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Dietary interventions with bioactive compounds have been found to suppress the accumulation of senescent cells and senescence-associated secretory phenotypes (SASPs). One such compound, curcumin (CUR), has beneficial health and biological effects, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but its ability to prevent hepatic cellular senescence is unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary CUR as an antioxidant on hepatic cellular senescence and determine its benefits on aged mice. We screened the hepatic transcriptome and found that CUR supplementation led to the downregulation of senescence-associated hepatic gene expressions in both usually fed and nutritionally challenged aged mice. Our results showed that CUR supplementation enhanced antioxidant properties and suppressed mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascades in the liver, particularly c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in aged mice and p38 in diet-induced obese aged mice. Furthermore, dietary CUR decreased the phosphorylation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), a downstream transcription factor of JNK and p38, and inhibited the mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines and SASPs. The potency of CUR administration was demonstrated in aged mice via enhanced insulin homeostasis along with declined body weight. Taken together, these results suggest that CUR supplementation may be a nutritional strategy to prevent hepatic cellular senescence.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Pregnancy and postpartum are vulnerable periods for mental health problems and distress. Studies conducted worldwide have highlighted the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in adding to the rates of depression and anxiety in the perinatal period. However, there are very few reports on mothers who were identified as having COVID-19 infection at the time of childbirth. OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to find the prevalence of depression and anxiety among pregnant women who were admitted for labor and tested positive for COVID-19 infection. We also aimed to study the association of various sociodemographic, social support, and obstetrical factors and that of COVID-19-related worries with depression and anxiety. STUDY DESIGN: The study was conducted at the obstetrics inpatient setting in a public hospital in New Delhi, which had a separate designated COVID-19 block. Pregnant and postpartum women >18 years of age who were admitted to the COVID-19 maternity ward for delivery were included for this study. The women were interviewed within the first week of admission and after 6 to 8 weeks of childbirth. The sociodemographic and obstetrical details and COVID-19-related worries and concerns were assessed. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire version 9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale, respectively.The normally distributed variables are expressed as mean±standard deviation and continuous variables with skewed distribution as median (interquartile range). The categorical data presented as proportions of categorical variables were compared using the chi-square or the Fischer exact test. All the tests are 2-sided, with a significance level of 5%. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 24. The rates of depression and anxiety were calculated and univariate analysis was done to identify the factors associated with moderate and severe anxiety and depression using various sociodemographic and obstetrical variables, the total COVID anxiety scale scores, and the social support score. RESULTS: The mean age of the women was 26.86 years (±4.31). Of the 243 women assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire version 9, 168 (69.13%) had mild depressive disorder, and 29 (11.3%) had moderate depressive disorder. Of the 187 women who were assessed at the 6-weeks follow-up, 31 (16.57%) had minimal depression, 131 (70.05%) had mild depression, and 25 (13.36%) had moderate depression. Mild anxiety was seen in 121 cases (49.79%) and 13 (5.34%) had moderate anxiety symptoms. Women reported several worries, especially about the stigma of COVID-19 infection, support for infant care, and access to infant health services. CONCLUSION: Screening for common mental illnesses with the timely identification of associated risk factors should be done, with a liaison between obstetricians and mental health professionals. Obstetricians can address and reassure pregnant women regarding concerns about contracting the infection, worries about the possible effects of COVID-19 on the fetus and the newborn, and concerns about future consultations. In case the worries are out of proportion and necessitate intervention by mental health professionals, referral services should be made available. Hence, identifying and addressing the mental health concerns will help provide the optimum perinatal care during the pandemic.

Combining diagnostic specimens into pools has been considered as a strategy to augment throughput, decrease turnaround time, and leverage resources. This study utilized a multi-parametric approach to assess optimum pool size, impact of automation, and effect of nucleic acid amplification chemistries on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in pooled samples for surveillance testing on the Hologic Panther Fusion® System. Dorfman pooled testing was conducted with previously tested SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal samples using Hologic's Aptima® and Panther Fusion® SARS-CoV-2 Emergency Use Authorization assays. A manual workflow was used to generate pool sizes of 5:1 (five samples: one positive, four negative) and 10:1. An automated workflow was used to generate pool sizes of 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 8:1 and 10:1. The impact of pool size, pooling method, and assay chemistry on sensitivity, specificity, and lower limit of detection (LLOD) was evaluated. Both the Hologic Aptima® and Panther Fusion® SARS-CoV-2 assays demonstrated >85% positive percent agreement between neat testing and pool sizes ≤5:1, satisfying FDA recommendation. Discordant results between neat and pooled testing were more frequent for positive samples with CT>35. Fusion® CT (cycle threshold) values for pooled samples increased as expected for pool sizes of 5:1 (CT increase of 1.92-2.41) and 10:1 (CT increase of 3.03-3.29). The Fusion® assay demonstrated lower LLOD than the Aptima® assay for pooled testing (956 vs 1503 cp/mL, pool size of 5:1). Lowering the cut-off threshold of the Aptima® assay from 560 kRLU (manufacturer's setting) to 350 kRLU improved the assay sensitivity to that of the Fusion® assay for pooled testing. Both Hologic's SARS-CoV-2 assays met the FDA recommended guidelines for percent positive agreement (>85%) for pool sizes ≤5:1. Automated pooling increased test throughput and enabled automated sample tracking while requiring less labor. The Fusion® SARS-CoV-2 assay, which demonstrated a lower LLOD, may be more appropriate for surveillance testing.

Seasonal influence on frozen semen quality in Murrah buffalo breeding bulls was determined. Frozen semen samples of 6 Murrah buffalo bulls were collected and semen frozen in 4 different seasons, viz. winter (Dec-Feb), spring (mid Feb-Apr), summer (May-Jun) and rainy (Jul-Aug) were assessed. Samples (12) of each bull, in a season, were evaluated for sperm motility, viability and acrosome integrity. Motility and other kinematics of spermatozoa during incubation (37°C) at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min of thawing were assessed with computer assisted semen analyzer. Post-thaw sperm total motility and viability differed significantly among the seasons, the highest was in winter. Sperm plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, progressive motility, rapid motility and other CASA evaluated parameters did not differ significantly among the seasons. Higher values of plasma membrane integrity (PMI), progressive motility, rapid motility, average path velocity (VAP), straight line velocity (VSL), curvilinear velocity (VCL), beat cross frequency (BCF), linearity (LIN) and straightness (STR) were obtained in winter season as compared to other seasons. Post-thaw motility at 0 min and 60 min of post-thaw incubation varied significantly between seasons and higher sperm motility was sustained for a longer period in semen cryopreserved in winter followed by rainy season, summer and spring. It can be concluded from this study that buffalo bull semen produced and frozen during winter season resulted in higher sperm motility, viability and postthaw longer survivability in comparison to other seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Methodological literature on qualitative research with children and young people suggests that traditional data collection methods can be strengthened through the use of creative and task-based methods. This article discusses the experience of using one such task-based method called the life grid, to explore the experiences of adolescent children who have a parent with psychotic illness, in the Indian context. Methods: The life grid was adapted for the present study and used with 24 adolescents aged 15–19 years. Feedback about their experience was collected on a five-point rating scale and via open-ended questions. The researchers’ observations and reflections were noted down as field notes. Results: A majority of the adolescents (83%) reported liking the activity. They appreciated the opportunity to use the life grid to generate a holistic perspective of their lives. Difficulties in recalling negative past events and language barriers were some of the challenges in the activity. Conclusions: The life grid appears to be an appropriate and useful tool for qualitative research with adolescents in India. This article contributes to ongoing discussions over culturally relevant methodologies and issues among child researchers in India.

Ubiquitin is a eukaryotic protein with 96% sequence conservation from yeast to human. Ubiquitin plays a central role in protein homeostasis and regulation of protein function. We have reported on the generation of variants of ubiquitin by in vitro evolution in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to advance our understanding of the role of the invariant amino acid residues of ubiquitin in relation to its function. One of the mutants generated, namely Ub EP42, was a dosage-dependent lethal form of the ubiquitin gene, causing lethality to UBI4-deficient cells but not to ubiquitin wild-type cells. In the present study we investigated the functional reasons for the observed lethality. Expression of Ub EP42 in a UBI4-deleted stress-sensitive strain resulted in an increased generation time due to a delayed S phase caused by decreased levels of Cdc28 protein kinase. Cells expressing Ub EP42 displayed heightened sensitivity towards heat stress and exposure to cycloheximide. Furthermore, its expression had a negative effect on the degradation of substrates of the ubiquitin fusion degradation pathway. However, Ub EP42 is incorporated into polyubiquitin chains. Collectively, our results establish that the effects seen with the mutant ubiquitin protein Ub EP42 are not due to malfunction at the stage of polyubiquitination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solar chimney is a passive device that is applied to enhance room ventilation. The chimney could be vertical or inclined. The chimney inclination angle and air inlet opening position are important parameters that greatly affects flow pattern and ventilation rate inside the room. In this study, the effect of air inlet opening position and chimney inclination angle on air change per hour and air flow pattern inside the room was numerically investigated. A numerical simulation using CFD code was used to predict flow pattern. Then the results were compared with published experimental measurements. Find out the effect of air inlet opening position and inclination angle of chimney on mass flow rate at outlet of the chimney.

Modeling involves realizing the mathematical model and extracting the parameters of a quadruple junction solar cell (which have obtained highest efficiencies according to the 2016 NREL efficiency data) like series and parallel resistances, ideality factor (ηi) etc using Genetic algorithm and modeling of the same in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment using the different single junction solar cell models available and determining the efficiencies of each of the subcells. In this paper a four junction cell made of AlGaInP-GaAs-GaInAs-Ge which constitute the subcells of the Quad cell in the descending order of their bandgaps respectively, are modeled in Simulink

The current work outlines the experimental findings of an air heating solar collector integrated with fins and twisted tapes of twist ratio ‘Y=2.66’ for the range of air flow rate from 0.007 kg/s to 0.0158 kg/s. The effects air flow rates on the performance of this new design of the collector have been investigated. The outcomes have also been compared with those of the conventional solar air heater. The performance of the collector with fins and twisted tapes has been perceived to be improved substantially as compared to conventional solar air heater.

The present analytical study reports the effect of fin spacing, mass flow rate and isolation on exergy performance of triangular fin attached SAH. The primary objective of the work is to manifest the condition and parameter combinations that yield high values of exergy efficiency. A computer code has been developed in MATLAB R2016a. The numerical results of triangular fin SAH obtained are compared with that of plain SAH as a measure to evaluate the effectiveness of former over the latter. It is found that lower values of mass flow rate and fin spacing yields maximum exergy efficiency. Exergy efficiency drops continuously thereafter and at higher values of mass flow rate, the exergy efficiency drops even below the exergy efficiency of plain SAH.

Background & objectives: Tuberculous pleuritis is used as a model to understand the protective immune response in tuberculosis. It is predominated by Th1 response at the site of infection, where a possible role for the leptin, a known enhancer of Th1 response, could be speculated. Hence, we investigated leptin levels in pleural effusions in patients with both tuberculous (TP) and non-tuberculous (NTP) pleural effusion. Methods: Leptin and cytokine levels were assessed in serum and pleural fluid of TP and NTP patients (N = 20 each) by ELISA. Multivariate regression analysis were performed to find the possible determinants of leptin taking leptin as the dependent and body mass index (BMI), gender, source of leptin [i.e., serum or pleural fluid (PF)], age and disease status as independent variables. Results: PF leptin levels were significantly higher than serum leptin levels in both the groups however the PF leptin levels were significantly lower in TP subjects compared to NTP. The results showed that the leptin was found to be dependent on BMI but not on the other parameters. However, regression analysis based on the source of leptin showed males to be a better predictor of leptin. No correlation was observed between leptin and measured immune parameters. Interpretation & conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that the decreased leptin levels were associated with reduction in BMI but not with the disease status in tuberculous pleuritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure during pregnancy is associated with poor pregnancy and foetal outcomes. Theory-based behaviour change interventions (BCI) have been used successfully to change smoking related behaviours and offer the potential to reduce exposure of SHS in pregnant women. Systematic reviews conducted so far do not evaluate the generalisability and scalability of interventions. The objectives of this review were to (1) report the BCIs for reduction in home exposure to SHS for pregnant women; and (2) critically appraise intervention-reporting, generalisability, feasibility and scalability of the BCIs employed. Methods Standard methods following PRISMA guidelines were employed. Eight databases were searched from 2000 to 2015 in English. The studies included used BCIs on pregnant women to reduce their home SHS exposure by targeting husbands/partners. The Workgroup for Intervention Development and Evaluation Research (WIDER) guidelines were used to assess intervention reporting. Generalisability, feasibility and scalability were assessed against criteria described by Bonell and Milat. Results Of 3479 papers identified, six studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies found that BCIs led to increased knowledge about SHS harms, reduction or husbands quitting smoking, and increased susceptibility and change in level of actions to reduce SHS at home. Two studies reported objective exposure measures, and one reported objective health outcomes. The studies partially followed WIDER guidelines for reporting, and none met all generalisability, feasibility and scalability criteria. Conclusions There is a dearth of literature in this area and the quality of studies reviewed was moderate to low. The BCIs appear effective in reducing SHS, however, weak study methodology (self-reported exposure, lack of objective outcome assessment, short follow-up, absence of control group) preclude firm conclusion. Some components of the WIDER checklist were followed for BCI reporting, scalability and feasibility of the studies were not described. More rigorous studies using biochemical and clinical measures for exposures and health outcomes in varied study settings are required. Studies should report interventions in detail using WIDER checklist and assess them for generalisability, feasibility and scalability. Trial registration CRD40125026666.

A lysozyme–[60]fullerene adduct was synthesized and isolated for the first time. This adduct was water-soluble and showed strong interaction between lysozyme and [60]fullerene and was characterized by UV-VIS and fluorescence energy transfer technique. Keeping possible biomedical applications of [60]fullerene in view, the protein–[60]fullerene interactions were studied taking lysozyme as a model protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxidative refolding of equilibrium intermediates of lysozyme stabilized in trifluoroethanol (TFE) and ethylene glycol was monitored. Equilibrium intermediates of disulfide reduced lysozyme in TFE are known to contain considerable amounts of α-helical structure and resemble the early intermediate in the oxidative refolding of lysozyme. We find that the intermediates in TFE do not proceed to folding; they form aggregates. However, interestingly, intermediates in ethylene glycol refold to the native state with improved folding yield. Secondary structure of these intermediates was monitored by far-UV circular dichroism. Our results indicate that formation of α-helical structure prior to oxidative refolding does not help the process in the case of lysozyme. Interfering with intermolecular hydrophobic interactions in the unfolded state is more productive. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Aims: The study aimed to gather the perspectives of women with schizophrenia who had sexual dysfunction (SD) and to assess their perceptions related to discussions about sexual concerns with mental health professionals (MHP). Settings: Female patients attending the outpatient department of a tertiary care university psychiatric hospital, who were diagnosed to have schizophrenia and in remission, were recruited and assessed for SD. Those who had SD and were willing to participate were interviewed for the qualitative study. Methods and Materials: A guided interview format was used to gather their narratives. Interviews were transcribed and translated from audio recordings on the same day. The analysis of transcript from 9 patients reached theoretical saturation. Analysis: The data were retrieved, coded, and systematically organized according to patterns and themes. The manual inductive coding method was used to arrive at the themes. Results: 4 themes were found for the question assessing their perspective regarding SD and 3 themes on their perspectives regarding the discussion with MHP. Many of them had misconceptions regarding their sexual lives and the relationship between sexuality and their illness. It was evident that hardly any MHP had ever inquired about their sexual functioning. Conclusion: This qualitative research on women with schizophrenia having SD gives us in-depth knowledge regarding their snags. Results of such studies will help the clinicians pay justifiable attention to these least spoken problems.

Background Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) during pregnancy is associated with harmful health effects to the foetus and newborn baby. We piloted an intervention targeting pregnant women whose husbands smoked at home, explored intervention acceptability and trial feasibility. Methods The IMPRESS study was administered in Comilla District, Bangladesh. We recruited 48 pregnant women in their first and second trimester, and followed them up at 3 months and within 48 hours after delivery. Outcomes included foetal exposure to SHS measured by pregnant women's salivary cotinine levels, SHS knowledge and smoking behavior of husbands/family members. Interviews explored intervention acceptability. Trial feasibility was assessed by recruitment and retention rates. Results The recruitment target of 48 pregnant women (100%) was achieved in 40 days. Among 96 pregnant women approached, 35 were non-eligible, and 13 declined to participate. Retention was 100% at 3 months, 62% within 48 hours after delivery. Mean cotinine level (intervention arm) declined from 0.43 ng/ml (SD 0.42) at baseline to 0.34 ng/ml (SD 0.6) at first follow up. The difference between intervention and control arms was not statistically significant. Knowledge increased in both arms (+1.1 intervention, +0.6 control, NS). Smoking in the presence of pregnant women reduced by 50% (intervention) versus 17% (control) (p=0.014). Men and women described good engagement with the intervention. Its perceived impact was attributed to new SHS knowledge, women gaining confidence in negotiating a smoke free home and men feeling guilty about smoking close to others. Conclusions Recruitment and retention rates suggest a trial with pregnant women at the community level in a rural setting is feasible in Bangladesh. The intervention appears acceptable and to have potential for change. Its effectiveness should be tested in a fully powered randomised controlled trial.

In present paper, we define expansive mappings in 2-Banach space and prove some common unique fixed point theorems which are the extension of results of Wang et al. [12] and Rhoades [9] in 2-Banach space.

Ubiquitination is an important posttranslational modification of proteins in eukaryotic cells, wherein ubiquitin molecules are conjugated to target proteins. Ubiquitination is catalyzed by the cascade of ubiquitin activating enzyme (E1), ubiquitin conjugating enzyme (E2), and ubiquitin ligase (E3). The number of E2s encoded in eukaryotes partly explains their contribution to the inherent specificity of the ubiquitin system. The ubiquitin conjugating enzyme UBC1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae participates the degradation of short-lived and abnormal proteins. UBC1 consists of two well-defined domains separated by a long flexible linker. E2-25K, the human homolog of UBC1 is crucial to neurons and its failure leads to neurodegenerative disorders. The linker of UBC1 is of 22 amino acids, while that of E2-25K has 6 amino acids. To understand the importance of the linker, the chimeric protein, cUBC1 was constructed by substituting the linker of E2-25K in UBC1. cUBC1 shows minor changes in its secondary structure. cUBC1 expression in ubc1 deletion mutants showed no effect over growth, thermotolerance and resistance to antibiotic stress. However, survival under heat stress was enhanced with cUBC1. Western blot analysis of the enzymatic activity showed cUBC1 performed equally well as UBC1. Hence, cUBC1 demonstrates that the shorter linker increased the stability of UBC1. • E2 enzyme of yeast, UBC1 has two domains joined by a linker of twenty two residues. • E2-25k, the human homolog of UBC1 has a linker of six residues. • To study the importance of linker in UBC1 it was replaced with that of E2-25K. • The chimeric construct cUBC1 is a stable protein and can form polyubiquitin chains. • The chimeric protein cUBC1 is functional even under stress conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The male sperm counts decline due to environmental factors, such as pesticides, heavy metals and exogenous estrogens causing negative impact on spermatogenesis. The low testosterone levels are associated with lower levels of antioxidants that protect against free radical damage to glands that produce testosterone. The earlier studies showed that the supplementation of vitamins and antioxidants including 10mg Ubiquinol per-day increases in sperm count and motility. Materials and Methods: The Ubiquinol is strong antioxidant, hence in view of the above study 150 mg/day Ubiquinol was supplemented to 60 men with age group of 20-40 years. The patients were supplemented for six months, the testosterone level and sperm parameters were analysed before and after supplementation of Ubiquinol every month up to six months. The total sperm count increased by 53% (p

Human and Simian Immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1, HIV-2, and SIV) encode an accessory protein, Nef, which is a pathogenesis and virulence factor. Nef is a multivalent adapter that dysregulates the trafficking of many immune cell receptors, including chemokine receptors (CKRs). Physiological endocytic itinerary of agonist occupied CXCR4 involves ubiquitinylation of the phosphorylated receptor at three critical lysine residues and dynamin-dependent trafficking through the ESCRT pathway into lysosomes for degradation. Likewise, Nef induced CXCR4 degradation was critically dependent on the three lysines in the C-terminal -SSLKILSKGK- motif. Nef directly recruits the HECT domain E3 ligases AIP4 or NEDD4 to CXCR4 in the resting state. This mechanism was confirmed by ternary interactions of Nef, CXCR4 and AIP4 or NEDD4; by reversal of Nef effect by expression of catalytically inactive AIP4-C830A mutant; and siRNA knockdown of AIP4, NEDD4 or some ESCRT-0 adapters. However, ubiquitinylation dependent lysosomal degradation was not the only mechanism by which Nef downregulated CKRs. Agonist and Nef mediated CXCR2 (and CXCR1) degradation was ubiquitinylation independent. Nef also profoundly downregulated the naturally truncated CXCR4 associated with WHIM syndrome and engineered variants of CXCR4 that resist CXCL12 induced internalization via an ubiquitinylation independent mechanism.