Search

Background: The intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 presents both opportunities and challenges. AI has the potential to enhance healthcare delivery by improving diagnostic accuracy, enabling personalized treatment approaches, and facilitating remote healthcare services through telemedicine. AI-driven technologies can also streamline administrative tasks, optimize resource allocation, and support evidence-based decision-making in healthcare settings. Objective: This study seeks to identify challenges and opportunities for utilizing AI to advance global health objectives to support Sustainable Development Goal 3 Methodology: A review of existing literature was carried out to evaluate the current landscape of AI applications in healthcare and its potential implications for SDG achievement. We identified constraints such as data bias, ethical considerations, and accessibility barriers, and looked at the potential remedies and strategies for maximizing the positive impact of AI in healthcare. Conclusion: There exists significant hurdles into the integration of AI into healthcare however there are promising prospects for enhancing healthcare delivery, disease prevention, and drug discovery processes. By addressing issues such as data bias, ethical dilemmas, and accessibility challenges, AI holds the potential to revolutionize healthcare systems on a global scale. Embracing AI technologies can contribute significantly to realizing SDGs pertaining to health and well-being, thereby fostering more sustainable and equitable healthcare practices.

Subsistence fishery for cephalopods contributes significantly to the local economy of several Asian, African and island states. In addition to being unregulated and undocumented, recent studies indicate that low-scale fisheries can have detrimental effects on marine ecosystems. In the Lakshadweep islands, men, women and children have been involved in spear fishing for octopus for a long time, but there is a paucity of information on the biology and fishery of the octopus species in Indian waters. In this study, we estimated the population abundance, morphometry and sex ratio of Octopus cyanea. Moreover, we examined whether the current octopus spear fishing activity displayed size or sex selectivity, given that larger individuals are easier to spot and brooding females spend more time in crevices. O. cyanea surveys were conducted by snorkeling in the lagoons of Kavaratti and Agatti islands between November 2008 and April 2012. The estimated mean density of O. cyanea was 3 and 2.5 individuals per hectare in Agatti and Kavaratti, respectively. Individual mean weight was 923.36 g and 846.26 g in Agatti and Kavaratti and the male:female sex ratio 1.35:1 and 3.8:1, respectively. Comparison between visual counts and fisheries landings indicated that fishing effort was concentrated in areas of high juvenile abundance but without female-bias. Constructing a long-term database of fishery catches will help with stock assessment and understanding the factors that influence octopus populations. Implementation of a lower size limit of 500 g would act as a precautionary measure against catching very small octopuses.

Background: Invasive fungal sinusitis (IFS) can present as a mild disease to life-threatening infection. A recent surge in cases was seen due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Many patients require surgical debridement and hence imaging [contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) of the paranasal sinuses (PNS)] to document the extent of the disease. However, there was no scoring system using CECT to describe the severity of IFS. This study proposes a computed tomography (CT) severity index (CTSI) to describe the severity of rhino-orbital-cerebral involvement in symptomatic COVID-19 patients and hypothesizes that higher CTSI correlates with disease severity and thus slow response/non-response to treatment., Aim: To propose a scoring system using CECT to describe the severity of IFS and correlate it with clinical outcomes., Methods: A prospective study on 66 COVID-19 positive patients with CECT PNS done for IFS was performed. Split-bolus single-phase CT technique was used. Based on the extent of involvement, a CTSI was designed. Disease in four major subsite areas was assessed. Each subsite involvement was given points according to this model and then summated. Based on the final summated CTSI, the disease was classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Two subsets were subsequently analyzed including survival and death; and responders and non-responders., Results: The study cohort was 66 COVID-19-positive patients with suspected IFS with a median age of 48.5 years. Mild disease was noted in 34 (51.52%), moderate in 28 (42.42%), and severe disease in 4 (6.06%) patients. There was a significant association of mortality and poor clinical response ( P = 0.02) with disease bilaterality. Laterality and CTSI were significant predictors of response to treatment. The mean CTSI of responders was 6.3, of non-responders was 12.9 and the response to treatment was significantly associated with CTSI ( t -test, P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (Liu method) to distinguish between responders and non-responders showed that the cut-off value for CTSI of 11 had a sensitivity of 78.26% and a specificity of 95.35% to predict response assessment., Conclusion: CTSI can help in quantification of the disease burden, mapping out disease extent, triaging patients, and response assessment; especially patients with underlying comorbidities. A higher score would alert the clinician to initiate aggressive treatment, as severe disease correlates with slow response/non-response to the treatment., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors of this manuscript have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Polycomb group (PcG) proteinB lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog (BMI1) is a transcriptional repressor that plays an important role in human carcinogenesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small non-coding RNAsthat implicate a negative regulation on gene expression. Deregulation of the expression of miRNAs has been implicated in tumorigenesis. Here, we have shown that knock-down ofBMI1increases theexpression of tumor-suppressivemiRNAs. Elevated levels of expression of miR-200a, miR-200b, miR-15a, miR-429, miR-203were observed upon knock-down of BMI1. Up-regulation of these miRNAsleads to down-regulation ofPRC1 group of proteins i.e. BMI1, RING1A, RING1B and Ub-H2A. Interestingly, overexpression of miR-200a, miR-200b and miR-15aalso produced decreased BMI1 and Ub-H2A protein expression in the CD44+ Cancer Stem Cellpopulation of MDAMB-231cells. Also,elevating the levels of BMI1 regulated miRNAspromoted Mesenchymal to Epithelial transition by regulating the expression of N-Cadherin, Vimentin, β-Catenin, Zeb, Snail thereby resulting in decreased invasion, migration and proliferation. Here, we also report that miR-200a, miR-200b, miR-203 accretes the sensitivity of MDAMB-231 cells to the histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) SAHA and miR-15a sensitized breast cancer cells to the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin leading to apoptosis. These findings suggest that modulatingspecific miRNAs may serve as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of breast cancer.

Tick-borne bacteria, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma platys, and Ehrlichia chaffeensis are significant pathogens of dogs worldwide, and coinfections of E. canis and A. platys are common in dogs on the Caribbean islands. We developed and evaluated the performance of a multiplex bead-based assay to detect antibodies to E. canis, A. platys, and E. chaffeensis peptides in dogs from Grenada, West Indies, where E. canis and A. platys infections are endemic. Peptides from outer membrane proteins of P30 of E. canis, OMP-1X of A. platys, and P28-19/P28-14 of E. chaffeensis were coupled to magnetic beads. The multiplex peptide assay detected antibodies in dogs experimentally infected with E. canis and E. chaffeensis, but not in an A. platys experimentally infected dog. In contrast, the multiplex assay and an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detected A. platys antibodies in naturally infected Grenadian dogs. Following testing of 104 Grenadian canine samples, multiplex assay results had good agreement with commercially available ELISA and immunofluorescent assay for E. canis antibody-positive dogs ( K values of 0.73 and 0.84), whereas A. platys multiplex results had poor agreement with these commercial assays ( K values of -0.02 and 0.01). Prevalence of seropositive E. canis and A. platys Grenadian dogs detected by the multiplex and commercial antibody assays were similar to previous reports. Although the multiplex peptide assay performed well in detecting the seropositive status of dogs to E. canis and had good agreement with commercial assays, better antigen targets are necessary for the antibody detection of A. platys.

Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a tick-borne rickettsial pathogen and the causative agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis. Transmitted by the Amblyomma americanum tick, E. chaffeensis also causes disease in several other vertebrate species including white-tailed deer and dogs. We have recently described the generation of an attenuated mutant strain of E. chaffeensis, with a mutation in the Ech&#95;0660 gene, which is able to confer protection from secondary, intravenous-administered, wild-type E. chaffeensis infection in dogs. Here, we extend our previous results, demonstrating that vaccination with the Ech&#95;0660 mutant protects dogs from physiologic, tick-transmitted, secondary challenge with wild-type E. chaffeensis; and describing, for the first time, the cellular and humoral immune responses induced by Ech&#95;0660 mutant vaccination and wild-type E. chaffeensis infection in the canine host. Both vaccination and infection induced a rise in E. chaffeensis-specific antibody titers and a significant Th1 response in peripheral blood as measured by E. chaffeensis antigen-dependent CD4+ T cell proliferation and IFNγ production. Further, we describe for the first time significant IL-17 production by peripheral blood leukocytes from both Ech&#95;0660 mutant vaccinated animals and control animals infected with wild-type E. chaffeensis, suggesting a previously unrecognized role for IL-17 and Th17 cells in the immune response to rickettsial pathogens. Our results are a critical first step towards defining the role of the immune system in vaccine-induced protection from E. chaffeensis infection in an incidental host; and confirm the potential of the attenuated mutant clone, Ech&#95;0660, to be used as a vaccine candidate for protection against tick-transmitted E. chaffeensis infection.

Dogs acquire infections with the Anaplasmataceae family pathogens, E. canis, E. chaffeensis, E. ewingii, A. platys and A. phagocytophilum mostly during summer months when ticks are actively feeding on animals. These pathogens are also identified as causing diseases in people. Despite the long history of tick-borne diseases in dogs, much remains to be defined pertaining to the clinical and pathological outcomes of infections with these pathogens. In the current study, we performed experimental infections in dogs with E. canis, E. chaffeensis, A. platys and A. phagocytophilum. Animals were monitored for 42 days to evaluate infection-specific clinical, hematological and pathological differences. All four pathogens caused systemic persistent infections detectible throughout the 6 weeks of infection assessment. Fever was frequently detected in animals infected with E. canis, E. chaffeensis, and A. platys, but not in dogs infected with A. phagocytophilum. Hematological differences were evident in all four infected groups, although significant overlap existed between the groups. A marked reduction in packed cell volume that correlated with reduced erythrocytes and hemoglobin was observed only in E. canis infected animals. A decline in platelet numbers was common with E. canis, A. platys and A. phagocytophilum infections. Histopathological lesions in lung, liver and spleen were observed in all four groups of infected dogs; infection with E. canis had the highest pathological scores, followed by E. chaffeensis, then A. platys and A. phagocytophilum. All four pathogens induced IgG responses starting on day 7 post infection, which was predominantly comprised of IgG2 subclass antibodies. This is the first detailed investigation comparing the infection progression and host responses in dogs after inoculation with four pathogens belonging to the Anaplasmataceae family. The study revealed a significant overlap in clinical, hematological and pathological changes resulting from the infections.

Ehrlichia chaffeensis, a tick-borne rickettsial, is responsible for human monocytic ehrlichiosis. In this study, we assessed E. chaffeensis insertion mutations impacting the transcription of genes near the insertion sites. We presented evidence that the mutations within the E. chaffeensis genome at four genomic locations cause polar effects in altering gene expressions. We also reported mutations causing attenuated growth in deer (the pathogen's reservoir host) and in dog (an incidental host), but not in its tick vector, Amblyomma americanum. This is the first study documenting insertion mutations in E. chaffeensis that cause polar effects in altering gene expression from the genes located upstream and downstream to insertion sites and the differential requirements of functionally active genes of the pathogen for its persistence in vertebrate and tick hosts. This study is important in furthering our knowledge on E. chaffeensis pathogenesis.

Ehrlichia chaffeensis, a tick-borne rickettsial organism, causes the disease human monocytic ehrlichiosis. The pathogen also causes disease in several other vertebrates, including dogs and deer. In this study, we assessed two clonally purified E. chaffeensis mutants with insertions within the genes Ech&#95;0379 and Ech&#95;0660 as vaccine candidates in deer and dogs. Infection with the Ech&#95;0379 mutant and challenge with wild-type E. chaffeensis 1 month following inoculation with the mutant resulted in the reduced presence of the organism in blood compared to the presence of wild-type infection in both deer and dogs. The Ech&#95;0660 mutant infection resulted in its rapid clearance from the bloodstream. The wild-type infection challenge following Ech&#95;0660 mutant inoculation also caused the pathogen's clearance from blood and tissue samples as assessed at the end of the study. The Ech&#95;0379 mutant-infected and -challenged animals also remained positive for the organism in tissue samples in deer but not in dogs. This is the first study that documents that insertion mutations in E. chaffeensis that cause attenuated growth confer protection against wild-type infection challenge. This study is important in developing vaccines to protect animals and people against Ehrlichia species infections., (Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)

Ehrlichia chaffeensis, transmitted from Amblyomma americanum ticks, causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis. It also infects white-tailed deer, dogs and several other vertebrates. Deer are its reservoir hosts, while humans and dogs are incidental hosts. E. chaffeensis protein expression is influenced by its growth in macrophages and tick cells. We report here infection progression in deer or dogs infected intravenously with macrophage- or tick cell-grown E. chaffeensis or by tick transmission in deer. Deer and dogs developed mild fever and persistent rickettsemia; the infection was detected more frequently in the blood of infected animals with macrophage inoculum compared to tick cell inoculum or tick transmission. Tick cell inoculum and tick transmission caused a drop in tick infection acquisition rates compared to infection rates in ticks fed on deer receiving macrophage inoculum. Independent of deer or dogs, IgG antibody response was higher in animals receiving macrophage inoculum against macrophage-derived Ehrlichia antigens, while it was significantly lower in the same animals against tick cell-derived Ehrlichia antigens. Deer infected with tick cell inoculum and tick transmission caused a higher antibody response to tick cell cultured bacterial antigens compared to the antibody response for macrophage cultured antigens for the same animals. The data demonstrate that the host cell-specific E. chaffeensis protein expression influences rickettsemia in a host and its acquisition by ticks. The data also reveal that tick cell-derived inoculum is similar to tick transmission with reduced rickettsemia, IgG response and tick acquisition of E. chaffeensis.

Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a tick transmitted pathogen responsible for the disease human monocytic ehrlichiosis. Research to elucidate gene function in rickettsial pathogens is limited by the lack of genetic manipulation methods. Mutational analysis was performed, targeting to specific and random insertion sites within the bacterium's genome. Targeted mutagenesis at six genomic locations by homologous recombination and mobile group II intron-based methods led to the consistent identification of mutants in two genes and in one intergenic site; the mutants persisted in culture for 8 days. Three independent experiments using Himar1 transposon mutagenesis of E. chaffeensis resulted in the identification of multiple mutants; these mutants grew continuously in macrophage and tick cell lines. Nine mutations were confirmed by sequence analysis. Six insertions were located within non-coding regions and three were present in the coding regions of three transcriptionally active genes. The intragenic mutations prevented transcription of all three genes. Transposon mutants containing a pool of five different insertions were assessed for their ability to infect deer and subsequent acquisition by Amblyomma americanum ticks, the natural reservoir and vector, respectively. Three of the five mutants with insertions into non-coding regions grew well in deer. Transposition into a differentially expressed hypothetical gene, Ech&#95;0379, and at 18 nucleotides downstream to Ech&#95;0230 gene coding sequence resulted in the inhibition of growth in deer, which is further evidenced by their failed acquisition by ticks. Similarly, a mutation into the coding region of ECH&#95;0660 gene inhibited the in vivo growth in deer. This is the first study evaluating targeted and random mutagenesis in E. chaffeensis, and the first to report the generation of stable mutants in this obligate intracellular bacterium. We further demonstrate that in vitro mutagenesis coupled with in vivo infection assessment is a successful strategy in identifying genomic regions required for the pathogen's in vivo growth.