Assessment of Lockdown Effect in Some States and Overall India: A Predictive Mathematical Study on COVID-19 Outbreak

In the absence of neither an effective treatment or vaccine and with an incomplete understanding of the epidemiological cycle, Govt. has implemented a nationwide lockdown to reduce COVID-19 transmission in India. To study the effect of social distancing measure, we considered a new mathematical model on COVID-19 that incorporates lockdown effect. By validating our model to the data on notified cases from five different states and overall India, we estimated several epidemiologically important parameters as well as the basic reproduction number ($R_{0}$). Combining the mechanistic mathematical model with different statistical forecast models, we projected notified cases in the six locations for the period May 17, 2020, till May 31, 2020. A global sensitivity analysis is carried out to determine the correlation of two epidemiologically measurable parameters on the lockdown effect and also on $R_{0}$. Our result suggests that lockdown will be effective in those locations where a higher percentage of symptomatic infection exists in the population. Furthermore, a large scale COVID-19 mass testing is required to reduce community infection. Ensemble model forecast suggested a high rise in the COVID-19 notified cases in most of the locations in the coming days. Furthermore, the trend of the effective reproduction number ($R_{t}$) during the projection period indicates if the lockdown measures are completely removed after May 17, 2020, a high spike in notified cases may be seen in those locations. Finally, combining our results, we provided an effective lockdown policy to reduce future COVID-19 transmission in India.Comment: 43 pages, 17 figure

Functional divergence in the role of N-linked glycosylation in smoothened signaling

The G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) Smoothened (Smo) is the requisite signal transducer of the evolutionarily conserved Hedgehog (Hh) pathway. Although aspects of Smo signaling are conserved from Drosophila to vertebrates, significant differences have evolved. These include changes in its active sub-cellular localization, and the ability of vertebrate Smo to induce distinct G protein-dependent and independent signals in response to ligand. Whereas the canonical Smo signal to Gli transcriptional effectors occurs in a G protein-independent manner, its non-canonical signal employs Gαi. Whether vertebrate Smo can selectively bias its signal between these routes is not yet known. N-linked glycosylation is a post-translational modification that can influence GPCR trafficking, ligand responsiveness and signal output. Smo proteins in Drosophila and vertebrate systems harbor N-linked glycans, but their role in Smo signaling has not been established. Herein, we present a comprehensive analysis of Drosophila and murine Smo glycosylation that supports a functional divergence in the contribution of N-linked glycans to signaling. Of the seven predicted glycan acceptor sites in Drosophila Smo, one is essential. Loss of N-glycosylation at this site disrupted Smo trafficking and attenuated its signaling capability. In stark contrast, we found that all four predicted N-glycosylation sites on murine Smo were dispensable for proper trafficking, agonist binding and canonical signal induction. However, the under-glycosylated protein was compromised in its ability to induce a non-canonical signal through Gαi, providing for the first time evidence that Smo can bias its signal and that a post-translational modification can impact this process. As such, we postulate a profound shift in N-glycan function from affecting Smo ER exit in flies to influencing its signal output in mice

Patients With Type II Diabetes Mellitus At A Tertiary Care Hospital: A Prospective Study On Anti-Diabetic Drug Prescribing Patterns

The main aim is to study on prescribing patterns of anti-diabetic drugs for patients with type- II diabetes mellitus. Out of 457 patients screened, 426patients were enrolled according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Among them 62.44% were males and 37.55% were females. The study found to be a higher incidence of diabetes among elderly patients, with a high incidence in the age group between 41-60 years (50.70%) and followed by 61‑80 years (19.24%). The study resolved that most of the patients were suffering from diabetes for 5 to 10 years, 221 (73.94%) of duration years followed by 1 to 5 years, 94 (22.06%). A total of 1565 drugs were prescribed in the overall study period. 68.62% were diabetic drugs, 13.41% hypertensive drugs, 07.85% NSAIDs, 07.66% asthmatic drugs, 03.57% antidepressants, and 04.40% supplements of drugs. The study resolved that drugs were prescribed as monotherapy was 49.76%, two drug therapy were 36.61%, three-drug therapy were 08.45% and four-drug therapy was 05.16%. In this study, 426 anti-diabetic drugs prescribed, among that, the physician’s most well-liked single-drug therapy more than multiple drug therapy and also the most often prescribed category was Biguanides category of anti-diabetic agents. Among Biguanides, Metformin was the foremost often utilized anti-diabetic drugs. The foremost prevalent combination of the drug was a two-drug therapy of Biguanides +sulfonylureas, among these combinations, Metformin + Glimipride was the foremost often utilized anti-diabetic drugs. Followed by 3 drug therapy were Biguanides +sulfonyl ureas+ thiazolidinedione and 4 drug therapies were Biguanides + sulfonylureas + DPP 4 inhibitors + thiazolidinedione.Pharmacists can contribute drastically to promote the rational use of medicines, even in resource-limited settings. This, of course, requires strong collaboration between different institutions and commitments of the pharmacists to the cause. Pharmacist medication review, patient counseling and telephone follow-up can limit the Adverse Drug Reactions. Medication discrepancies before and after discharge were common targets of intervention

Exploring the factors contributing to increase in facility child births in Bangladesh between 2004 and 2017-2018

Although Bangladesh has gained rapid improvement in births at health facilities, yet far behind to achieve the SDG target. Assessing the contribution of factors in increased use of delivery at facilities are important to demonstrate. To explore the determinants and their contribution in explaining increased use of facility child births in Bangladesh. Reproductive-aged women (15-49 years) of Bangladesh. We used the latest five rounds (2004, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2017-2018) of Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (BDHSs). The regression based classical decomposition approach has been used to explore the determinants and their contribution in explaining the increased use of facility child birth. A sample of 26,686 reproductive-aged women were included in the analysis, 32.90% (8780) from the urban and 67.10% (17,906) from the rural area. We observed a 2.4-fold increase in delivery at facilities from 2004 to 2017-2018, in rural areas it is more than three times higher than the urban areas. The change in mean delivery at facilities is about 1.8 whereas, the predicted change is 1.4. In our full sample model antenatal care visits contribute the largest predicted change of 22.3%, wealth and education contributes 17.3% and 15.3% respectively. For the rural area health indicator (prenatal doctor visit) is the largest drivers contributing 42.7% of the predicted change, hereafter education, demography and wealth. However, in urban area education and health contributed equally 32.0% of the change followed by demography (26.3%) and wealth (9.7%). Demographic variables (maternal BMI, birth order, age at marriage) contributing more than two-thirds (41.2%) of the predicted change in the model without the health variables. All models showed more than 60.0% predictive power. Health sector interventions should focus both coverage and quality of maternal health care services to sustain steady improvements in child birth facilities. [Abstract copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

An S-Band Microstrip Patch Antenna Design and Simulation for Wireless Communication Systems

In this paper, a 3.5 GHz microstrip patch antenna for the future of wireless communication is designed and studied. As a substrate, Rogers RT/Duroid5880 is utilized. This material has a thickness of 0.077mm and a dielectric loss of 2.2. The proposed antenna layout is simulated using the CST studio suite of software programs. This research aimed to achieve a lower return loss, higher gain, lower VSWR, directivity, and improved efficiency. The simulation revealed that the return loss, gain, VSWR, and directivity were correspondingly -13.772 dB, 7.55 dB, 1.5152, and 8.43dBi. The efficiency was 89.56%. This antenna has been developed and assessed for use in various wireless communication applications with a 3.5 GHz operating frequency, which is used as a reference antenna in communication satellites, weather radar, surface ship radar, wireless LAN-802.11b and 802.11g, multimedia applications in mobile TV and satellite radio, optical communications at 1460 to 1530 nm wavelength, and is utilized for other wireless fidelity applications

Vegan diets : practical advice for athletes and exercisers.

With the growth of social media as a platform to share information, veganism is becoming more visible, and could be becoming more accepted in sports and in the health and fitness industry. However, to date, there appears to be a lack of literature that discusses how to manage vegan diets for athletic purposes. This article attempted to review literature in order to provide recommendations for how to construct a vegan diet for athletes and exercisers. While little data could be found in the sports nutrition literature specifically, it was revealed elsewhere that veganism creates challenges that need to be accounted for when designing a nutritious diet. This included the sufficiency of energy and protein; the adequacy of vitamin B12, iron, zinc, calcium, iodine and vitamin D; and the lack of the long-chain n-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA in most plant-based sources. However, via the strategic management of food and appropriate supplementation, it is the contention of this article that a nutritive vegan diet can be designed to achieve the dietary needs of most athletes satisfactorily. Further, it was suggested here that creatine and β-alanine supplementation might be of particular use to vegan athletes, owing to vegetarian diets promoting lower muscle creatine and lower muscle carnosine levels in consumers. Empirical research is needed to examine the effects of vegan diets in athletic populations however, especially if this movement grows in popularity, to ensure that the health and performance of athletic vegans is optimised in accordance with developments in sports nutrition knowledge

Graphene Oxide-Gallic Acid Nanodelivery System for Cancer Therapy

Despite the technological advancement in the biomedical science, cancer remains a life-threatening disease. In this study, we designed an anticancer nanodelivery system using graphene oxide (GO) as nanocarrier for an active anticancer agent gallic acid (GA). The successful formation nanocomposite (GOGA) was characterized using XRD, FTIR, HRTEM, Raman, and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The release study shows that the release of GA from the designed anticancer nanocomposite (GOGA) occurs in a sustained manner in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution at pH 7.4. In in vitro biological studies, normal fibroblast (3T3) and liver cancer cells (HepG2) were treated with different concentrations of GO, GOGA, and GA for 72 h. The GOGA nanocomposite showed the inhibitory effect to cancer cell growth without affecting normal cell growth. The results of this research are highly encouraging to go further for in vivo studies

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)