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Abstract In December 2023, we observed a notable shift in the COVID-19 landscape, when JN.1 omicron emerged as the predominant SARS-CoV-2 variant with a 95% incidence. We characterized the clinical profile, and genetic changes in JN.1, an emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant of interest. Whole genome sequencing was performed on SARS-CoV-2 positive clinical specimens, followed by sequence analysis. Mutations within the spike protein sequences were analysed and compared with the previously reported lineages and sub-lineages, to identify the potential impact of the unique mutations on protein structure and possible alterations in the functionality. Several unique and dynamic mutations were identified herein. Molecular docking analysis showed changes in the binding affinity, and key interacting residues of wild-type and mutated structures with key host cell receptors of SARS-CoV-2 entry viz., ACE2, CD147, CD209L and AXL. Our data provides key insights on the emergence of newer variants and highlights the necessity for robust and sustained global genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.

This paper addresses the problem of exponential synchronization in continuous-time complex dynamical networks with both time-delayed and non-delayed interactions. We employ a proportional integral derivative (PID) control strategy and a dynamic event-triggered approach to investigate this synchronization problem. Our approach begins with constructing a general model for complex dynamical networks that incorporate delays. We then derive synchronization criteria based on the PID control parameters, utilizing linear matrix inequality techniques in conjunction with a dynamic event-trigger mechanism. The application of Lyapunov stability theory and inequality techniques allows us to establish these criteria, considering the presence of hybrid delays. To illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed model, we provide two numerical examples showcasing synchronization dynamics. These examples demonstrate the successful theoretical results of a novel PID controller and dynamic event-trigger mechanism.

In this study, we explore the existence and uniqueness of solutions for a boundary value problem defined by coupled sequential fractional differential inclusions. This investigation is augmented by the introduction of a novel set of generalized Riemann–Liouville boundary conditions. Utilizing Carathéodory functions and Lipschitz mappings, we establish existence results for these nonlocal boundary conditions. Utilizing fixed-point theorems designed for multi-valued maps, we obtain significant existence results for the problem, considering both convex and non-convex values. The derived results are clearly demonstrated with an illustrative example. Numerical examples are provided to validate the theoretical conclusions, contributing to a deeper understanding of fractional-order boundary value problems.

In this study, we focus on the stability analysis of the RLC model by employing differential equations with Hadamard fractional derivatives. We prove the existence and uniqueness of solutions using Banach’s contraction principle and Schaefer’s fixed point theorem. To facilitate our key conclusions, we convert the problem into an equivalent integro-differential equation. Additionally, we explore several versions of Ulam’s stability findings. Two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the applications of our main results. We also observe that modifications to the Hadamard fractional derivative lead to asymmetric outcomes. The study concludes with an applied example demonstrating the existence results derived from Schaefer’s fixed point theorem. These findings represent novel contributions to the literature on this topic, significantly advancing our understanding.

The application of Computer Vision (CV) and image processing in the medical sector is of great significance, especially in the recognition of skin cancer using dermoscopic images. Dermoscopy denotes a non-invasive imaging system that offers clear visuals of skin cancers, allowing dermatologists to analyze and identify various features crucial for lesion assessment. Over the past few years, there has been an increasing fascination with Deep Learning (DL) applications for skin cancer recognition, with a particular focus on the impressive results achieved by Deep Neural Networks (DNNs). DL approaches, predominantly CNNs, have exhibited immense potential in automating the classification and detection of skin cancers. This study presents an Automated Skin Cancer Detection and Classification method using Cat Swarm Optimization with Deep Learning (ASCDC-CSODL). The main objective of the ASCDC-CSODL method is to enforce the DL model to recognize and classify skin tumors on dermoscopic images. In ASCDC-CSODL, Bilateral Filtering (BF) is applied for noise elimination and U-Net is employed for the segmentation process. Moreover, the ASCDC-CSODL method exploits MobileNet for the feature extraction process. The Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) approach is used for the classification of skin cancer. Finally, the CSO algorithm alters the hyperparameter values of GRU. A wide-ranging simulation was performed to evaluate the performance of the ASCDC-CSODL model, demonstrating the significantly improved results of the ASCDC-CSODL model over other approaches.

The issue of extended dissipative analysis for neural networks (NNs) with additive time-varying delays (ATVDs) is examined in this research. Some less conservative sufficient conditions are obtained to ensure the NNs are asymptotically stable and extended dissipative by building the agumented Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, which is achieved by utilizing some mathematical techniques with improved integral inequalities like auxiliary function-based integral inequalities (gives a tighter upper bound). The present study aims to solve the $ H_{\infty}, L_2-L_{\infty} $, passivity and $ (Q, S, R) $-$ \gamma $-dissipativity performance in a unified framework based on the extended dissipativity concept. Following this, the condition for the solvability of the designed NNs with ATVDs is presented in the form of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, the practicality and effectiveness of this approach were demonstrated through four numerical examples.

The female genital tract (FGT) is an important site of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Discerning the nature of HIV-specific local immune responses is crucial for identifying correlates of protection in HIV-exposed seronegative (HESN) individuals. The present study involved a comprehensive analysis of soluble immune mediators, secretory immunoglobulins (sIg), natural killer (NK) cells, CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells, T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, and T regulatory cells (Tregs) in the vaginal mucosa as well as the nature and composition of the cervicovaginal microbiome in HESN women. We found significantly elevated antiviral cytokines, soluble immunoglobulins, and increased frequencies of activated NK cells, CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells, and Tfh cells in HESN females compared to HIV-unexposed healthy (UH) women. Analysis of the genital microbiome of HESN women revealed a greater bacterial diversity and increased abundance of Gardnerella spp. in the mucosa. The findings suggest that the female genital tract of HESN females represents a microenvironment equipped with innate immune factors, antiviral mediators, and critical T cell subsets that protect against HIV infection. IMPORTANCE The vast majority of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections across the world occur via the sexual route. The genital tract mucosa is thus the primary site of HIV replication, and discerning the nature of HIV-specific immune responses in this compartment is crucial. The role of the innate immune system at the mucosal level in exposed seronegative individuals and other HIV controllers remains largely unexplored. This understanding can provide valuable insights to improve vaccine design. We investigated mucosal T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells, natural killer (NK) cells subsets, soluble immune markers, and microbiome diversity in HIV-exposed seronegative (HESN) women. We found a significantly higher level of mucosal CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells, CD4+ Tfh cells, activated NK cell subsets, and antiviral immune cell mediators in HESN women. We also found a higher abundance of Gardnerella spp., microbiome dysbiosis, and decreased levels of inflammatory markers to be associated with reduced susceptibility to HIV infection. Our findings indicate that increased distribution of mucosal NK cells, CXCR5+ CD8+ T cells, Tfh cells, and soluble markers in HIV controllers with a highly diverse cervicovaginal microbiome could contribute effectively to protection against HIV infection. Overall, our findings imply that future vaccine design should emphasize inducing these highly functional cell types at the mucosal sites.

HIV-specific CD8+ T cells are known to play a key role in viral control during acute and chronic HIV infection. Although many studies have demonstrated the importance of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells in viral control, its correlation with protection against HIV infection remains incompletely understood. To better understand the nature of the immune response that contributes to the early control of HIV infection, we analyzed the phenotype, distribution and function of anti-viral CD8+ T cells in a cohort of HIV-exposed seronegative (HESN) women, and compared them with healthy controls and HIV-infected individuals. Further, we evaluated the in vitro viral inhibition activity of CD8+ T cells against diverse HIV-1 strains. We found that the HESN group had significantly higher levels of CD8+ T cells that express T-stem cell-like (TSCM) and follicular homing (CXCR5+) phenotype with more effector like characteristics as compared to healthy controls. Further, we observed that the HESN population had a higher frequency of HIV-specific poly-functional CD8+ T cells with robust in vitro virus inhibiting capacity against different clades of HIV. Overall, our results demonstrate that the HESN population has elevated levels of HIV-specific poly-functional CD8+ T cells with robust virus inhibiting ability and express elevated levels of markers pertaining to TSCM and follicular homing phenotype. These results demonstrate that future vaccine and therapeutic strategies should focus on eliciting these critical CD8+ T cell subsets.

In resource-limited settings, there is growing evidence that HIV testing is lacking among high-risk key populations such as men having sex with men, injection drug users, and transgenders largely due to stigma, discrimination, and lack of confidentiality. Findings from recent studies among high-risk key populations and the general population from various regions including resource-limited settings support the need for wider accessibility of HIV self-testing (HIV-ST) to reach those who may not otherwise have access to testing. Therefore, HIV-ST has untapped potential as a strategy to improve access to HIV testing and to increase testing frequency among key high-risk populations and their partners. Though HIV-ST has emerged as a safe, acceptable, and effective way to reach people, there are several roadblocks to implementing the HIV-ST policy, and fast-track policy implementation needs to be necessitated with newer or modified strategic plans.

The aim of this paper is to define the generalized discrete proportional derivative (GDPD) and illustrate the application of the Leibniz theorem, the binomial expansion, and Montmort’s formulas in the context of the generalized discrete proportional case. Furthermore, we introduce the generalized discrete proportional Laplace transform and determine the GDPLT of various functions using the inverse operator. The results obtained are showcased through relevant examples and validated using MATLAB.

The current World Health Organization (WHO) Hepatitis Elimination Strategy suffers from lack of a target for diagnosing or expunging occult HBV infection. A sizable segment of the global population has an undetected HBV infection, particularly the high‐risk populations and those residing in countries like India with intermediate endemicity. There is growing proof that people with hidden HBV infection can infect others, and that these infections are linked to serious chronic hepatic complications, especially hepatocellular carcinoma. Given the current diagnostic infrastructure in low‐resource settings, the WHO 2030 objective of obliterating hepatitis B appears to be undeniably challenging to accomplish. Given the molecular basis of occult HBV infection strongly linked to intrahepatic persistence, patients may inexplicably harbour HBV genomes for a prolonged duration without displaying any pronounced clinical or biochemical signs of liver disease, and present histological signs of moderate degree necro‐inflammation, diffuse fibrosis, and hence the international strategy to eradicate viral hepatitis warrants inclusion of occult HBV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite some advances in the discovery of novel therapies, smoke inhalation injury remains a difficult to treat critical health issue due to its physiopathological complexity. Natural products, such as d-limonene (LIM), are becoming an important potential source of new treatments in many health problems. LIM has been shown to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and protective effects in respect of several diseases, including respiratory conditions. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of inhaled LIM on acute smoke-induced lung injury in rats. Methods: Thirty minutes after smoke inhalation, adult male Wistar rats were treated with vehicle or LIM (0.01 mg/kg) for 30 min. Blood samples, and the liver, lungs, and trachea were collected for analysis. Results: The results showed that LIM minimized the injuries, reducing oxidative and inflammatory damage by improving catalase (CAT) (p

In this paper, we present a finite-time synchronization (FTS) for quantized Markovian-jump time-varying delayed neural networks (QMJTDNNs) via event-triggered control. The QMJTDNNs take into account the effects of quantization on the system dynamics and utilize a combination of FTS and event-triggered communication to mitigate the effects of communication delays, quantization error, and efficient synchronization. We analyze the FTS and convergence properties of the proposed method and provide simulation results to demonstrate its effectiveness in synchronizing a network of QMJTDNNs. We introduce a new method to achieve the FTS of a system that has input constraints. The method involves the development of the Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional approach (LKF), novel integral inequality techniques, and some sufficient conditions, all of which are expressed as linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Furthermore, the study presents the design of an event-triggered controller gain for a larger sampling interval. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through numerical examples.

We have analyzed reverse transcriptase (RT) region of HIV-1 pol gene from 97 HIV-infected children who were identified as failing first-line therapy that included first-generation non-nucleoside RT inhibitors (Nevirapine and Efavirenz) for at least 6 months. We found that 54% and 65% of the children had genotypically predicted resistance to second-generation non-nucleoside RT inhibitors drugs Etravirine (ETR) and Rilpivirine, respectively. These cross-resistance mutations may compromise future NNRTI-based regimens, especially in resource-limited settings. To complement these investigations, we also analyzed the sequences in Stanford database, Monogram weighted score, and DUET weighted score algorithms for ETR susceptibility and found almost perfect agreement between the three algorithms in predicting ETR susceptibility from genotypic data.

Background: The traditional information of Acalypha alnifolia is captivate towards its therapeutic efficacy against diabetes along with the scientific confirmation were leads to an instinct to extract phytocompounds and to evaluate antidiabetic-molecular mechanism. Methods: Column chromatographic compound isolation were adopted to extract the pure compounds from bioactive leaf extract and interactions of the compounds with diabetic metabolic proteins were accomplished through in-silico docking studies. By the direction, the anti-diabetic property was valued by the expressions of Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3β(GSK 3β) and Insulin on insulin-Receptor on Hep G2 cells. Results: The flavone compound - 5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-methoxy-4H-chromen-4-one and pyridine alkaloid - (2,6-dihydroxypyridin-4-yl)(3,5-dihydroxytetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl) acetic acid were isolated. Both the compounds reduced the GSK 3β expression and the flavone contributed also to enhance insulin binding ability expediently. Conclusions: The results concluded that the compounds from A. alnifolia having potent to maintain glucose homeostasis in liver insulin-metabolism. By exploring pharmaceutical importance of the isolated compounds, this study will be an important breakthrough in developing new drug for Diabetes.

Morphology and minimum surface energy of Cu2O crystals effectively enhance the antibacterial activity. Minimum surface energy can be attained by controlling nucleation growth along with different Cu2O crystal facets. In this work, chemically assisted synthesis of Cu2O crystals in two unique morphologies, cube and octahedron, and their antibacterial activity against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli) pathogens are reported. According to XRD data, the cube crystals that grew along the direction of the (111) plane offer higher antibacterial activity as compared to octahedron crystals. Interestingly, SEM images reveal that adding glycine during Cu2O synthesis alters its morphology from the cube to the octahedron. Both the Cu2O crystal facets exhibited antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli which is well supported by surface energy and stability data.

ObjectivesTo explore factors associated with short and long-term hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA suppression in a multinational cohort of HIV-HBV co-infected patients receiving HBV-active antiretrovirals.MethodsOne hundred and fifteen HIV-HBV co-infected patients participating in one of the two global randomized clinical trials conducted by the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group of different antiretroviral regimens received either HBV monotherapy with either lamivudine or emtricitabine (N = 56), or HBV dual therapy with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) + lamivudine or emtricitabine (N = 59). Associations of pretreatment characteristics with the primary (HBV DNA

In this study HIV-1 subtype C-infected adults demonstrated higher purifying selection on their viral populations in reverse transcriptase (RT) than infected children. This difference is likely explained by more mature cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses in adults, which may have implications for the development of drug resistance in the RT region.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) account for some of the most explosive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemics globally. While individual drivers of infection are well understood, less is known about network factors, with minimal data beyond direct ties. Methods: 2512 PWID in New Delhi, India were recruited in 2017–19 using a sociometric network design. Sampling was initiated with 10 indexes who recruited named injection partners (people who they injected with in the prior month). Each recruit then recruited their named injection partners following the same process with cross-network linkages established by biometric data. Participants responded to a survey, including information on injection venues, and provided a blood sample. Factors associated with HIV/HCV infection were identified using logistic regression. Results: The median age was 26; 99% were male. Baseline HIV prevalence was 37.0% and 46.8% were actively infected with HCV (HCV RNA positive). The odds of prevalent HIV and active HCV infection decreased with each additional degree of separation from an infected alter (HIV AOR: 0.87; HCV AOR: 0.90) and increased among those who injected at a specific venue (HIV AOR: 1.50; HCV AOR: 1.69) independent of individual-level factors (p

A state‐wide prospective longitudinal investigation of the genomic surveillance of the omicron B.1.1.529 SARS‐CoV‐2 variant and its sublineages in Tamil Nadu, India, was conducted between December 2021 and March 2023. The study aimed to elucidate their mutational patterns and their genetic interrelationship in the Indian population. The study identified several unique mutations at different time‐points, which likely could attribute to the changing disease characteristics, transmission, and pathogenicity attributes of omicron variants. The study found that the omicron variant is highly competent in its mutating potentials, and that it continues to evolve in the general population, likely escaping from natural as well as vaccine‐induced immune responses. Our findings suggest that continuous surveillance of viral variants at the global scenario is warranted to undertake intervention measures against potentially precarious SARS‐CoV‐2 variants and their evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passion fruit (Passiflora leschenaultii DC), an endemic species to peninsular India, is traditionally used to treat various ailments such as dysentery, urinary stone disease and wounds. The present study aimed to investigate the antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic activities and chemical composition of leaf extracts of P. leschenaultii. Bioactive secondary metabolites such as total phenolics, tannins and flavonoids were quantified. Antioxidant activities were determined by DPPH·, ABTS+·, FRAP, metal chelating and phosphomolybdenum assays. Hot plate, acetic acid and formalin induced pain models were used to evaluate the analgesic activity. In order to study the acute and chronic anti-inflammatory activities, carrageenan and cotton pellet induced models were used in rats. Brewer’s yeast induced pyrexia method was applied for the antipyretic test. Functional compounds from the plant were identified and quantified through HPLC–DAD–MS analysis. The obtained results revealed that the acetone extract of leaves exhibited higher phenolic (440.24 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoid (253.33 mg RE/g extract) contents and scavenged the DPPH· (IC50 29.14 μg/mL), ABTS+· (10509.69 μM TEAC/g extract) effectively. On investigating the analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities, the acetone extracts of leaves, at a dose of 400 mg/kg (p.o.) reduced significantly (p

Abstract Background Malaria and HIV co-infection adversely impact the outcome of both diseases and previous studies have mostly focused on falciparum malaria. Plasmodium vivax contributes to almost half of the malaria cases in India, but the disease burden of HIV and P. vivax co-infection is unclear. Methods HIV-infected subjects (n=460) were randomly selected from the 4,611 individuals seen at a Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center in Chennai, India between Jan 2 to Dec 31 2008. Malaria testing was performed on stored plasma samples by nested PCR using both genus-specific and species-specific primers and immunochromatography-based rapid diagnostic test for detecting antibodies against Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax. Results Recent malaria co-infection, defined by the presence of antibodies, was detected in 9.8% (45/460) participants. Plasmodium vivax accounted for majority of the infections (60%) followed by P. falciparum (27%) and mixed infections (13%). Individuals with HIV and malaria co-infection were more likely to be men (p=0.01). Between those with and without malaria, there was no difference in age (p=0.14), CD4+ T-cell counts (p=0.19) or proportion CD4+ T-cell below 200/mL (p=0.51). Conclusions Retrospective testing of stored plasma samples for malaria antibodies can facilitate identification of populations with high rates of co-infection, and in this southern India HIV-infected cohort there was a considerable burden of malaria co-infection, predominantly due to P. vivax. However, the rate of P. falciparum infection was more than 6-fold higher among HIV-infected individuals than what would be expected in the general population in the region. Interestingly, individuals co-infected with malaria and HIV were not more likely to be immunosuppressed than individuals with HIV infection alone.