Assessment of Antimicrobial Competence of Epiphytes and Endophytes from Osmium basilicum and Trigonella foenum graecum

Plant-associated bacteria are an unexplored group of microorganisms that has enormous potential. These bacteria are the source of finding new antimicrobial substances. The present study aimed to isolate and characterize the epiphytes and endophytes from Osmium basilicum and Trigonella foenum graecum plants and to determine their antimicrobial potential against pathogenic bacteria from Nishtar Hospital Multan, Pakistan. The sum of 18 stems and roots along leaf specimens were assembled as of the plant\u27s Osmium basilicum plus Trigonella foenum graecum as of the distinct locales of the Multan city. Overall 73 bacterial strains were isolated and their colony morphology, gram staining, spore staining, and characterization were done. Further 10 epiphytic strains and 14 endophytic strains were selected based on their antimicrobial potential intended for a thorough examination. The activity of the selected microbial isolates was determined against pathogenic bacteria K.pneumoniae, MRSA, E.coli, S .aureus, S.typhimurium as of Nishtar hospital. Out of all strains, only one epiphytic and two endophytic bacterial isolates (methanolic extracts) (obr, obl3, and tfen2 were isolated from root, leaf, and root of Osmium basilicum and Trigonella foenum graecum correspondingly inhibited altogether gram-positive besides gram-negative pathogenic microbes involved in this investigation. The hunt to find novel compounds from plant bacteria will open new horizons in the industrial and agricultural sectors

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Challenges and Opportunities in Food Safety-A Review

Food-borne diseases are the group of disorders that are caused by consuming food having microbial existence in it. So safe food handling is to make sure the lessening of detrimental effects in growth to the packaging of food to minimize health issues on consumers which otherwise can lead to large scale disease outburst. This review concludes the findings of the studies on how food is being handled from farm to fork, how airlines are contributing towards the spreading of diseases, how any negligence in any one of the steps can cause havoc to mankind in the light of the recent coronavirus pandemic. This review suggests the methods for the detection of food-borne viruses and the challenges for the regulation of zoonotic outbursts. This review recommends strict regulation, updating of the food handling policies, and ways to control emerging infectious diseases in relation to food

Psychological Impact of Novel Coronavirus Covid-19 Across the Globe-A Review

The recent outbreaks of novel coronavirus disease have unprecedent impact on mental health of patients, front-line healthcare workers and local population. However, the impact is not fully documented. This review explores stress-driven factors, stress-vulnerable groups and stress management interventions. Repetitive exposure to mass media and inappropriate health protective measures has heightened stress responses. Fear of not getting recovered from COVID-19 and disaffection has profound impact of infected individuals and their families. They may experience fear, anxiety, anger, sleep deprives and anorexia which may weakens their immune system thus making them vulnerable to COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored potential gaps in mental health services during emergencies. Remote (telephone and internet) and onsite medical services with self-help coping strategies should be introduced. Although psychological interventions may overburden health care facilities and tax available resources but for effective prevention of COVID-19 both physical and mental fitness are mandatory. Effective risk communication in public health emergency is fundamental to prevent or reduce the crisis

A Review of Novel Coronavirus: Cross-Disciplinal Perspective

The whole world is under the influence of coronavirus after its first report from Wuhan, China in December 2019. The virus is from coronaviridae family which has zoonotic viruses that can spread from animals to humans. The coronavirus like other viruses of this family produces mild flu-like symptoms within 2-14 days in the human host which progresses to death in severe cases. Unlikely coronavirus spread fast among humans-infectious diseases. Up till now (27/04/2020) around 2.97M cases and 207K deaths have been reported. The presence of a virus in respiratory secretions is diagnosed through molecular methods and chest scans. For this method, published articles on COVID-19 up to April 19, 2020, were screened. Keywords used were “Covid-19,” “novel coronavirus,” “SARS-CoV-2,” “2019-nCoV,” “Wuhan coronavirus,” and “Wuhan seafood market pneumonia virus.” After the cautious screening, published articles with confirmed cases were acknowledged and included. It has not only affecting physical health but has negatively affecting mental health. Vaccination has been introduced but global impact of this pandemic is still uncertain

The Determining the Efficacy of Available Treatments and Containment Measures against SARS-CoV-2

Over the past 20 years, outbreaks related to coronavirus-associated diseases, such as MERS and SARS, have been threatening the whole world. The novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China and belongs to the SARS family. It has been named “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)”. Keeping in view the history of pandemics faced by the world, it would be fair to say that each of them has been one of its kind, bringing an equal amount of distress and damage to the humanity. With the help of other countries, Pakistan has coped well with the pandemic. Measures taken by different countries included curfews imposed in Italy, Spain, Russia, and India, while the UK, Ireland, and China opted for a more passive approach. South Korea imposed strict self-isolation requirements across the country, whereas UAE suspended all ferry services from Iran. Vaccines authorized by FDA to treat COVID-19 include Pfizer manufactured by Biotech which has 95% efficiency, Moderna with 94% efficiency, and Johnson and Johnson which has an overall efficiency of 72% and 86% efficiency in case of severe infection. These stats are from the USA. Whereas, vaccines such as Sinopharm, Sinovac, CanSino-Bio, and Sputnik have been administered in Pakistan following their approval by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP). This study aims to review the various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic such as disease symptoms, the mode of action, a brief comparison of control measures taken by different countries, therapeutic trials to cure COVID-19, and the status of vaccines

V2X-Based Mobile Localization in 3D Wireless Sensor Network

In a wireless sensor network (WSN), node localization is a key requirement for many applications. The concept of mobile anchor-based localization is not a new concept; however, the localization of mobile anchor nodes gains much attention with the advancement in the Internet of Things (IoT) and electronic industry. In this paper, we present a range-free localization algorithm for sensors in a three-dimensional (3D) wireless sensor networks based on flying anchors. The nature of the algorithm is also suitable for vehicle localization as we are using the setup much similar to vehicle-to-infrastructure- (V2I-) based positioning algorithm. A multilayer C-shaped trajectory is chosen for the random walk of mobile anchor nodes equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) and broadcasts its location information over the sensing space. The mobile anchor nodes keep transmitting the beacon along with their position information to unknown nodes and select three further anchor nodes to form a triangle. The distance is then computed by the link quality induction against each anchor node that uses the centroid-based formula to compute the localization error. The simulation shows that the average localization error of our proposed system is 1.4 m with a standard deviation of 1.21 m. The geometrical computation of localization eliminated the use of extra hardware that avoids any direct communication between the sensors and is applicable for all types of network topologies

Interference of the co-exposure of mercury with silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles can modulate genotoxicity induced by their individual exposures: a paradox depicted in fish under in vitro conditions

The study aimed to assess the genotoxic potential of silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticle functionalized with dithiocarbamate groups (IONP, 100 nm) in vitro exposure alone or its interference with mercury (Hg) co-exposure in the blood of European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) by evaluating 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), lipid peroxidation (LPO), and erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities (ENA). Four groups were made: (i) 2×106 erythrocytes+Roswell Park Memorial Institute-1640 (RPMI-1640) (control), (ii) 2×106 erythrocytes+IONP (2.5 mg L−1), (iii) 2×106 erythrocytes+ Hg (50 μg L−1), and (iv) 2×106 erythrocytes+IONP+Hg. Blood plasma was also processed following the previous exposure conditions. Samplings were performed at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48, and 72 h of exposure. The results revealed significant ENA increases at both early (2, 4, 8) and late (16, 24, 48, 72) hours of exposure to IONP alone. However, IONP exposure combined with Hg co-exposure revealed no ENA increase at 2 h, suggesting that IONP-Hg complex formation is efficient to eliminate the DNA damage induced by individual exposure to IONP or Hg at early hours. Hence, the initial occurrence of antagonism between IONP and Hg was perceptible; however, at late hours of exposure, IONP was unable to mitigate the mercury-accrued negative impacts. Plasma exposure to IONP alone displayed a significant increase in 8- OHdG levels at 2 and 48 h of exposure. However, IONP in combination with Hg co-exposure revealed an increase in 8- OHdG levels at all the exposure length (except 16 h), suggesting that both IONP and Hg independently oxidized DNA. In addition, an additive effect on 8-OHdG levels at both early and late hours, and on LPO only at late hours (except 24 h), suggested that DNA is more susceptible to peroxidative damage than lipid