Trading Pharma Goods the WTO Legal Framework

Trading of pharma goods has attracted widespread global attention in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Agreement on Trade in Pharmaceutical Products (“Pharma Agreement”) – a sectoral agreement between a handful of WTO members – was concluded in 1994 and aimed to eliminate duties on various pharmaceutical products. Nevertheless, this is all that the Pharma Agreement does: it eliminates duties and does not touch upon the regulatory aspects relating to marketing of pharmaceutical goods. WTO members remain sovereign to decide on this score, but must observe the WTO Licensing Agreement as well as nondiscrimination. Thus, while the intensity of regulatory intervention is a function of a WTO member’s risk aversion, members still have to ensure that their intervention does not counteract the assumed obligation aiming, roughly, to address protectionism

Impact of Seed-born Colletotrichum lindemuthianum on French Bean Seed Quality

French bean seed samples were collected from different parts of Tamil Nadu including both tropical and temperate region including four cultivars viz.,Arkakomal,Premier,Rajmash DPU 88-4 and Watex.The variety Watex was found to maximum per cent seed infection of C.lindemuthianum with more discolorations.Among the various techniques adopted for detection,agar plate method was found to be best and yielded maximum per cent seed infection.Direct correlation was obtained between seed discoloration and per cent seed infection.The pathogen was found to be present mostly in seed coat and cotyledon and rarely in embryonic axis.The artificial inoculation of 45-day-old plants resulted in maximum disease incidence,resultant seed infection and minimum seed yield /plant and 100 grain weight

Allosteric Regulation of Fibronectin/α5β1 Interaction by Fibronectin-Binding MSCRAMMs

Citation: Liang, X. W., Garcia, B. L., Visai, L., Prabhakaran, S., Meenan, N. A. G., Potts, J. R., . . . Hook, M. (2016). Allosteric Regulation of Fibronectin/alpha(5)beta(1) Interaction by Fibronectin-Binding MSCRAMMs. Plos One, 11(7), 17. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159118Adherence ofmicrobes to host tissues is a hallmark of infectious disease and is often mediated by a class of adhesins termed MSCRAMMs (Microbial Surface Components Recognizing Adhesive Matrix Molecules). Numerous pathogens express MSCRAMMs that specifically bind the heterodimeric human glycoprotein fibronectin (Fn). In addition to roles in adhesion, Fn-binding MSCRAMMs exploit physiological Fn functions. For example, several pathogens can invade host cells by a mechanism whereby MSCRAMM-bound Fn bridges interaction with alpha(5)beta(1) integrin. Here, we investigate two Fn-binding MSCRAMMs, FnBPA (Staphylococcus aureus) and BBK32 (Borrelia burgdorferi) to probe structure-activity relationships of MSCRAMM-induced Fn/alpha(5)beta(1) integrin activation. Circular dichroism, fluorescence resonance energy transfer, and dynamic light scattering techniques uncover a conformational rearrangement of Fn involving domains distant from the MSCRAMM binding site. Surface plasmon resonance experiments demonstrate a significant enhancement of Fn/alpha(5)beta(1) integrin affinity in the presence of FnBPA or BBK32. Detailed kinetic analysis of these interactions reveal that this change in affinity can be attributed solely to an increase in the initial Fn/alpha(5)beta(1) on-rate and that this rate-enhancement is dependent on high-affinity Fn-binding by MSCRAMMs. These data implicate MSCRAMM-induced perturbation of specific intramolecular contacts within the Fn heterodimer resulting in activation by exposing previously cryptic alpha(5)beta(1) interaction motifs. By correlating structural changes in Fn to a direct measurement of increased Fn/alpha(5)beta(1) affinity, this work significantly advances our understanding of the structural basis for the modulation of integrin function by Fn-binding MSCRAMMs

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

A Study to Assess the Morbidity Profile of Saltpan Workers of Thoothukudi District: A Cross Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Salt workers are one of the unorganised sectors in Tamil Nadu. Salt pan workers working in the extremely hot environment are susceptible to wide variety of health hazards like eye, skin, musculoskeletal, respiratory, psychosocial and urinary tract problems. In spite of Salt Pan Workers given importance in the National Occupational health Program there is lack of epidemiological data on the health problems and status of the Salt pan workers. OBJECTIVES: 1. To assess the morbidity profile of salt pan workers of Thoothukudi district. 2. To identify the factors influencing the morbidity profile of salt pan workers of Thoothukudi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 186 salt pan workers in the age 15- 60 years in Thoothukudi from March 2017 to August 2018 using a semi structured pre tested questionnaire which had questions socio demographic details, nature and duration of work, health problems and clinical examination was done. Data was entered in MS excel and analysis done using SPSS 16 version software. Appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics were used. RESULTS: The study revealed that skin problems with a prevalence of 63.4% were the most reported problem. Musculoskeletal (59.7%), psychosocial (53.2%), Eye problems (52.7%) and respiratory (38.2%) were the other problems prevalent in the study group. Urinary tract problems (18.8%) were the least reported.83% of the salt pan workers were having adequate knowledge on the use of personal protective measures 62% were using one or more personal protective measures. Age, sex, level of education, duration of work and Nature of the work were the factors influencing the morbidity of the salt pan workers. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that the salt pan workers were most susceptible to Skin, musculoskeletal and eye problems. Also there was a gap between the knowledge and usage of personal protective measures. So we need to strengthen the Behaviour Change Communication activities regarding the usage of personal protective measure and provide adequate health care to the salt pan workers

Confluent And Reticulated Papillomatosis : Treatment Response to Fluconazole

A case of confluent and reticulated papillomatosis with classical flexual pigmented papules distributed in reticular pattern is described. Patient responded well to a one- month course of Fluconazole therapy

Voh Winkel′s Syndrome With Unusual Features

Voh winkelâ€s syndrome is a rare disease. Here a case of Voh winkelâ€s syndrome is described with associated icthyosis vulgaris like dermatoses, ectropion and nail changes