Comparison of polyester-cotton blended yarns produced by blending of polyester with semi-combed and super-carded cotton fibres

Polyester-cotton blended yarns have been produced with the combination of two different types of blending, viz. blowroom and drawframe and two different methods of removing short fibres, viz. semi-combing and super-carding as the later method is economical. It is found that the yarns produced using blowroom blending method show better yarn quality as compared to that of drawframe blending with respect to evenness, imperfections, classified faults and tensile strength. Compared to the yarn produced using polyester-semi combed cotton and drawframe blending, the yarn produced using polyester-super carded cotton and blowroom blending gives better quality yarn

High-affinity, neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 can be made without T follicular helper cells

T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are the conventional drivers of protective, germinal center (GC)-based antiviral antibody responses. However, loss of Tfh cells and GCs has been observed in patients with severe COVID-19. As T cell-B cell interactions and immunoglobulin class switching still occur in these patients, non-canonical pathways of antibody production may be operative during SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found that both Tfh-dependent and -independent antibodies were induced against SARS-CoV-2 infection, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, and influenza A virus infection. Even though Tfh-independent antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 had evidence of reduced somatic hypermutation, they were still high-affinity, durable, and reactive against diverse spike-derived epitopes and were capable of neutralizing both homologous SARS-CoV-2 and the B.1.351 (beta) variant of concern. Indeed, we found by epitope mapping and BCR sequencing that Tfh cells focused the B cell response and therefore, in the absence of Tfh cells, a more diverse clonal repertoire was maintained. These data support an alternative pathway for the induction of B cell responses during viral infection that enables effective, neutralizing antibody production to complement traditional GC-derived antibodies that might compensate for GCs damaged by viral inflammation

Mixed Layer Budget Terms on Acoustic Propagation A Study based on the Butterfly Track Experiment in the South Eastern Arabian Sea

A butterfly type of repeat track cruise was carried out in the South Eastern Arabian Sea (off Minicoy) onboard INS Sagardhwani during July 2016 to Aug 2016. We have also made use of the data from OMNI buoy, AD09, which is about 6 km close to the centre station of butterfly track. Air sea flux, the horizontal current data from AD09 and the time series data collected from the butterfly experiment were analyzed to compute the mixed layer heat and salt budget. The short-term thermo-haline variability off Minicoy, relative contribution of heat/salt budget terms in MLD and its effects on acoustic propagation are addressed in this paper. In this study, we found that most dominating term in the mixed layer heat budget estimation is net surface heat flux followed by the advective terms. However the salinity in the mixed layer is dominated by the contribution of buoyancy mixing due to night time evaporative cooling. During the calm, sunny day, the so-called afternoon effect due to the diurnal heating restricts the sonar range. But during the windy day, the wind/wave mixing prevents the warming of the surface layer which in turn enhances the sonar range. Similarly, the night time cooling also enhance the acoustic propagation range. The presence of Arabian Sea High Salinity Watermass in the surface layer also enhances the acoustic propagation

Flagellin is a strong vaginal adjuvant of a therapeutic vaccine for genital cancer

Cervical cancer is a high-incidence female cancer most commonly caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infection of the genital mucosa. Immunotherapy targeting HPV-derived tumor antigens (TAs) has been widely studied in animal models and in patients. Because the female genital tract is a portal for the entry of HPV and a highly compartmentalized system, the development of topical vaginal immunotherapy in an orthotopic cancer model would provide an ideal therapeutic. Thus, we examined whether flagellin, a potent mucosal immunomodulator, could be used as an adjuvant for a topical therapeutic vaccine for female genital cancer. Intravaginal (IVAG) co-administration of the E6/E7 peptides with flagellin resulted in tumor suppression and long-term survival of tumor-bearing mice. In contrast to IVAG vaccination, intranasal (IN) or subcutaneous (SC) immunization did not induce significant tumor suppression in the same model. The vaginal adjuvant effect of the flagellin was completely abolished in Toll-like receptor-5 (TLR5) knock-out mice. IVAG immunization with the E6/E7 peptides plus flagellin induced the accumulation of CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells and the expression of T cell activation-related genes in the draining genital lymph nodes (gLNs). The co-administered flagellin elicited antigen-specific IFN gamma production in the gLNs and spleen. The intravaginally administered flagellin was found in association with CD11c(+) cells in the gLNs. Moreover, after immunization with a flagellin and the E6/E7 peptides, the TLR5 expression in gLN cells was significantly upregulated. These results suggest that flagellin serves as a potent vaginal adjuvant for a therapeutic peptide cancer vaccine through the activation of TLR5 signaling.1166sciescopu

Manipulation of Costimulatory Molecules by Intracellular Pathogens: Veni, Vidi, Vici!!

Some of the most successful pathogens of human, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), HIV, and Leishmania donovani not only establish chronic infections but also remain a grave global threat. These pathogens have developed innovative strategies to evade immune responses such as antigenic shift and drift, interference with antigen processing/presentation, subversion of phagocytosis, induction of immune regulatory pathways, and manipulation of the costimulatory molecules. Costimulatory molecules expressed on the surface of various cells play a decisive role in the initiation and sustenance of immunity. Exploitation of the “code of conduct” of costimulation pathways provides evolutionary incentive to the pathogens and thereby abates the functioning of the immune system. Here we review how Mtb, HIV, Leishmania sp., and other pathogens manipulate costimulatory molecules to establish chronic infection. Impairment by pathogens in the signaling events delivered by costimulatory molecules may be responsible for defective T-cell responses; consequently organisms grow unhindered in the host cells. This review summarizes the convergent devices that pathogens employ to tune and tame the immune system using costimulatory molecules. Studying host-pathogen interaction in context with costimulatory signals may unveil the molecular mechanism that will help in understanding the survival/death of the pathogens. We emphasize that the very same pathways can potentially be exploited to develop immunotherapeutic strategies to eliminate intracellular pathogens

A Study on Consumer Behaviour during COVID’19 Pandemic: A Paradigm Shift of Retail Sectors in Kerala

The world is getting encrusted with unexpected changes, due to COVID-19, which has pilfered the normality of the everyday life of individuals. People are in the period of transition towards a forced learning behaviour of social distancing, wearing mask and sanitizing commonly abbreviated as SMS during pandemic. This paper particularly deals with the change of consumer buying behaviour during COVID-19 and understands the challenges if any forth future retail sectors. The study found that the majority of customers are anxious about the pandemic situation and preference for online purchases has increased. It is seen that the demand for unorganized retailers like local retailers, kiranas and online retailers has increased considerably while demand for organized retailers has decreased during pandemic

Comparison of polyester-cotton blended yarns produced by blending of polyester with semi-combed and super-carded cotton fibres

31-35Polyester-cotton blended yarns have been produced with the combination of two different types of blending, viz. blowroom and drawframe and two different methods of removing short fibres, viz. semi-combing and super-carding as the later method is economical. It is found that the yarns produced using blowroom blending method show better yarn quality as compared to that of drawframe blending with respect to evenness, imperfections, classified faults and tensile strength. Compared to the yarn produced using polyester-semi combed cotton and drawframe blending, the yarn produced using polyester-super carded cotton and blowroom blending gives better quality yarn. </span

High-affinity, neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 can be made in the absence of T follicular helper cells [preprint]

T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are the conventional drivers of protective, germinal center (GC)-based antiviral antibody responses. However, loss of Tfh cells and GCs has been observed in patients with severe COVID-19. As T cell-B cell interactions and immunoglobulin class switching still occur in these patients, non-canonical pathways of antibody production may be operative during SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found that both Tfh-dependent and -independent antibodies were induced against SARS-CoV-2 as well as influenza A virus. Tfh-independent responses were mediated by a population we call lymph node (LN)-Th1 cells, which remain in the LN and interact with B cells outside of GCs to promote high-affinity but broad-spectrum antibodies. Strikingly, antibodies generated in the presence and absence of Tfh cells displayed similar neutralization potency against homologous SARS-CoV-2 as well as the B.1.351 variant of concern. These data support a new paradigm for the induction of B cell responses during viral infection that enables effective, neutralizing antibody production to complement traditional GCs and even compensate for GCs damaged by viral inflammation