Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Role of the Lectin Pathway Recognition Molecule Ficolin A in Fighting Pneumococcal Infection

Complement system is an essential part of innate immune system that plays major role in protection against various pathogens, including Streptococcus pneumoniae. Complement is activated via three pathways; the classical pathway, the alternative pathway and the lectin pathway. Lectin pathway of complement activation is mediated via ficolins, MBL and recently described C-type lectin, CL-11, that recognise a wide range of carbohydrates on microbial surfaces and activate the complement system via MASP-2, the effector enzyme of the lectin pathway of complement activation. A significant role of the lectin pathway has been described previously using MASP-2 deficient mice, with a complete deficiency of the lectin activation pathway specific C3 and C5 converting enzymes C4b2a and C4b2a(3b)n respectively. However, the role of MBL, ficolins and CL-11 in activating lectin pathway against S. pneumoniae has not been fully characterised. In vitro studies demonstrate that ficolin A and CL-11 are the relevant carbohydrate recognition molecules that can activate the lectin pathway of complement on the surface of S. pneumoniae. The protective activity of ficolin A was demonstrated in vivo using ficolin A-/- mice compared to wild-type controls, the ficolin A-/- mice were highly susceptible to pneumococcal infection with higher mortality and higher bacterial burden in both blood and lungs after intranasal infection with S. pneumoniae D39 compared to wild-type controls. These findings imply that the lectin pathway has a significant role in protection against S. pneumoniae infection and highlights the importance of non-MBL mediated lectin pathway activation in the innate host defence against S. pneumoniae. The essential role of the lectin pathway in providing protection against S. pneumoniae was further described by blocking the lectin pathway by i.p. injection of mice with anti-MASP-2 mAb. Mice receiving anti-MASP-2 mAb showed significantly higher mortality after intranasal infection with S. pneumoniae when compared to mice receiving control antibody

PGPRs of plum (Prunus domestica) rhizosphere enhance plant growth and antagonise fungal activity in vitro

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) promote the plant growth by various direct and indirect mechanisms. The present study was undertaken to isolate and characterise the PGPRs of plum (Prunus domestica) rhizosphere in Pakistan. A total of 95 rhizobacteria were isolated, out of which 40 strains were selected on the basis of morphological, biochemical and Gram staining characteristics. The selected isolates were screened for in vitro plant growth promoting potential and were subsequently evaluated for host plant growth promotion. The selected isolates demonstrated strong lytic enzymatic activities and were able to produce ammonia, siderophore, Hydrogen cyanide along with capability of phosphate solubilisation. Moreover, the results showed a significant growth suppression of pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani in an in vitro assay. The plant microbe interaction study was carried out using 11 most efficient rhizobacterial strains inoculated to roots of plum plants. The inoculated PGPRs significantly augmented the leaves number per shoot, shoot diameter, shoot length and plant height. The inoculation also significantly increased the chlorophyll contents of leaves, concentration of micro and macro nutrients compared with control. The current study shows the importance of these selected PGPRs as bio-fertilizer to improve the health and productivity of plum species in Pakistan

Isolation, identification, and pathological effects of beach sand bacterial extract on human skin keratinocytes in vitro

Background Beaches are recreational spots for people. However, beach sand contains harmful microbes that affect human health, and there are no established methods for either sampling and identifying beach-borne pathogens or managing the quality of beach sand. Method This study was conducted with the aim of improving human safety at beaches and augmenting the quality of the beach experience. Beach sand was used as a resource to isolate bacteria due to its distinctive features and the biodiversity of the beach sand biota. A selected bacterial isolate termed FSRS was identified as Pseudomonas stutzeri using 16S rRNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, and the sequence was deposited in the NCBI GenBank database under the accession number MF599548. The isolated P. stutzeri bacterium was cultured in Luria–Bertani growth medium, and a crude extract was prepared using ethyl acetate to examine the potential pathogenic effect of P. stutzeri on human skin. A human skin keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) was used to assess cell adhesion, cell viability, and cell proliferation using a morphological analysis and a WST-1 assay. Result The crude P. stutzeri extract inhibited cell adhesion and decreased cell viability in HaCaT cells. We concluded that the crude extract of P. stutzeri FSRS had a strong pathological effect on human skin cells. Discussion Beach visitors frequently get skin infections, but the exact cause of the infections is yet to be determined. The beach sand bacterium P. stutzeri may, therefore, be responsible for some of the dermatological problems experienced by people visiting the beach

In-Vitro and In-Vivo Tolerance and Therapeutic Investigations of Phyto-Fabricated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles against Selected Pathogens

The Paeonia emodi (P. emodi)-mediated iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3 NPs) were screened for in-vitro and in-vivo antibacterial activity against the Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (ATCC #: 6538) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) (ATCC #:15224). The synthesized Fe2O3 NPs were characterized via nitrogen adsorption-desorption process, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission and scanning electron microscopies (TEM and SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies. The SBET was found to be 94.65 m2/g with pore size of 2.99 nm, whereas the average crystallite and particles size are 23 and 27.64 nm, respectively. The 4 μg/mL is the MIC that inhibits the growth of E. coli, whereas those for S. aureus are below the detection limit (<1.76 μg/mL). The tolerance limit of the mice model was inspected by injecting different concentration of Fe2O3 NPs and bacteria suspensions. The 14 ppm suspension was the tolerated dose and the concentration above were proved lethal. The most severe infection was induced in mice with injection of 3 × 107 CFUs of both bacteria, while the inoculation of higher concentrations of bacterial suspensions resulted in the mice’s death. The histopathological and hematological studies reveals that the no/negligible infection was found in the mice exposed to the simultaneous inoculation of Fe2O3 NPs (14 ppm) and bacterial suspensions (3 × 107 CFUs)

Virtual Screening of <i>Artemisia annua</i> Phytochemicals as Potential Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Enzyme

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a human coronaviruses that emerged in China at Wuhan city, Hubei province during December 2019. Subsequently, SARS-CoV-2 has spread worldwide and caused millions of deaths around the globe. Several compounds and vaccines have been proposed to tackle this crisis. Novel recommended in silico approaches have been commonly used to screen for specific SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors of different types. Herein, the phytochemicals of Pakistani medicinal plants (especially Artemisia annua) were virtually screened to identify potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease enzyme. The X-ray crystal structure of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 with an N3 inhibitor was obtained from the protein data bank while A. annua phytochemicals were retrieved from different drug databases. The docking technique was carried out to assess the binding efficacy of the retrieved phytochemicals; the docking results revealed that several phytochemicals have potential to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 main protease enzyme. Among the total docked compounds, the top-10 docked complexes were considered for further study and evaluated for their physiochemical and pharmacokinetic properties. The top-3 docked complexes with the best binding energies were as follows: the top-1 docked complex with a −7 kcal/mol binding energy score, the top-2 docked complex with a −6.9 kcal/mol binding energy score, and the top-3 docked complex with a −6.8 kcal/mol binding energy score. These complexes were subjected to a molecular dynamic simulation analysis for further validation to check the dynamic behavior of the selected top-complexes. During the whole simulation time, no major changes were observed in the docked complexes, which indicated complex stability. Additionally, the free binding energies for the selected docked complexes were also estimated via the MM-GB/PBSA approach, and the results revealed that the total delta energies of MMGBSA were −24.23 kcal/mol, −26.38 kcal/mol, and −25 kcal/mol for top-1, top-2, and top-3, respectively. MMPBSA calculated the delta total energy as −17.23 kcal/mol (top-1 complex), −24.75 kcal/mol (top-2 complex), and −24.86 kcal/mol (top-3 complex). This study explored in silico screened phytochemicals against the main protease of the SARS-CoV-2 virus; however, the findings require an experimentally based study to further validate the obtained results

Histopathological and hematological investigations of mice model inoculated with nickel oxide nanoparticles and bacterial pathogens: In-vitro and in-vivo antibacterial studies

The Paeonia emodi (P. emodi) leaf extract was manipulated for the phytogenic fabrication of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) for in-vivo and in-vitro antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli: (ATCC #: 15224)) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus (ATCC #: 6538)). The surface area was found to be 78 m2/g and was determined by the BET method using N2 adsorption–desorption data. The cubic geometrical shape of NiO NPs was confirmed through X-ray diffractogram (XRD) analysis, and the enumerated crystallite size is 22.37 nm. The microstructure analysis was carried out via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), whereas the elemental composition was investigated by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The band gap energy of 1.93 eV was determined on the basis of the transmittance edge seen in the diffuse reflectance (DRS) spectrum. The surface functional moieties were identified by manipulating Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) value for E. coli (7.02 μg/mL) was found to be higher than that for S. aureus (3.51 μg/mL), whereas the dose-dependent in-vitro analysis was also carried out. In both bacteria, 3 × 107 CFUs was the tolerable concentration that causes maximum infection (no death) in mice. To explore the in-vivo therapeutic effectiveness of NiO NPs, 11 pm suspension was injected as the tolerated dose. The haematological and histopathological analysis discloses that the significant reduction in the bacterial infection was seen after the synchronous inoculation of NiO NPs and the bacterial suspensions

Scorpion venom: A poison or a medicine-mini review

773-778The Scorpion’s venom considered to be highly complex mixture of nucleotides, enzymes, mucoproteins, biogenic amines, salts, as well as peptides and proteins, which have been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years mainly in Asia and Africa. With the significant discoveries in the number of valuable biologically active components of scorpion venom, numerous drug candidates have been found with the potential to encounter many of the emerging global health crisis. This mini-review sheds light on the application of scorpion venoms and toxins as potential novel antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral, especially as anticancer therapeutics

Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception of Cancer Patients towards COVID-19 in Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Cancer patients, being immunocompromised, are at higher risk of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The current study determines cancer patients&rsquo; knowledge, attitude, perception, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Pakistan from 1 April 2020 to 1 May 2020. The study respondents were cancer patients with ages equal to or greater than 18 years. Following a request for participation, the URL for the survey was distributed on numerous channels. Other social media platforms, including WeChat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Messenger, and LinkedIn, were used to increase cancer patient interaction. The questionnaire comprised five different sections such as: (1) sociodemographic information, (2) knowledge, (3) attitude, (4) perception, and (5) impact of COVID-19 on cancer patients. Descriptive medical statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used to illustrate the demographic characteristics of the study participants. To compare mean knowledge scores with selected demographic variables, independent sample t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used, which are also practical methods in epidemiological, public health and medical research. The cut-off point for statistical significance was set at a p-value of 0.05. Results: More than 300 cancer patients were invited, of which 208 agreed to take part. The response rate was 69.33% (208/300). Gender, marital status, and employment status had a significant association with knowledge scores. Of the total recruited participants, 96% (n = 200) (p &lt; 0.01) knew about COVID-19, and 90% were aware of general symptoms of COVID-19 disease, such as route of transmission and preventive measurements. In total, 94.5% (n = 197) (p &lt; 0.01) were willing to accept isolation if they were infected with COVID-19, and 98% (n = 204) (p &lt; 0.01) had reduced their use of public transportation. More than 90% (n = 188) (p &lt; 0.01) of cancer patients were found to be practicing preventative measures such as using a face mask, keeping social distance, and avoiding handshaking and hugging. Around 94.4% (n = 196) (p &lt; 0.01) of cancer patients had been impacted by, stopped or had changed cancer treatment during this pandemic, resulting in COVID-related anxiety and depression. Conclusion: The included cancer patients exhibited a good level of COVID-19 knowledge, awareness, positive attitude, and perception. Large-scale studies and efforts are needed to raise COVID-19 awareness among less educated and high-risk populations. The present survey indicates that mass-level effective health education initiatives are required for developing countries to improve and reduce the gap between KAP and COVID-19