Immunoinformatics Approach to T-cell Epitopes in Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is major human disease which belongs to lentivirus (retrovirus). It is a major cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive. A number of ways for transmission of HIV form human to another human through the blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate or breast milk has been proved. An urgent need arises to establish antigen based immunodiagnostic for earlier monitoring of HIV and development of vaccines. In the present study, we have identified two major proteins i.e. ENV and NEF for identification of T-cell epitopes. We used two well established immunoinformatics tools Propred and Propred1 for identification. We identified a novel T-cell epitope for major histocompatibility complex class I and II with highest binding affinity. These finding provide a new insight for development of antigen based diagnostic kit and peptide based vaccine designing for controlling of AIDS

Changes in elemental composition of scales of Channa punctatus on treatment with mercury

In the present study different regions in the scales of Channa punctatus were investigated for elemental composition to see the impact of mercury on them. Five sublethal concentrations of mercury were used after calculating the LC50 value which is 1.21mg/L in 96 hours. When focal and lepidontal regions of scales were seen under electron probe analysis (JEOL 8600M), they were composed of four major elements and these are: calcium (Ca); iron (Fe); aluminium (Al); and phosphorus (P). The percent composition of calcium was recorded to be maximum, followed by phosphorus, aluminium and iron. The percent composition of each element upon exposure to mercury was compared to corresponding control and the deviations were observed. When fish was exposed to different sublethal concentrations of mercury for 15d and 30d, an increase was observed in percentage composition of aluminium and phosphorus, whereas reverse trend was noticed for calcium and iron

Study of Public Perception about Health Hazards and Risks by Electromagnetic Emission from Cell Phones and Base Stations in India

Telecom wireless communication is changing from slow to fast, voice to data centric changing technologies earlier we already have 2G, 3G, & now 4G & future is about 5G. With this tele-density is increasing & user’s demand of higher bandwidth has become need of the hour, whether it is transactions, education, social networking etc. All this need network expansion to share the load to accommodate newer technologies. Hence need for more mobile towers, more micro sites, here comes the role of public perception how they look at these new technologies & hyped health hazards by media/ activists associated with EMF used in mobile communication. If the perception is negative, there would be protest by public in installing near towers as well as removing existing ones. It is therefore vital to understand the gap between scientific assessment of emission from tower & phone instrument & public perception. How this gap can be narrowed? What policy should be adopted by Govt.? Whether precautionary steps are helpful? Role of media are to be examined by way of primary data collected & secondary data taken DOT, TRAI, WHO etc. With the help of primary data collected from the four largest states (area wise Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh(MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP), Maharashtra)with the help of 30 questions, this article seeks to explore the public perception about health hazards, Fischhoff

The Potentiality of Selected Strain of PGPR: Azotobacter, for Sustainable Agriculture in India

In modern agriculture, large numbers of pesticides are being used to inhibit pests to get maximum crop production .The rapidly growing industrialization along with an increasing population has resulted in the accumulation of a wide variety of chemicals. One promising treatment method is to exploit the ability of microorganisms to remove pollutants from contaminated sites. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are a group of free-living bacteria that can be found in the rhizosphere and contribute to enhance the growth and yield of crop plants. In the last few decades, many microorganisms show positive effect on plant development. Azotobacter has been used as a potential nitrogenous fertilizer to increase crop growth. Azotobacter has the capacity of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, it include the production of plant hormones like auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins, nitrogen fixation, These qualities makes Azotobacter the most successful and widespread group among the PGPR, as well as they produce substances that change the plant growth and morphology. Co-inoculants of Azotobacter with Rhizobium has been reduced water stress and  dual inoculation of Azospirillium and Azotobacter significantly increased the concentrations of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), Potassium, Megnisium, Nitrogen and total soluble sugars (TSS). Azotobacter increases the tolerance capacity of plants. Azotobacter inoculum with high yielding EPS (exopolysaccharides) and high nitrogen fixing ability can be utilized to satisfy the future demand of augmented crop production attributed to increase plant growth promoting agents

Use of fish scales as a tool for research - A Review

Various kinds of scales are found in fishes which are derived from the connective tissue of the dermis and form the exoskeleton. Scales of the fishes had been used as tool for experimental justifications. Structurally they are composed of circuli, radii, focal region and chromatophores region. Scales of fish are used for classification, identification and growth studies of different fishes, pollution indicators etc

Role of Osmolytes in Amyloidosis

Osmolytes are naturally occurring small organic molecules present in all kingdoms of life. These organic molecules are accumulated by living systems to circumvent stress conditions. A number of human diseases have been grouped under the protein-misfolding diseases. These entire diseases share the same hallmarks of the presence of cellular inclusions and plaques that are deposited in the cells and tissues affected by the disease. These misfolded forms of protein are responsible for initiating toxic cascades in the cell, causing vesicle dystrafficking, synaptic and cell organelle dysfunction, and ultimately cell death. Published results suggest that cells regulate many biological processes such as protein folding, protein disaggregation, and protein-protein interactions via accumulation of specific osmolytes. Since, as of now, complete cure for these protein-misfolding disorders does not exist; therefore, it becomes increasingly important to review the recent works on this aspect to develop strategies for therapeutics. It has been shown that certain osmolytes can prevent the proteins from misfolding. Thus, osmolytes can be utilized as therapeutics for such diseases. In this review article, we discuss the role of naturally occurring osmolytes in various forms of amyloidosis associated with human diseases

Tau and mTOR: The Hotspots for Multifarious Diseases in Alzheimer's Development

The hyperphosphorylation of tau protein and the overexpression of mTOR are considered to be the driving force behind Aβ plaques and Neurofibrillay Tangles (NFT's), hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is now evident that miscellaneous diseases such as Diabetes, Autoimmune diseases, Cancer, etc. are correlated with AD. Therefore, we reviewed the literature on the causes of AD and investigated the association of tau and mTOR with other diseases. We have discussed the role of insulin deficiency in diabetes, activated microglial cells, and dysfunction of blood-brain barrier (BBB) in Autoimmune diseases, Presenilin 1 in skin cancer, increased reactive species in mitochondrial dysfunction and deregulated Cyclins/CDKs in promoting AD pathogenesis. We have also discussed the possible therapeutics for AD such as GSK3 inactivation therapy, Rechaperoning therapy, Immunotherapy, Hormonal therapy, Metal chelators, Cell cycle therapy, γ-secretase modulators, and Cholinesterase and BACE 1-inhibitors which are thought to serve a major role in combating pathological changes coupled with AD. Recent research about the relationship between mTOR and aging and hepatic Aβ degradation offers possible targets to effectively target AD. Future prospects of AD aims at developing novel drugs and modulators that can potentially improve cell to cell signaling, prevent Aβ plaques formation, promote better release of neurotransmitters and prevent hyperphosphorylation of tau

Natural rubber latex allergy

Natural rubber latex (NRL) is a ubiquitous allergen as it is a component of > 40,000 products in everyday life. Latex allergy might be attributed to skin contact or inhalation of latex particles. Latex allergy is an IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to NRL, presenting a wide range of clinical symptoms such as angioedema, swelling, cough, asthma, and anaphylactic reactions. Until 1979, latex allergy appeared only as type IV delayed hypersensitivity; subsequently, the proportion of different allergy types drifted towards type IV contact allergy reactions. Several risk factors for sensitization to NRL are already known and well documented. Some authors have established a positive correlation between a history of multiple surgical interventions, atopy, spina bifida malformation, and latex allergy incidence. We suspect an increase in latex allergy incidence in association with increased atopy and sensitivity to environmental allergens in the industrial population. It is often postulated in literature that the groups of workers at risk for this allergy are essentially workers in the latex industry and healthcare professionals. In this population, direct internal and mucosal contact with NRL medical devices may be the route of sensitization as factors such as the number of procedures and use of NRL materials (catheters and tubes) were associated with increased risk of latex sensitization and allergy