Association of Ficolin-2 serum levels and FCN2 genetic variants with Indian Visceral Leishmaniasis

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), one of the neglected tropical diseases, is endemic in the Indian subcontinent. Ficolins are circulating serum proteins of the lectin complement system and involved in innate immunity. Methods: We have estimated ficolin-2 serum levels and analyzed the functional variants of the encoding gene FCN2 in 218 cases of VL and in 225 controls from an endemic region of India. Results: Elevated levels of serum ficolin-2 were observed in VL cases compared to the controls (adjusted P<0.0001). The genetic analysis revealed that the FCN2 structural variant +6359 C>T (p.T236M) was associated with VL (OR=2.2, 95% CI = 1.23-7.25, P = 0.008) and with high ficolin-2 serum levels. We also found that the FCN2*AAAC haplotype occurred more frequently among healthy controls when compared to cases (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.37-0.94, P = 0.023). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the FCN2 variant +6359C>T is associated with the occurrence of VL and that ficolin-2 serum levels are elevated in Leishmania infections

MBL2 variations and malaria susceptibility in Indian populations

Human Mannose-binding Lectin (MBL) encoded by the MBL2 gene is a pattern recognition protein and has been associated with many infectious diseases, including malaria. We sought to investigate the contribution of functional MBL2 gene variations to Plasmodium falciparum malaria in well-defined cases and in matched controls. We resequenced the 8.7 kb of the entire MBL2 gene in 434 individuals clinically classified with malaria from regions of India where malaria is endemic. The study cohort included 176 patients with severe malaria, 101 patients with mild malaria, and 157 ethnically matched asymptomatic individuals. In addition, 830 individuals from 32 socially, linguistically, and geographically diverse endogamous populations of India were investigated for the distribution of functional MBL2 variants. The MBL2 −221C (X) allelic variant is associated with increased risk of malaria (mild malaria odds ratio [OR] = 1.9, corrected P value [PCorr] = 0.0036; severe malaria OR = 1.6, PCorr = 0.02). The exon1 variants MBL2*B (severe malaria OR = 2.1, PCorr = 0.036; mild versus severe malaria OR = 2.5, PCorr = 0.039) and MBL2*C (mild versus severe malaria OR = 5.4, PCorr = 0.045) increased the odds of having malaria. The exon1 MBL2*D/*B/*C variant increased the risk for severe malaria (OR = 3.4, PCorr = 0.000045). The frequencies of low MBL haplotypes were significantly higher in severe malaria (14.2%) compared to mild malaria (7.9%) and asymptomatic (3.8%). The MBL2*LYPA haplotypes confer protection, whereas MBL2*LXPA increases the malaria risk. Our findings in Indian populations demonstrate that MBL2 functional variants are strongly associated with malaria and infection severity

Hypertrophic Stimulation Increases β-actin Dynamics in Adult Feline Cardiomyocytes

The myocardium responds to hemodynamic stress through cellular growth and organ hypertrophy. The impact of cytoskeletal elements on this process, however, is not fully understood. While α-actin in cardiomyocytes governs muscle contraction in combination with the myosin motor, the exact role of β-actin has not been established. We hypothesized that in adult cardiomyocytes, as in non-myocytes, β-actin can facilitate cytoskeletal rearrangement within cytoskeletal structures such as Z-discs. Using a feline right ventricular pressure overload (RVPO) model, we measured the level and distribution of β-actin in normal and pressure overloaded myocardium. Resulting data demonstrated enriched levels of β-actin and enhanced translocation to the Triton-insoluble cytoskeletal and membrane skeletal complexes. In addition, RVPO in vivo and in vitro hypertrophic stimulation with endothelin (ET) or insulin in isolated adult cardiomyocytes enhanced the content of polymerized fraction (F-actin) of β-actin. To determine the localization and dynamics of β-actin, we adenovirally expressed GFP-tagged β-actin in isolated adult cardiomyocytes. The ectopically expressed β-actin-GFP localized to the Z-discs, costameres, and cell termini. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) measurements of β-actin dynamics revealed that β-actin at the Z-discs is constantly being exchanged with β-actin from cytoplasmic pools and that this exchange is faster upon hypertrophic stimulation with ET or insulin. In addition, in electrically stimulated isolated adult cardiomyocytes, while β-actin overexpression improved cardiomyocyte contractility, immunoneutralization of β-actin resulted in a reduced contractility suggesting that β-actin could be important for the contractile function of adult cardiomyocytes. These studies demonstrate the presence and dynamics of β-actin in the adult cardiomyocyte and reinforce its usefulness in measuring cardiac cytoskeletal rearrangement during hypertrophic stimulation

Wetlands for wastewater treatment and subsequent recycling of treated effluent : a review

Due to water scarcity challenges around the world, it is essential to think about non-conventional water resources to address the increased demand in clean freshwater. Environmental and public health problems may result from insufficient provision of sanitation and wastewater disposal facilities. Because of this, wastewater treatment and recycling methods will be vital to provide sufficient freshwater in the coming decades, since water resources are limited and more than 70% of water are consumed for irrigation purposes. Therefore, the application of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation has much potential, especially when incorporating the reuse of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, which are essential for plant production. Among the current treatment technologies applied in urban wastewater reuse for irrigation, wetlands were concluded to be the one of the most suitable ones in terms of pollutant removal and have advantages due to both low maintenance costs and required energy. Wetland behavior and efficiency concerning wastewater treatment is mainly linked to macrophyte composition, substrate, hydrology, surface loading rate, influent feeding mode, microorganism availability, and temperature. Constructed wetlands are very effective in removing organics and suspended solids, whereas the removal of nitrogen is relatively low, but could be improved by using a combination of various types of constructed wetlands meeting the irrigation reuse standards. The removal of phosphorus is usually low, unless special media with high sorption capacity are used. Pathogen removal from wetland effluent to meet irrigation reuse standards is a challenge unless supplementary lagoons or hybrid wetland systems are used

Role of substance P in cerebral edema and association with an estimated specific gravity of the brain and an outcome prediction in post-traumatic cerebral edema

Purpose: The study aims to evaluate the role of substance P in cerebral edema and outcomes associated with acute TBI. Method: Patients with acute TBI who presented within 6 h and a CT scan showed predominantly cerebral edema were included in the study. Substance P level was assessed from a serum sample collected within 6 h of trauma. We also evaluated the brain-specific gravity using the Brain View software. Result: A total of 160 (128 male) patients were recruited. The median serum substance P concentration was 167.89 (IQR: 101.09–238.2). Substance P concentration was high in the early hours after trauma (p = 0.001). The median specific gravity of the entire brain was 1.04. Patients with a low Glasgow coma scale (GCS) at admission had a high concentration of the substance P. In the univariate analysis, low GCS, elevated serum concentrations of substance P level, high Rotterdam grade, high cerebral edema grade, a high international normalized ratio value, and high blood sugar levels were associated with poor outcomes at six months. In logistic regression analysis, low GCS at admission, high cerebral edema grade, and elevated blood sugar level were strongly associated with poor outcomes at six months. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.884 (0.826–0.941). Conclusion: Serum substance P is strongly associated with the severity of cerebral edema after TBI. However, brain-specific gravity does not directly correlate with posttraumatic cerebral edema severity. Serum substance P does not influence the clinical outcome of traumatic brain injury

Study on the inflammatory response of PMMA/polystyrene/silica nanocomposite membranes for drug delivery and dental applications.

BackgroundThe application of polymeric materials in medical industry has grown drastically in the last two decades due to their various advantages compared to existing materials. The present research work emphases on the sol-gel technique to formulate the polymethyl methyl acrylate/polystyrene/silica composite membrane.MethodsThe characteristic of the composite was investigated through modern state art of instrumentation.ResultsThe functional groups attached to the polymer was absorbed by FTIR. The FTIR spectrum confirm that the blend was mixed thoroughly and the formation of unite intimately between the polymers. The membranes were observed by SEM for its surface homogeneity which depends upon the composition of the two blending polymers. The captured SEM images showed the formation of microcracks on the surface, which was evidently controlled by varying the constituent polymer ratios. The prepared blend membranes with 2:1 ratio of PMMA/PS/Si displayed higher water uptake compared to other blended membranes. The composite membranes had good hydroxyl apatite growth in SBF solution. Furthermore, the in vitro cytotoxicity studies carried out by MTT method, using RAW macrophage cells showed that all the samples exhibited excellent cell viability.ConclusionThe inflammatory response of composite with equal concentration of PMMA-PS were performed and observed no inflammation in comparison with control and other tested concentrations