Showing papers by "Manipal University published in 2022"

Effectiveness of an inactivated virus-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, BBV152, in India: a test-negative, case-control study

Abstract: BBV152 is a whole-virion inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that has been deployed in India. The results of the phase 3 trial have shown clinical efficacy of BBV152. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of BBV152 against symptomatic RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.We conducted a test-negative, case-control study among employees of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi, India), who had symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 and had an RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 during the peak of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India between April 15 and May 15, 2021. Cases (test-positives) and controls (test-negatives) were matched (1:1) on the basis of age and gender. The odds of vaccination with BBV152 were compared between cases and controls and adjusted for level of occupational exposure (to COVID-19), previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, and calendar time, using conditional logistic regression. The primary outcome was effectiveness of two doses of BBV152 (with the second dose received at least 14 days before testing) in reducing the odds of symptomatic RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, expressed as (1 - odds ratio) × 100%.Between April 15 and May 15, 2021, 3732 individuals had an RT-PCR test. Of these, 2714 symptomatic employees had data on vaccination status, and 1068 matched case-control pairs were available for analysis. The adjusted effectiveness of BBV152 against symptomatic COVID-19 after two doses administered at least 14 days before testing was 50% (95% CI 33-62; p<0·0001). The adjusted effectiveness of two doses administered at least 28 days before testing was 46% (95% CI 22-62) and administered at least 42 days before testing was 57% (21-76). After excluding participants with previous SARS-CoV-2 infections, the adjusted effectiveness of two doses administered at least 14 days before testing was 47% (95% CI 29-61).This study shows the effectiveness of two doses of BBV152 against symptomatic COVID-19 in the context of a huge surge in cases, presumably dominated by the potentially immune-evasive delta (B.1.617.2) variant of SARS-CoV-2. Our findings support the ongoing roll-out of this vaccine to help control the spread of SARS-CoV-2, while continuing the emphasis on adherence to non-pharmacological measures.None.For the Hindi translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Elemental analysis of liquid samples by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS): Challenges and potential experimental strategies

Abstract: Despite the growing interest of research in the trace element detection in liquids via laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), the measurement of the ultra-low concentration of trace elements remains a challenge due to splashing, plasma cooling which in turn leads to shorter plasma lifetime. However, due to the promising emerging applications of this technique in environmental and biomedical sciences, researchers are exploring various strategies to improve the detection limits in liquid sample studies. This work is an overview of potential experimental strategies used for liquid LIBS studies and serves to describe the progress made in adopting different experimental configurations to implement the said studies for trace element detection in various application fields. Further, the development in the various sampling techniques to achieve a higher limit of detection with reproducible results are addressed here. The challenges and benefits related with various experimental schemes and sampling approaches as well as some innovative approaches that have been established recently to improve sensitivity and detection limits are highlighted using examples from the literature. The problems that remain in the liquid LIBS analysis are also discussed and an outlook for the future is featured at the end of the article.

Elemental analysis of liquid samples by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS): Challenges and potential experimental strategies

Abstract: Despite the growing interest of research in the trace element detection in liquids via laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), the measurement of the ultra-low concentration of trace elements remains a challenge due to splashing, plasma cooling which in turn leads to shorter plasma lifetime. However, due to the promising emerging applications of this technique in environmental and biomedical sciences, researchers are exploring various strategies to improve the detection limits in liquid sample studies. This work is an overview of potential experimental strategies used for liquid LIBS studies and serves to describe the progress made in adopting different experimental configurations to implement the said studies for trace element detection in various application fields. Further, the development in the various sampling techniques to achieve a higher limit of detection with reproducible results are addressed here. The challenges and benefits related with various experimental schemes and sampling approaches as well as some innovative approaches that have been established recently to improve sensitivity and detection limits are highlighted using examples from the literature. The problems that remain in the liquid LIBS analysis are also discussed and an outlook for the future is featured at the end of the article.

Fresh mechanical and durability properties of alkali-activated fly ash-slag concrete: a review

Abstract: This paper describes a review of the state-of-the-art research carried on the fresh and hardened properties of Alkali Activated Binders and Concretes. Though, many research have been carried out in the recent times on alkali activated binders, few key parameters still remain unattended, that restricts the commercial application of AAMs to the general construction activities. Fresh properties, mechanical strength and durability performance of Alkali activated concrete with various Alumino silicates as base materials is mentioned. An essential parameter of Alkali activated concrete is the concentration of alkaline solution on which various properties like mechanical strength, setting time and durability depends. Influence of wide range of concentrations from 6 to 16 M on these properties are studied and reported in this paper. This paper mainly concentrates on properties of readily available base materials such as Fly ash and Slag and the means to improve their performance through the use of various industrial and agro-based byproducts as additives. Problems pertaining to practical applicability of AAMs to general construction activities are also highlighted.

A Review on Curcumin-Loaded Electrospun Nanofibers and their Application in Modern Medicine

Abstract: Herbal drugs are safe and show significantly fewer side effects than their synthetic counterparts. Curcumin (an active ingredient primarily found in turmeric) shows therapeutic properties, but its commercial use as a medication is unrealized, because of doubts about its potency. The literature reveals that electrospun nanofibers show simplicity, efficiency, cost, and reproducibility compared to other fabricating techniques. Forcespinning is a new technique that minimizes limitations and provides additional advantages to electrospinning. Polymer-based nanofibers-whose advantages lie in stability, solubility, and drug storage-overcome problems related to drug delivery, like instability and hydrophobicity. Curcumin-loaded polymer nanofibers show potency in healing diabetic wounds in vitro and in vivo. The release profiles, cell viability, and proliferation assays substantiate their efficacy in bone tissue repair and drug delivery against lung, breast, colorectal, squamous, glioma, and endometrial cancer cells. This review mainly discusses how polymer nanofibers interact with curcumin and its medical efficacy.

Nonlinear Mixed Convective Bidirectional Dynamics of Double Stratified Radiative Oldroyd-B Nanofluid Flow with Heat Source/Sink and Higher-Order Chemical Reaction

Abstract: Little is known in the literature about the concept of nonuniform heat source/sink and higher-order chemical reaction for the dynamics of Oldroyd-B nanoparticles. Therefore, the present article addresses the nonuniform heat source/sink and higher-order chemical reaction features in nonlinear mixed convection bidirectional MHD dynamics of Oldroyd-B nanoparticles with thermal radiation aspects through porous space. Stratification effects for both the temperature and concentration setups are also used in the mathematical model with the significance of random movement and thermodiffusion of nanoparticles. Shape-preserving transformations have been employed to convert the transport equations into solvable forms. An innovative analytical tactic, namely, homotopy analysis method, has been adopted to find the solution of the modeled problem. Behaviors of pertinent parameters on thermal and concentration profiles have been discussed through various graphs. Inspection of heat/mass transport against appropriate varieties of pertinent parameters has been made and explained physically. Thermal profile is augmented with the higher estimations of space and temperature-dependent heat source/sink links. Concentration profile is diminished with the augmentation of higher-order chemical reaction parameter. Sherwood number is improved with the estimation of $0\le {\beta }_t\le 100$ and is reduced with the growth of $0\le {\beta }_c\le 100$ . Nusselt number is declined with the upgraded amounts of $0\le N_b\le 3$ and $0\le N_t\le 5$ .

Molecular docking and dynamics based approach for the identification of kinase inhibitors targeting PI3Kα against non-small cell lung cancer: a computational study

Abstract: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an obscure disease whose incidence is increasing worldwide day by day, and PI3Kα is one of the major targets for cell proliferation due to the mutation. Since PI3K is a class of kinase enzyme, and no in silico research has been performed on the inhibition of PI3Kα mutation by small molecules, we have selected the protein kinase inhibitor database and performed the energy minimization process by ligand preparation. The key objective of this research is to identify the potential hits from the protein kinase inhibitor library and further to perform lead optimization by a molecular docking and dynamics approach. And so, the protein was selected (PDB ID: 4JPS), having a unique inhibitor and a specific binding pocket with amino acid residue for the inhibition of kinase activity. After the docking protocol validation, structure-based virtual screening by molecular docking and MMGBSA binding affinity calculations were performed and a total of ten hits were reported. Detailed analysis of the best scoring molecules was performed with ADMET analysis, induced fit docking (IFD) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Two molecules - 6943 and 34100 - were considered lead molecules and showed better results than the PI3K inhibitor Copanlisib in the docking assessment, ADMET analysis, and molecular dynamics simulation. Furthermore, the synthetic accessibility of the two compounds - 6943 and 34100 - was investigated using SwissADME, and the two lead molecules are easier to synthesize than the PI3K inhibitor Copanlisib. Computational drug discovery tools were used for identification of kinase inhibitors as anti-cancer agents for NSCLC in the present research.

Microbiome Profiling of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) Carriers Highlights Signature Differences between Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Individuals

Abstract: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is an important cause of diarrhea in children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, large-scale pathogen burden studies in children have identified ETEC in the guts of both symptomatic patients and controls. The factors that influence this balance are poorly understood, but it is postulated that the gut microbiome may play a role in either resistance or progression to disease. In this study, we profiled the microbiomes of children and adults from Bangladesh who were asymptomatically or symptomatically infected with ETEC. Symptomatic patients had significantly higher numbers of sequenced reads mapping to both E. coli and two ETEC toxins, suggesting higher bacterial burden. They were also significantly more likely to be coinfected with enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and had higher proportions of other Gammaproteobacteria, including Klebsiella, Salmonella, and Haemophilus. Colonization with ETEC was also associated with increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes, most notably those of the β-lactamase class. Taxonomic profiles were distinctly different between all groups in both species richness and composition, although the direction of these changes was different in adults and children. As seen previously, children with high E. coli burdens also had higher proportions of Streptococcus spp., while healthy children were more heavily colonized by Bifidobacterium spp. Our study provides insight into the microbiome changes that occur upon infection with ETEC in an endemic setting and provides rationale for future studies investigating how the microbiome may protect or predispose individuals to symptomatic infections with gastrointestinal pathogens. IMPORTANCE Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is an important cause of diarrhea in children in low- and middle-income countries. However, these bacteria are often identified in both patients and healthy controls. We do not yet understand why only some people get sick, but it has been suggested that the gut microbiome might play a role. In this study, we used metagenomic sequencing to profile the gut microbiomes of individuals in Bangladesh, with or without a symptomatic ETEC infection. In general, individuals with high levels of ETEC also harbored other pathogenic E. coli strains, higher proportions of Gammaproteobacteria such as Salmonella and Klebsiella, and a higher burden of antimicrobial resistance genes in their guts. Healthy children, in contrast, had higher levels of bifidobacteria. These data confirm that the composition of the gut microbiome is different between symptomatic and asymptomatic people and provides important preliminary information on the impact of the gut microbiome in intestinal infections.

Sustainable Health Systems

Abstract: Health Systems are diversely organized at the Macro, Mezo, and Micro-levels around the World. Building blocks of the Health system include human resources, health infrastructure, health services, health information, healthcare technologies and Leadership and Governance are cross-cutting and organized at all levels of health care. Research on health systems is organized at the operations level, implementation level, and health systems research. However, research is more meaningful if it's organized with people as the end beneficiaries of the organized health ecosystem. Building a resilient health system in complex adaptive systems poses enormous challenges to achieve health outcomes from current policies, programs, and practices. Research in robust policy design, implementation, and evaluation of comparative health systems in a pluralistic society is needed. Adaptability and affability are essential and so is sustainability. Additionally, outsourcing healthcare management functions and services has been evolving in the past twenty years successfully in many areas, although more recent evidence on this option should be produced as many new phenomena occurred in the meantime. It is therefore urgent to generate more evidence on key issues like what are the areas of outsourcing around the World? What real benefits have they promoted to health systems and to patients? And what are the aspects that failed? This type of evidence will generate a renewed debate on health systems development fundamental to improve healthcare around the world.

Micro-Raman spectroscopy study of blood samples from myocardial infarction patients

Abstract: Abstract Acute myocardial infarction (MI) is found to be a major causative factor for global mortality and morbidity. This situation demands necessity of developing efficient and rapid diagnostic tools to detect acute MI. Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive optical diagnostic technique, which has high potential in probing biochemical changes in clinical samples during initiation and progress of diseases. In this work, blood was taken as the sample to examine inflammation in acute MI patients using Raman spectroscopy. Ratio of Raman peak intensities that corresponds to phenylalanine (1000 cm −1 ) and tyrosine (825 cm −1 ) can facilitate indirect information about tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) availability, which can indicate inflammatory status in patients. This ratio obtained was higher for MI patients in comparison with control subjects. The decrease in phenylalanine and tyrosine ratio (Phe-Tyr ratio) is attributed to the prognosis of standard of care (medications like antiplatelets including aspirin, statin and revascularisation) leading to inflammation reduction. Phe-Tyr ratio estimated from the Raman spectra of blood can be exploited as a reliable method to probe inflammation due to MI. The method is highly objective, require only microliters of sample and minimal sample preparation, signifying its clinical utility.