infectivity. Results showed that both isolates exhibited severe infection on all tested cucurbit (>70%) except watermelon. Thus, those cultivars may be good candidates in the first step of screening genetic resources for resistance on both Southeast Asian and Mediterranean ToLCNDV isolates. Additional, comparison pathogenicity of different geographical ToLCNDV isolates will be aided to understand viral characterization as such knowledge could facilitate breeding resistance to this virus

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus infection promotes the tolerance against drought stress in Solanum lycopersicum L.

Plants develop defence mechanisms in response to abiotic and biotic stresses that can have both negative and positive effects. Tomatoes grown in the field are normally exposed to abiotic stresses such as high temperatures and water shortages, as well as biotic stresses such as tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), which greatly reduces productivity in this crop. In this study, two TYLCV Korean isolates were used as molecular and physiological tools to identify interactions between TYLCV infection and drought tolerance in tomato. The tomatoes were inoculated by TYLCV-infectious clones and exposed to drought stress, which led to wilted leaves on plants in the mock group, while those on TYLCV-inoculated plants showed no significant drought symptoms. Moreover, the average relative water content (RWC) was higher in TYLCV-infected plants than in the mock group, and genes associated to drought tolerance were pre-activated in well-watered tomato plants. These results confirm that TYLCV infection enhance drought tolerance in tomato plants and pre-inoculation with symptomless TYLCV isolates can be applied to tomato plants before being cultivated in water-deficit regions.Les plantes développent des mécanismes de défense en réponse à des stress abiotiques et biotiques qui peuvent avoir des effets négatifs et positifs. Les tomates cultivées en champ sont habituellement exposées à des stress abiotiques tels que des températures élevées et des pénuries d’eau, ainsi qu’à des stress biotiques tels que le virus des feuilles jaunes en cuillère de la tomate (TYLCV), ce qui réduit grandement la productivité de cette culture. Dans cette étude, deux isolats coréens du TYLCV ont été utilisés comme outils moléculaires et physiologiques pour identifier les interactions entre l’infection au TYLCV et la tolérance à la sécheresse chez la tomate. Les tomates ont été inoculées par des clones infectés au TYLCV et exposées à un stress de sécheresse qui a conduit à des feuilles flétries sur les plantes du groupe simulé, alors que celles des plantes inoculées au TYLCV n’ont présenté aucun symptôme significatif de sécheresse. De plus, la teneur relative moyenne en eau était plus élevée chez les plants infectés par le TYLCV que chez les plants simulés, et les gènes associés à la tolérance à la sécheresse étaient préactivés chez les plants de tomates bien arrosés. Ces résultats confirment que l’infection par le TYLCV augmente la tolérance à la sécheresse chez les plants de tomates et que la préinoculation avec des isolats de TYLCV sans symptômes peut être appliquée aux plants de tomates ayant été cultivés dans des régions déficitaires en eau

Insights into the Differential Composition of Stem-Loop Structures of Nanoviruses and Their Impacts

ABSTRACT Multipartite viruses package their genomic segments independently and mainly infect plants; few of them target animals. Nanoviridae is a family of multipartite single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) plant viruses that individually encapsidate ssDNAs of ~1 kb and transmit them through aphids without replication in aphid vectors, thereby causing important diseases in host plants, mainly leguminous crops. All of these components constitute an open reading frame to perform a specific role in nanovirus infection. All segments contain conserved inverted repeat sequences, potentially forming a stem-loop structure and a conserved nonanucleotide, TAGTATTAC, within a common region. This study investigated the variations in the stem-loop structure of nanovirus segments and their impact using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and wet lab approaches. Although the accuracy of MD simulations is limited by force field approximations and simulation time scale, explicit solvent MD simulations were successfully used to analyze the important aspects of the stem-loop structure. This study involves the mutants’ design, based on the variations in the stem-loop region and construction of infectious clones, followed by their inoculation and expression analysis, based on nanosecond dynamics of the stem-loop structure. The original stem-loop structures showed more conformational stability than mutant stem-loop structures. The mutant structures were expected to alter the neck region of the stem-loop by adding and switching nucleotides. Changes in conformational stability are suggested expression variations of the stem-loop structures found in host plants with nanovirus infection. However, our results can be a starting point for further structural and functional analysis of nanovirus infection. IMPORTANCE Nanoviruses comprise multiple segments, each with a single open reading frame to perform a specific function and an intergenic region with a conserved stem-loop region. The genome expression of a nanovirus has been an intriguing area but is still poorly understood. We attempted to investigate the variations in the stem-loop structure of nanovirus segments and their impact on viral expression. Our results show that the stem-loop composition is essential in controlling the virus segments' expression level