Social behaviour and circadian variations in different activities of captive hog deer (Axis porcinus)

Management practices/strategies to re-modulate the wild behaviour of animal species could increase their number in natural areas. The captive herd of hog deer showed slight changes from wild behaviour due to captive stress with no alteration in wild behaviour pattern except captive stress. Adult males (6), adult females (6) and fawns (6) were selected and observed round the clock for thirty days across season after one-hour interval on each activity. All subjects in hotter part of the day spent more time in sitting and rest. While, few hours of night in sleeping, resting and rumination. Fawn spent more time in sitting, resting, and hiding compared to adults. During wandering, they also spent some time in standing. It was noticed that all hog deer in herd not slept together but few of them remain active. Only male fighting was observed and maximum was noticed in August and September during breeding season. Hog deer were mainly crepuscular in feeding with irregular short intakes, and grazing on grasses present in enclosure. This study provides guideline to rehabilitate wild hog deer for better breeding management, conservation and raising practices

Assessment of Growth Inhibition of Eugenol-Loaded Nano-Emulsions against Beneficial Bifidobacterium sp. along with Resistant Escherichia coli Using Flow Cytometry

The intestinal tract microbiota influences many aspects of the dietary components on colon health and during enteric infections, thus, playing a pivotal role in the colon health. Therefore, the eugenol (EU) nano-emulsion effective concentration reported in our previous study against cancer cells should be explored for safety against beneficial microbes. We evaluated the sensitivity of Bifidobacterium breve and B. adolescentis against EU-loaded nano-emulsions at 0, 300, 600 and 900 µm, which were effective against colon and liver cancer cells. Both B. breve and B. adolescentis showed comparable growth ranges to the control group at 300 and 600 µm, as evident from the plate count experimental results. However, at 900 µm, a slight growth variation was revealed with respect to the control group. The real-time inhibition determination through flow cytometry showed B. breve viable, sublethal cells (99.49 and 0.51%) and B. adolescentis (95.59 and 0.15%) at 900 µm, suggesting slight inhibition even at the highest tested concentration. Flow cytometry proved to be a suitable quantitative approach that has revealed separate live, dead, and susceptible cells upon treatment with EU nano-emulsion against Escherichia coli. Similarly, in the case of B. breve and B. adolescentis, the cells showed only live cells that qualitatively suggest EU nano-emulsion safety. To judge the viability of these sublethal populations of B. breve and B. adolescentis, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy was carried out, revealing no peak shift for proteins, lipids, DNA and carbohydrates at 900 µm EU nano-emulsion compared to the control. On the other hand, EU-loaded nano-emulsions (900 µm)-treated E. coli showed a clear peak shift for a membrane protein, lipids, DNA and carbohydrates. This study provides insights to utilize plant phenols as safe medicines as well as dietary supplements

Depression in Tuberculosis Patients and its Relationship to Socio Demographic Factors

Background: To study the prevalence of depression in tuberculosis patients and correlating it with various sociodemographic factors.Methods: In this observational study patients suffering from tuberculosis presenting to or already admitted in four tertiary care hospitals and TB Hospital of Rawalpindi were recruited consecutively and screened for depression. The severity of depression was assessed using Hamilton Rating scale for Depression.Results: Depression, in patients currently on treatment, was 49.4%. Out of whom 41.5% were mildly depressed, 34.1% were moderately depressed, 21.9% were severely depressed. Significant depression was evident in those living in rural setup( p= 0.038) and those falling in 46-60 years old category(p=0.042)Conclusion: Nearly half of the proportions of people seeking treatment for TB in tertiary care setup suffer from depression. Early diagnosis and treatment of depression in TB patients is essential

Improvement in knowledge of healthcare professionals attending Neonatal Life Support(NeoLiS) training workshop

Objective:Pakistan ranks among the countries with highest neonatal mortality rate. Birth related event (Asphyxia neonatorum) is one of the three most common causes of neonatal mortality worldwide. Effective resuscitation during the Golden Minute can improve the mortality and morbidity. In Pakistan, a training programme NeoLiS (Neonatal Life Support) was developed in 2008 which was based on guidelines of ILCOR. The objective of this study was to assess the improvement in knowledge of healthcare professionals attending Neonatal Life Support training workshop. Methods:It was a retrospective cross sectional study that was conducted in the Neonatology Department of the Children’s Hospital, Lahore. A total of 52 workshops were conducted in 2017-18 in which 1350 health professionals were participated including doctors, nurses and paramedics. Data of all the training workshops were analysed in the study. Knowledge was tested through true/false questionnaires. The results of pre-course test were compared with respective post-course test by entering the data in SPSS and significance in improvement of knowledge was calculated by applying paired t-test. p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Mean of pre-course and post-course results of all the participants were calculated and post-course results showed significant improvement in knowledge as compared to pre-course tests. Similarly, paired t-test was performed for all the results of doctors,nurses and paramedics on individual basis. The p-value in all groups was < 0.01 which was statistically significant. Conclusion: Neonatal Life Support (NeoLiS) training course resulted in significant gain in knowledge about neonatal resuscitation by healthcare professionals when assessed  Continuous..

The Prospects for the Therapeutic Implications of Genetically Engineered Probiotics

The interest in the therapeutic use of probiotic microorganisms has been increased during the last decade although the doubts have ascended about the probiotics mainly because their beneficial effects are not fully understood, and, in many cases, their usefulness has not been validated in clinical trials. Consequently, the notion got a considerable interest in those strains having proven probiotic potential to be engineered for improvement in their beneficial features. The process of genetic engineering can also be used for probiotic strains for the reversion of antimicrobial resistance and other modifications for their safer and effective human applications. The lactic acid bacilli are predominantly opposite as they already have gained attention owing to their health-promoting benefits and their safety for human consumption; therefore, their use, especially as a delivery agent of vaccines and drugs, is gaining attention. The tailoring of probiotic strains will not only improve the data regarding the probiotic potential of these strains but also clinch the doubts concerning these probiotics. This article focuses on the approaches of bioengineered probiotics and discusses the potential prospects for their therapeutic applications including immunomodulation, cognitive health, and anticancer therapeutics

Structural communication fingerprinting and dynamic investigation of RBD-hACE2 complex from BA.1 × AY.4 recombinant variant (Deltacron) of SARS-CoV-2 to decipher the structural basis for enhanced transmission

The BA.1 × AY.4 recombinant variant (Deltacron) continues to inflict chaos globally due to its rapid transmission and infectivity. To decipher the mechanism of pathogenesis by the BA.1 × AY.4 recombinant variant (Deltacron), a protein coupling, protein structural graphs (PSG), residue communication and all atoms simulation protocols were used. We observed that the bonding network is altered by this variant; engaging new residues that helps to robustly bind. HADDOCK docking score for the wild type has been previously reported to be -111.8 ± 1.5 kcal/mol while the docking score for the Deltacron variant was calculated to be -128.3 ± 2.5 kcal/mol. The protein structural graphs revealed variations in the hub residues, number of nodes, inter and intra residues communities, and path communication perturbation caused by the acquired mutations in the Deltacron-RBD thus alter the binding approach and infectivity. Moreover, the dynamic behaviour reported a highly flexible structure with enhanced residues flexibility particularly by the loops required for interaction with ACE2. It was observed that these mutations have altered the secondary structure of the RBD mostly transited to the loops thus acquired higher flexible dynamics than the native structure during the simulation. The total binding free energy for each of these complexes, that is, WT-RBD and Deltacron-RBD were reported to be -61.38 kcal/mol and -70.47 kcal/mol. Protein's motion revealed a high trace value in the Deltacron variant that clearly depict more structural flexibility. The broad range of phase space covered by the Deltacron variant along PC1 and PC2 suggests that these mutations are important in contributing conformational heterogeneity or flexibility that consequently help the variant to bind more efficiently than the wild type. The current study provides a basis for structure-based drug designing against SARS-CoV-2.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Molecular detection of Leishmania species in human and animals from cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic areas of Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Objectives: To detect Leishmania species in human patients, animal reservoirs and Phlebotomus sandflies in Waziristan, Pakistan. Methods: Tissue smears and aspirates from 448 cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) suspected patients were analyzed. To sort out role of the reservoir hosts, skin scrapings, spleen and liver samples from 104 rodents were collected. Furthermore, buffy coat samples were obtained from 60 domestic animals. Sandflies were also trapped. All human, animals and sandfly samples were tested by microscopy, kinetoplastic PCR and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) PCR followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism for detection of Leishmania species. Results: An overall prevalence of 3.83% and 5.21% through microscopy and ITS1 PCR respectively was found. However, the statistically non-significant correlation was found between area, gender, and number of lesions. The presence of rodents, sandflies, domestic animals and internally displaced people increased the risk of CL. Using ITS1-PCR-RFLP, Leishmania tropica (L. tropica) was confirmed in 106 samples while 25 of the isolates were diagnosed as Leishmania major (L. major). Similarly, 3/104 rodents were positive for L. major and 14 pools of DNA samples containing Phlebotomus sergenti sandflies were positive for L. tropica. None of samples from domestic animals were positive for leishmaniasis. Conclusions: In the present study, L. tropica and L. major are found to be the main causative agents of CL in study area. Movement of internally displaced people from CL endemic areas presents a risk for nearby CL free areas. To the best of our knowledge, we report for the first time L. major infection in rodents (Rattus rattus) and L. tropica in Phlebotomus sergenti sandflies trapped in Waziristan, Pakistan

Assessment of Growth Inhibition of Eugenol-Loaded Nano-Emulsions against Beneficial Bifidobacterium sp. along with Resistant Escherichia coli Using Flow Cytometry

The intestinal tract microbiota influences many aspects of the dietary components on colon health and during enteric infections, thus, playing a pivotal role in the colon health. Therefore, the eugenol (EU) nano-emulsion effective concentration reported in our previous study against cancer cells should be explored for safety against beneficial microbes. We evaluated the sensitivity of Bifidobacterium breve and B. adolescentis against EU-loaded nano-emulsions at 0, 300, 600 and 900 &micro;m, which were effective against colon and liver cancer cells. Both B. breve and B. adolescentis showed comparable growth ranges to the control group at 300 and 600 &micro;m, as evident from the plate count experimental results. However, at 900 &micro;m, a slight growth variation was revealed with respect to the control group. The real-time inhibition determination through flow cytometry showed B. breve viable, sublethal cells (99.49 and 0.51%) and B. adolescentis (95.59 and 0.15%) at 900 &micro;m, suggesting slight inhibition even at the highest tested concentration. Flow cytometry proved to be a suitable quantitative approach that has revealed separate live, dead, and susceptible cells upon treatment with EU nano-emulsion against Escherichia coli. Similarly, in the case of B. breve and B. adolescentis, the cells showed only live cells that qualitatively suggest EU nano-emulsion safety. To judge the viability of these sublethal populations of B. breve and B. adolescentis, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy was carried out, revealing no peak shift for proteins, lipids, DNA and carbohydrates at 900 &micro;m EU nano-emulsion compared to the control. On the other hand, EU-loaded nano-emulsions (900 &micro;m)-treated E. coli showed a clear peak shift for a membrane protein, lipids, DNA and carbohydrates. This study provides insights to utilize plant phenols as safe medicines as well as dietary supplements

Assessment of Growth Inhibition of Eugenol-Loaded Nano-Emulsions against Beneficial <i>Bifidobacterium</i> sp. along with Resistant <i>Escherichia coli</i> Using Flow Cytometry

The intestinal tract microbiota influences many aspects of the dietary components on colon health and during enteric infections, thus, playing a pivotal role in the colon health. Therefore, the eugenol (EU) nano-emulsion effective concentration reported in our previous study against cancer cells should be explored for safety against beneficial microbes. We evaluated the sensitivity of Bifidobacterium breve and B. adolescentis against EU-loaded nano-emulsions at 0, 300, 600 and 900 µm, which were effective against colon and liver cancer cells. Both B. breve and B. adolescentis showed comparable growth ranges to the control group at 300 and 600 µm, as evident from the plate count experimental results. However, at 900 µm, a slight growth variation was revealed with respect to the control group. The real-time inhibition determination through flow cytometry showed B. breve viable, sublethal cells (99.49 and 0.51%) and B. adolescentis (95.59 and 0.15%) at 900 µm, suggesting slight inhibition even at the highest tested concentration. Flow cytometry proved to be a suitable quantitative approach that has revealed separate live, dead, and susceptible cells upon treatment with EU nano-emulsion against Escherichia coli. Similarly, in the case of B. breve and B. adolescentis, the cells showed only live cells that qualitatively suggest EU nano-emulsion safety. To judge the viability of these sublethal populations of B. breve and B. adolescentis, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy was carried out, revealing no peak shift for proteins, lipids, DNA and carbohydrates at 900 µm EU nano-emulsion compared to the control. On the other hand, EU-loaded nano-emulsions (900 µm)-treated E. coli showed a clear peak shift for a membrane protein, lipids, DNA and carbohydrates. This study provides insights to utilize plant phenols as safe medicines as well as dietary supplements