The role of diabetes in low back pain compared to non-diabetics

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a prevalent non-communicable disease, affecting significant proportion of the global population, with an estimated 382 million individuals affected. There exists a correlation among diabetes and low back pain. The objective of this investigation was to examine the potential association linking diabetes and low back pain by utilising the Oswestry disability Index as a gauge of the intensity of persistent lower back pain. Methods: The study was conducted by cross sectional method in which 200 patients with low back pain were included from period of October 2020 to September 2022. Oswestry disability index questionnaire was used for the intensity of lower back pain. Statistical package for the social sciences was used for data analysis. Results: In this study, out of 200 patients, 59 (29.5%) had diabetes and 141 (70.5%) were without diabetes, with a average age of 53.61±15.07 years. Overall, according to gender, patients were equally distributed, while female and male predominance was seen in diabetics and non-diabetics, respectively. Conclusions: The distribution of patients as per gender and ODI score did not differ, although more diabetics had a significantly higher ODI score than non-diabetics. A significant increase in blood glucose, HbA1c, microalbuminuria, and ODI score was noted in diabetics compared with non-diabetics, with significant positive associations of ODI with age, blood glucose, and HbA1c. The increased levels of the diabetic profile parameters and their association with the ODI indicate the possible role of diabetes with low back pain

Hardy’s Wessex: An Imaginary-Literary-Topography

Geo - (topo) graphically Hardy’s Wessex is located on the West Country of England and lying south of the Thames and the Bristol Channel. The invention of “Wessex” is described by hardy in his preface to Far from the Madding Crowd in which, he first re- introduced the old word to give territorial definition. Travelling into Hardy, I wish to argue that place ought to receive special attention. Most of the writers have written their works with deep concerned with their native special attention. Place needs to be understood as something local, regional and real, despite the complexities and difficulties involved in the use of such terms. Generally, places themselves could have the sort of centrality in literary studies that has more frequently been given to notions such as author, character, text, historical context and narration etc. This paper wants to Geo - (topo) graphically appreciates the correspondence between Wessex and Hardy’s relationship in an imaginary and cartographical mode

High-throughput mapping of the phage resistance landscape in E. coli.

Bacteriophages (phages) are critical players in the dynamics and function of microbial communities and drive processes as diverse as global biogeochemical cycles and human health. Phages tend to be predators finely tuned to attack specific hosts, even down to the strain level, which in turn defend themselves using an array of mechanisms. However, to date, efforts to rapidly and comprehensively identify bacterial host factors important in phage infection and resistance have yet to be fully realized. Here, we globally map the host genetic determinants involved in resistance to 14 phylogenetically diverse double-stranded DNA phages using two model Escherichia coli strains (K-12 and BL21) with known sequence divergence to demonstrate strain-specific differences. Using genome-wide loss-of-function and gain-of-function genetic technologies, we are able to confirm previously described phage receptors as well as uncover a number of previously unknown host factors that confer resistance to one or more of these phages. We uncover differences in resistance factors that strongly align with the susceptibility of K-12 and BL21 to specific phage. We also identify both phage-specific mechanisms, such as the unexpected role of cyclic-di-GMP in host sensitivity to phage N4, and more generic defenses, such as the overproduction of colanic acid capsular polysaccharide that defends against a wide array of phages. Our results indicate that host responses to phages can occur via diverse cellular mechanisms. Our systematic and high-throughput genetic workflow to characterize phage-host interaction determinants can be extended to diverse bacteria to generate datasets that allow predictive models of how phage-mediated selection will shape bacterial phenotype and evolution. The results of this study and future efforts to map the phage resistance landscape will lead to new insights into the coevolution of hosts and their phage, which can ultimately be used to design better phage therapeutic treatments and tools for precision microbiome engineering

High-throughput mapping of the phage resistance landscape inE. coli

Bacteriophages (phages) are critical players in the dynamics and function of microbial communities and drive processes as diverse as global biogeochemical cycles and human health. Phages tend to be predators finely tuned to attack specific hosts, even down to the strain level, which in turn defend themselves using an array of mechanisms. However, to date, efforts to rapidly and comprehensively identify bacterial host factors important in phage infection and resistance have yet to be fully realized. Here, we globally map the host genetic determinants involved in resistance to 14 phylogenetically diverse double-stranded DNA phages using two model Escherichia coli strains (K-12 and BL21) with known sequence divergence to demonstrate strain-specific differences. Using genome-wide loss-of-function and gain-of-function genetic technologies, we are able to confirm previously described phage receptors as well as uncover a number of previously unknown host factors that confer resistance to one or more of these phages. We uncover differences in resistance factors that strongly align with the susceptibility of K-12 and BL21 to specific phage. We also identify both phage specific mechanisms, such as the unexpected role of cyclic-di-GMP in host sensitivity to phage N4, and more generic defenses, such as the overproduction of colanic acid capsular polysaccharide that defends against a wide array of phages. Our results indicate that host responses to phages can occur via diverse cellular mechanisms. Our systematic and high-throughput genetic workflow to characterize phage-host interaction determinants can be extended to diverse bacteria to generate datasets that allow predictive models of how phage-mediated selection will shape bacterial phenotype and evolution. The results of this study and future efforts to map the phage resistance landscape will lead to new insights into the coevolution of hosts and their phage, which can ultimately be used to design better phage therapeutic treatments and tools for precision microbiome engineering