Immune peptides modelling of Culex pipiens sp by in silico methods

Background: In the past 60 years, antibiotics have been critical in the fight against infectious diseases causedby bacteria and other microbes. Development of resistance to the antibiotics is emerging as a major publichealth issue which has resulted in the search for new antibiotics in order to maintain a pool of effective drugsat all times. Currently, there is a great interest in cationic peptides as antibiotics. These are reported to destroythe host cell membrane rather interacting with the other cell components, which may not face emergence ofresistance. In mosquitoes, peptides like cecropin, defensin and gambicin reported to have inhibitory effect onbacteria, fungi and parasites. These peptides are well-characterized at both the biochemical and molecularlevel from Anopheles and Culex species, yet their 3D structures were not reported.Methods: Defensin, cecropin and gambicin immune peptides of Culex pipiens was characterised to haveantiparasitic, antibacterial and antifungal activities. Since the crystal structure of defensin, cecropin and gambicinare not yet available their 3D structures were determined using homology modeling and Rosetta fragmentinsertion methods and were validated.Results: Stereo chemical evaluation indicated that defensin and gambicin showed that 100% residues ofconstructed model lie in the most favoured and allowed regions. Cecropin iso-forms A and B showed 100%while C showed 97.6% residues that lie in most favoured and allowed regions, which indicated quality models.Conclusion: Predicted model provide insight into their structure and aid in the development of novel antibioticpeptides

Synthesis and biological evaluation of (3-arylisoxazol-5-yl) methyl 6-fluoro-4-oxo-4H-chromene-2-carboxylates as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents

A series of novel (3-aryl-1,2-oxazol-5-yl) methyl 6-fluoro-4-oxo-4H- -chromene-2-carboxylate derivatives (C1-C12) were synthesized by Cu (I) catalyzed reaction of in situ generated nitrile oxides with prop-2-yn-1-yl 6-fluoro-4-oxo-4H-chromene-2-carboxylate in good yields and investigated their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Among all the synthesized compounds, C1 (IC50: 16.43 ± 0.57 μM) and C12 (IC50:15.98 ± 0.72 μM) have registered good antioxidant activity as compared to the standard drug Trolox. Compound-C1, C3, and C6 have registered very good inhibition against all gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains with MIC values ranging from 9.375 to 37.5 (μg mL-1). Compound-C7, C8, C9, C10, and C11 have registered good inhibition against B. subtilis and S. aureus with MIC values ranging from 18.75 to 37.5 (μg mL-1). Compound-C10 and C11 against P. aero-ginosa have shown prominent activity than the standard drug Penicillin (MIC: 12.5 μg mL-1) with MIC 9.375 μg mL-1 (~ 1.33 fold potent than Penicillin). Compound-C7, C8, and C9 have registered good to moderate antifungal activity against four tested fungal strains with MIC values ranging from 18.75 and 37.5 μg mL-

A cohort study of lymphatic filariasis on socio economic conditions in Andhra Pradesh, India.

BACKGROUND: To assess the impact of socioeconomic variables on lymphatic filariasis in endemic villages of Karimnagar district, Andhra Pradesh, India. METHODS: A pilot scale study was conducted in 30 villages of Karimnagar district from 2004 to 2007. These villages were selected based on previous reports from department of health, Government of Andhra Pradesh, epidemiology, entomology and socioeconomic survey was conducted as per protocol. Collected data were analysed statistically by Chi square test, Principal Component Analysis, Odds ratio, Bivariate, multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Total of 5,394 blood samples collected and screened for microfilaria, out of which 199 were found to be positive (3.7%). The socioeconomic data of these respondents/participants were correlated with MF prevalence. The socioeconomic variables like educational status (Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.6, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.1-6.5), house structure (hut OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.2-3.1; tiled OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.8-2) and participation in mass drug administration program (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.3-2.6) were found to be highly associated with the occurrence of filarial disease. The socioeconomic index was categorized into low (3.6%; OR-1.1, 95% CI: 0.7-1.5) medium (4.9%; OR-1.5, 95% CI = 1-2.1) and high (3.3%) in relation to percentage of filarial parasite prevalence. A significant difference was observed among these three groups while comparing the number of cases of filaria with the type of socioeconomic conditions of the respondents (P = 0.067). CONCLUSIONS: From this study it is inferred that age, education of family, type of house structure and awareness about the filarial disease directly influenced the disease prevalence. Beside annual mass drug administration program, such type of analysis should be undertaken by health officials to target a few socioeconomic factors to reduce the disease burden. Health education campaigns in the endemic villages and imparting of protection measures against mosquitoes using insecticide treated bed nets would substantially reduce the disease in these villages

Synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of some novel thiomorpholine derived 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles

A convenient synthesis of novel1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles (4a-j & 5a-j) is reported via copper (I) - catalyzed one pot [3+2] cycloaddition of various alkyl halides, sodium azide with (prop-2-yn-1-yl)thiomorpholine and 4-(prop-2-yn-1-yl)thiomorpholine 1,1-dioxide. All the synthesized compounds were investigated for their antimicrobial activity. Compounds 4a, 4b, 4c, 4g, 5a and 5j against S.epidermidis, 4a, 5a and 5d against P. aeroginosa, 4a, 4b and 4g against K.pneumoniae, 4b, 5a and 5d against S.aureus and 5b, 5e and 5j against B.Subtilis have shown excellent antibacterial activity compared to the standard drugs Penicillin and Streptomycin. Compounds 4c, 4e, 4f, 4j, 5c, 5d, 5g and 5j have registered moderate antifungal activity as compared with standard drug Ampothericin-B

Influence of socioeconomic aspects on lymphatic filariasis: A case-control study in Andhra Pradesh, India

Background & objectives: Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a major public health problem in India. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of socioeconomic conditions on LF in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Methods: A survey was carried out from 2004 to 2007 during which, an epidemiological and socioeconomic data were collected and analysed. The microfilaria (mf) positive samples were taken as cases and matched with control group by sex and age (1:1) for case-control study. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the potential risk factors for filariasis. Using principal component analysis (PCA), a socioeconomic index was developed and the data/scores were classified into low, medium and high categories. Results: In total 5,133 blood smears were collected, of which 77 samples were found positive for microfilaria (1.52%). Multivariate analysis showed that the risk of filariasis was higher in groups of people with income < ₹1000 per month [OR = 2.752 (95%CI, 0.435-17.429)]; ₹ 1000-3000 per month [3.079 (0.923-0.275)]; people living in tiled house structure [1.641 (0.534-5.048)], with kutcha (uncemented) drainage system [19.427 (2.985- 126.410)], respondents who did not implemented mosquito avoidance measures [1.737 (0.563-5.358)]; and in people who were not aware about prevention and control of filariasis [1.042 (0.368-2.956)]. PCA showed that respondents with low (41.6%) and medium (33.8%) socioeconomic status are more prone to filariasis (p=0.036). Interpretation & conclusion: The cross sectional study showed that the population with low and medium socioeconomic status are at higher risk of filariasis. The identified socioeconomic risk factors can be used as a guideline for improving the conditions for effective management of filariasis

Relative roles of weather variables and change in human population in malaria: comparison over different states of India.

Pro-active and effective control as well as quantitative assessment of impact of climate change on malaria requires identification of the major drivers of the epidemic. Malaria depends on vector abundance which, in turn, depends on a combination of weather variables. However, there remain several gaps in our understanding and assessment of malaria in a changing climate. Most of the studies have considered weekly or even monthly mean values of weather variables, while the malaria vector is sensitive to daily variations. Secondly, rarely all the relevant meteorological variables have been considered together. An important question is the relative roles of weather variables (vector abundance) and change in host (human) population, in the change in disease load.We consider the 28 states of India, characterized by diverse climatic zones and changing population as well as complex variability in malaria, as a natural test bed. An annual vector load for each of the 28 states is defined based on the number of vector genesis days computed using daily values of temperature, rainfall and humidity from NCEP daily Reanalysis; a prediction of potential malaria load is defined by taking into consideration changes in the human population and compared with the reported number of malaria cases.For most states, the number of malaria cases is very well correlated with the vector load calculated with the combined conditions of daily values of temperature, rainfall and humidity; no single weather variable has any significant association with the observed disease prevalence.The association between vector-load and daily values of weather variables is robust and holds for different climatic regions (states of India). Thus use of all the three weather variables provides a reliable means of pro-active and efficient vector sanitation and control as well as assessment of impact of climate change on malaria