IMAGE PROCESSING BASED SMART SERICULTURE SYSTEM USING IOT

Rearing of silkworm is highly dependent on environmental variations. To have a healthy cocoon production, it is necessary to have a proper temperature and humidity controlled house for silkworm rearing. Temperature, humidity and fresh air should be managed to get a wonderful silk product. An ideal temperature of 23°C to 28°C and humidity in between 65% to 85% is to be maintained. IoT based silkworm rearing house consists of sensors and actuators, which are interfaced with a low power controllers. The Sericulture unit can be equipped with a wireless sensor node to sense the real time Temperature and Humidity [1], also necessary actuators to control these environmental parameters. The color change in the body of the worms indicates the different stages  and the light yellowish indicates that they have reached to the cocoon stage and the morphological changes in silkworm structure can be used to detect abnormal worms[2].The proposed framework introduces an Internet of Things (IoT) empowered Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) system. The received image is first segregated into two classes as diseased or healthy by analyzing the histogram of the background removed image based on thresholding. Again the diseased class will be sub classified into 2 diseases as either Flacherie or Pebrine by applying suitable mask for extracting worm and obtaining the histogram of the worm and analyzing it. The result will be sent to the farmer via E-mail. The proposed system could be a probable solution for productivity in silkworms. View Article DOI: 10.47856/ijaast.2021.v08i9.00

Nevirapine Resistance and Breast-Milk HIV Transmission: Effects of Single and Extended-Dose Nevirapine Prophylaxis in Subtype C HIV-Infected Infants

Daily nevirapine (NVP) prophylaxis to HIV-exposed infants significantly reduces breast-milk HIV transmission. We assessed NVP-resistance in Indian infants enrolled in the "six-week extended-dose nevirapine" (SWEN) trial who received single-dose NVP (SD-NVP) or SWEN for prevention of breast-milk HIV transmission but who also acquired subtype C HIV infection during the first year of life.Standard population sequencing and cloning for viral subpopulations present at > or =5% frequency were used to determine HIV genotypes from 94% of the 79 infected Indian infants studied. Timing of infection was defined based on when an infant's blood sample first tested positive for HIV DNA. SWEN-exposed infants diagnosed with HIV by six weeks of age had a significantly higher prevalence of NVP-resistance than those who received SD-NVP, by both standard population sequencing (92% of 12 vs. 38% of 29; p = 0.002) and low frequency clonal analysis (92% of 12 vs. 59% of 29; p = 0.06). Likelihood of infection with NVP-resistant HIV through breast-milk among infants infected after age six weeks was substantial, but prevalence of NVP-resistance did not differ among SWEN or SD-NVP exposed infants by standard population sequencing (15% of 13 vs. 15% of 20; p = 1.00) and clonal analysis (31% of 13 vs. 40% of 20; p = 0.72). Types of NVP-resistance mutations and patterns of persistence at one year of age were similar between the two groups. NVP-resistance mutations did differ by timing of HIV infection; the Y181C variant was predominant among infants diagnosed in the first six weeks of life, compared to Y188C/H during late breast-milk transmission.Use of SWEN to prevent breast-milk HIV transmission carries a high likelihood of resistance if infection occurs in the first six weeks of life. Moreover, there was a continued risk of transmission of NVP-resistant HIV through breastfeeding during the first year of life, but did not differ between SD-NVP and SWEN groups. As with SD-NVP, the value of preventing HIV infection in a large number of infants should be considered alongside the high risk of resistance associated with extended NVP prophylaxis.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00061321

PHENOTYPIC DETECTION OF CARBAPENEM RESISTANCE IN CLINICAL ISOLATES OF ACINETOBACTER BAUMANII IN KANCHIPURAM

ABSTRACT: Acinctobacter species are common non fermentative gram negative bacilli isolated in clinical laboratory most frequently encountered species. Acinetobacter resistance is develop due to acquired resistance. Because of frequent multidrug resistance isolates carbapenems have become important for treating resistant strains. There is a need for rapid screening & detection of MBL in Acinetobacter to modify the treatment. The present study was aim to determine the resistance of A.baumanii complese to various classes of drugs and to carbapenems and MBL production. Samples such as urine, blood, sputum, pus & body fluids. All samples were processed as per CLSI guidelines. Meropenem resistant strains were screened for carbapenemase and MBL production. Out of 92 Acinetobacter 85 (92.39%) were Acinetobacter baumanii. More than 80 % resistance is seen in 3 rd generation Cephalosporins. Out of 21 meropenem resistant strains 14 were carbapenemase positive and 3 were MBL producers. Our study shows raising trend of multidrug resistance and carbapenem. This will help in early detection and better treatment modalities

Response surface methodology for optimization and characterization of limonene-based coenzyme Q10 self-nanoemulsified capsule dosage form

The aim of this study was to systematically obtain a model of factors that would yield an optimized self-nanoemulsified capsule dosage form (SNCDF) of a highly lipophilic model compound, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ). Independent variables such as amount of R-(+)-limonene (X1), surfactant (X2), and cosurfactant (X3), were optimized using a 3-factor, 3-level Box-Behnken statistical design. The dependent variables selected were cumulative percentage of drug released after 5 minutes (Y1) with constraints on drug release in 15 minutes (Y2), turbidity (Y3), particle size (Y4), and zeta potential (Y5). A mathematical relationship obtained,Y1=78.503+6.058X1 +13.738X2+5.986X3−25.831X12+9.12X1X2−26.03X1X3−38.67X22 +11.02X2X3−15.55X33 (r2=0.97), explained the main and quadratic effects, and the interaction of factors that affected the drug release. Response surface methodology (RSM) predicted the levels of factorsX1,X2, andX3 (0.0344, 0.216, and 0.240, respectively), for a maximized response ofY1 with constraints of >90% release onY2. The observed and predicted values ofY1 were in close agreement. In conclusion, the Box-Behnken experimental design allowed us to obtain SNCDF with rapid (>90%) drug release within 5 minutes with desirable properties of low turbidity and particle size

Nimbolide Sensitizes Human Colon Cancer Cells to TRAIL through Reactive Oxygen Species- and ERK-dependent Up-regulation of Death Receptors, p53, and Bax*

TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) shows promise as a cancer treatment, but acquired tumor resistance to TRAIL is a roadblock. Here we investigated whether nimbolide, a limonoid, could sensitize human colon cancer cells to TRAIL. As indicated by assays that measure esterase activity, sub-G1 fractions, mitochondrial activity, and activation of caspases, nimbolide potentiated the effect of TRAIL. This limonoid also enhanced expression of death receptors (DRs) DR5 and DR4 in cancer cells. Gene silencing of the receptors reduced the effect of limonoid on TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Using pharmacological inhibitors, we found that activation of ERK and p38 MAPK was required for DR up-regulation by nimbolide. Gene silencing of ERK abolished the enhancement of TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Moreover, our studies indicate that the limonoid induced reactive oxygen species production, which was required for ERK activation, up-regulation of DRs, and sensitization to TRAIL; these effects were mimicked by H2O2. In addition, nimbolide down-regulated cell survival proteins, including I-FLICE, cIAP-1, cIAP-2, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, survivin, and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein, and up-regulated the pro-apoptotic proteins p53 and Bax. Interestingly, p53 and Bax up-regulation by nimbolide was required for sensitization to TRAIL but not for DR up-regulation. Overall, our results indicate that nimbolide can sensitize colon cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis through three distinct mechanisms: reactive oxygen species- and ERK-mediated up-regulation of DR5 and DR4, down-regulation of cell survival proteins, and up-regulation of p53 and Bax

Modification of Cysteine 179 of IκBα Kinase by Nimbolide Leads to Down-regulation of NF-κB-regulated Cell Survival and Proliferative Proteins and Sensitization of Tumor Cells to Chemotherapeutic Agents*

Reverse pharmacology, also called the “bedside to bench” approach, that deals with new uses for a well known molecular entity has been used extensively in cancer drug development to identify novel compounds and delineate their mechanisms of action. Here, we show that nimbolide, a triterpenoid isolated from Azadirachta indica, enhanced the apoptosis induced by inflammatory cytokines and chemotherapeutic agents in tumor cells. This limonoid abrogated the expression of proteins associated with cell survival (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, IAP-1, and IAP-2), proliferation (cyclin D1), invasion (MMP-9), and angiogenesis (VEGF), all regulated by nuclear factor (NF)-κB. Nimbolide inhibited the activation of NF-κB induced by carcinogens and inflammatory stimuli. Constitutively active NF-κB found in most tumor cells was also inhibited. We found that suppression of NF-κB activation by nimbolide was caused by inhibition of IκB kinase (IKK), which led to suppression of IκBα phosphorylation and degradation, nuclear translocation, DNA binding, and gene transcription. Reducing agent reversed the action of the limonoid, suggesting the involvement of a cysteine residue. Replacement of Cys179 of IKK-β with alanine abolished the effect of nimbolide, suggesting that Cys179 plays a critical role in inhibiting the NF-κB activation. Overall, our results indicate that nimbolide can sensitize tumor cells to chemotherapeutic agents through interaction with IKK, leading to inhibition of NF-κB-regulated proteins