Search

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of gastroenteritis in humans. It has been reported that the pathogenesis of C. jejuni is closely related to the formation, adhesion, and invasion of flagella toxin in host epithelial cells. A putative transcriptional regulator, known as cj0440c, is thought to be involved in the regulation of flagellar synthesis. However, confirmation of this hypothesis requires deep insight into the regulation mechanism of cj0440c and its possible relationship with different antibiotics. Therefore, the study explained here was designed to determine the relationship and function (phenotypically and genotypically) of cj0440c in the flagellar synthesis of C. jejuni NCTC11168. The study determined the mode of expression of cj0440c and flagella-related genes under exposure to various drugs. To verify the involvement of cj0440c protein in the metabolic pathway of thiamine, an enzymatic hydrolysis experiment was performed and analyzed through the application of mass spectrometry. The overexpression vector of C. jejuni NCTC11168 was also constructed to find out whether or not target genes were regulated by cj0440c. The findings of the study showed that cj0440c and other flagella-related genes were expressed differentially under the influence of various antibiotics including erythromycin, tylosin, azithromycin, gentamicin, etimicin, enrofloxacin, gatifloxacin, tetracycline, and tigecycline. The analysis showed that the cj0440c protein did not catalyze the degradation of thiamine. In conclusion, the study aids in the understanding of the inter-relationship between the regulatory mechanism of flagella genes and the thiamine metabolic pathway.

Since the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic in China in late 2019, scientists are striving hard to explore non-toxic, viable anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds or medicines. We determined In vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of oral formulations (syrup and capsule)of an Iodine-complex (Renessans). First, cell cytotoxicity of Renessans on the Vero cells was determined using MTT assay. Afterwards, the antiviral activity of Renessans was determined using viral inhibition assays and TCID50. For this, nontoxic concentrations of the Renessans were used. The results showed that Renessans is nontoxic to the cells up to 50 µg/mL. At 1.5 µg/mL concentration, SARS-CoV-2 production was significantly reduced to 101.43 TCID50 and 101.58 TCID50 for the syrup and capsule, respectively, as compare to virus infected control cells 106.08 TCID50 and we found the dose dependent inhibition of virus replication in the presence of Renessans. Renessans inhibited SARS-CoV-2 with an EC50 value of 0.425 µg/mL and 0.505 µg/mL for syrup and capsule, respectively. Furthermore, there was no virus detected at concentration of 50 µg/mL of Renessans. This study indicates that Renessans, containing iodine, have potential activity against SARS-CoV-2 which needs to be further investigated in human clinical trials.

Coronaviruses (CoVs) infect a wide range of domestic and wild mammals. These viruses have a potential and tendency to cross-species barriers and infect humans. Novel human coronavirus 2019-nCoV (hCoV-19) emerged from Wuhan, China, and has caused a global pandemic. Genomic features of SARS-CoV-2 may attribute inter-species transmission and adaptation to a novel host, and therefore is imperative to explicate the evolutionary dynamics of the viral genome and its propensity for differential host selection. We conducted an in silico analysis of all the coding gene sequences of SARS-CoV-2 strains (n = 39) originating from a range of non-human mammalian species, including pangolin, bat, dog, cat, tiger, mink, mouse, and the environmental samples such as wastewater, air and surface samples from the door handle and seafood market. Compared to the reference SARS-CoV-2 strain (MN908947; Wuhan-Hu-1), phylogenetic and comparative residue analysis revealed the circulation of three variants, including hCoV-19 virus from humans and two hCoV-19-related precursors from bats and pangolins. A lack of obvious differences as well as a maximum genetic homology among dog-, cat-, tiger-, mink-, mouse-, bat- and pangolin-derived SARS-CoV-2 sequences suggested a likely evolution of these strains from a common ancestor. Several residue substitutions were observed in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein, concluding a promiscuous nature of the virus for host species where genomic alternations may be required for the adaptation to novel host/s. However, such speculation needs in vitro investigations to unleash the influence of substitutions towards species-jump and disease pathogenesis. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11033-020-05879-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Repeated cases of low pathogenic influenza A/H9N2 virus (IAV/H9N2) have been reported in commercial chickens since its emergence in 1998 in Pakistan. However, recently increased mortality and severe respiratory complications under field conditions have been noticed, suggesting concomitant influenza infections with respiratory viral and/or bacterial pathogens. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the presence of IAV/H9N2 coinfecting with multiple viral and bacterial pathogens in broiler chicken flocks. We surveyed 60 broiler flocks with respiratory signs from March through July 2019 in Punjab, Pakistan. Suspected flocks were screened for the presence of IAV using a lateral-flow device. Tracheal, cloacal, and bone marrow samples were collected and further tested for seven viral agents (chicken anemia; Newcastle disease; infectious bronchitis; infectious laryngeotracheitis [ILT]; and IAV subtypes H9, H7, and H5) and three bacterial agents (

Renessans is an iodine complex which has proven in vitro antiviral activity including Anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. The present study was designed to determine its efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in monkeys (Rhesus macaque). A total of 14 monkeys were divided into four groups: A) Prophylactic group (n=03), (B) Treatment group (n=03), (C) infection control group (n=04) and (D) negative control group (n=04) and were housed in BSL-3 Animal facility while group D was housed at another animal house. Group A was administered with Renessans @ 2.85 mg/7 kg from 5 days prior to the infection to 08 days post infections (DPI). Group B was administered with Renessans from 03-08 DPI @ 2.85 mg/7 kg. Group C was administered with WIF only. The infection @ 2 × 106 TCID of SARS-CoV-2 was given to all group monkeys through intranasal and oral route under anesthesia. Nasal swab samples (at different times) and fecal matter on daily basis were collected for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 through real-time quantitative PCR. Three monkeys (one from each of group A, B and C) were euthanized at 07 DPI to determine the gross pathological lesions and SARS-CoV-2 detection from internal tissues. Nasal swabs from all the monkeys from group A, B and C were positive for SARS-CoV-2 at 02 and 07 DPI (Day 05 of treatment). At 14 DPI, all (100%) nasal swabs from group A were negative for SARS-CoV-2 while 50% and 100% were positive from group B and C, respectively. At 21 DPI, monkeys from group B were negative and all in group C were still positive for SARS-CoV-2. Similarly, fecal matter of monkeys in group A and B was returned negative in significantly lesser time as compared to monkeys from infection control group. Based on these research findings it is concluded that the Renessans has in-vivo SARS-CoV-2 activity and may result in early clearance of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, a clinical trial of the drug in COVID-19 patients may reveal its anti-COVID-19 potential.

The crowd phenomenon frequently occurs in dense urban living environments. Crowd counting or estimation helps to develop management strategies such as designing safe public places and evacuation plan for emergencies. These strategies are different depending upon the type of event such as political and public demonstrations, sports, and religious events. However, estimating the number of people in crowds at closed or open environments is quite challenging because of the dynamics involved in the process. In addition, crowd estimation itself poses challenges due to randomness in crowd behavior, motion, and an area’s geometric specifications. Crowd behavior as well as the area parameters is studied before suggesting any possible technological solution for managing a crowd. This article presents a theoretical understanding of the major crowd size estimation approaches that cannot be achieved through the study of existing survey papers in this area, because the existing survey papers focus on particular technologies/specific areas with no or brief description of the involved steps. Besides, this article also highlights the strength and weakness of crowd size estimation solutions and their possible applications. It is, therefore, believed that the provided information would assist in developing an intelligent system for crowd management.

The benefits of Domain Specific Modeling Languages (DSML), for modeling and design of cyber physical systems, have been acknowledged in previous years. In contrast to general purpose modeling languages, such as Unified Modeling Language, DSML facilitates the modeling of domain specific concepts. The objective of this work is to develop a simple graphical DSML for cyber physical systems, which allow the unified modeling of the structural and behavioral aspects of a system in a single model, and provide model transformation and design verification support in future. The proposed DSML was defined in terms of its abstract and concrete syntax. The applicability of the proposed DSML was demonstrated by its application in two case studies: Traffic Signal and Arbiter case studies. The results showed that the proposed DSML produce simple and unified models with possible model transformation and verification support.

The service composition process depends on effective service discovery, matching, and selection. Although, service discovery and matching has been thoroughly researched for software services, an effective service discovery and matching mechanism is needed for services representing device functionality. In this chapter, an ontology-based service description method and service discovery and matching mechanism is proposed for Distributed Embedded Real-Time Systems (DERTS). For service description, the existing ontology specification OWL-S is modified to make it suitable for DERTS. The proposed mechanism was applied to a scenario of Smart Home case study for testing. The proposed service description method and discovery and matching mechanism set foundations can be used for the dynamic service composition in DERTS and in any ubiquitous environment.

The successful implementation of Service-Oriented development of Distributed Embedded Real-time Systems (DERTS) in the recent years has proved the importance of Service-Orientation over previous paradigms. However, efforts are still needed on systematic Service-Oriented design of DERTS, especially on the modelling of DERTS. The UML standard profile MARTE can be used for modelling of embedded real-time system while UML standard profile SoaML can be used to represent Service-Oriented concepts. Therefore, a thorough investigation of both standard profiles is needed to determine which parts of these profiles are useful for Service-Oriented DERTS development. This paper investigates these profiles in order to highlight the portions of the two profiles and provides some suggestions that can be utilized for Service-Oriented modelling of DERTS. The results of this investigation would be useful in developing a Service-Oriented based meta-model for DERTS.

The increasing use and reliance on Distributed Embedded Real-Time Systems (DERTS) demand the enhancement of their capabilities. This along with the unique characteristics of DERTS, such as resource constraints, make the design and development more complex. State-of-the-art software development methods like Service-Oriented Computing (SOC) and Model-Driven Development can be used to cope with these complexities. However, both of the methods require the system to be designed at a higher level of abstraction and the details are provided at lower levels. Such design models for DERTS with different levels of abstractions are still currently unavailable. This paper presents four basic design models representing different levels of abstraction, to be used in Service-Oriented DERTS design. The proposed models were applied in the Home Automation domain for verification purposes. This level-by-level modelling does not only simplify the design process, but can also be used as part of a Service-Oriented modelling framework for DERTS. Furthermore, these design models can support service composition during Service-Oriented DERTS development. The service composition modelling would be beneficial for CASE tools development in supporting designers working at different levels of abstraction.

Analysis and design are the key phases in any software development life cycle. Service identification is one of the most important steps performed in the analysis phase of service-oriented software development life cycle. Service-orientation has been applied successfully in the domain of distributed embedded real-time system because of the advantages it provides such as reusability and interoperability. However, a systematic service-oriented development methodology for distributed embedded real-time system is still missing. A step-by-step guideline for service identification is presented in this study as part of an attempt to define the analysis phase of service-oriented software development life cycle for distributed embedded real-time system. The Smart Home case study is applied to verify the guidelines. This study provides profound descriptions on how to identify services for distributed embedded real-time system. Moreover, this work can be used as a first step towards a systematic service-oriented software development life cycle for distributed embedded real-time systems.