Characterization of a new begomovirus and a beta satellite associated with the leaf curl disease of French bean in northern India

Begomoviruses are emerging as serious threat to many crops throughout the world particularly in tropical and sub-tropical regions. A leaf curl disease with symptoms typical of infection by many begomoviruses was observed in French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) at Kanpur, India, during 2010–2012. The disease caused downward leaf curling and made the plants unproductive. The disease was transmitted from infected to healthy plants through whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). The products of five samples digested with EcoRI yielded DNA fragments of about 2.7 kb. The complete sequence of the Fb1 sample comprised 2,741 nucleotides with genome organization typical of begomoviruses having two ORFs in virion-sense and five ORFs in complementary-sense separated by an intergenic region with begomovirus conserved nonanucleotide sequence, TAATATTAC. The complete DNA-A sequence homology was most closely related to Cotton leaf curl Bangalore virus with 80 % nucleotide sequence identity. Based on the demarcation criteria for identifying a begomovirus species, Fb1 is considered as a distinct begomovirus species, named French bean leaf curl virus and designated as FbLCV-[IN:Knp:12]. The complete sequence of associated satellite DNA-β comprises 1,379 nucleotides with single ORF and has 80 % identity with Papaya leaf curl beta satellite. There was no evidence of recombination in DNA-A of FbLCV and associated beta satellite DNA molecule.     

Evolution of β-catenin-independent Wnt–GSK3–mTOR signalling in regulation of energy metabolism in isoproterenol-induced cardiotoxicity model

Inflammation Research - Isoproterenol (ISO) is widely used agent to study the effects of interventions which could prevent or attenuate the development of myocardial infarction. The sequence of...     

Efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine against SARS-CoV-2 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis

IntroductionHydroxychloroquine (HCQ)/Chloroquine (CQ) has been evaluated for treatment and prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 infection in various studies with conflicting results. We performed a systematic review to synthesize the currently available evidence over the efficacy and safety of HCQ/CQ therapy alone against SARS-CoV-2 infection.MethodsWe searched Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane central for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies published until October 15, 2020 and assessing the efficacy of HCQ alone against SARS-CoV-2 infection. We included studies evaluating HCQ/CQ alone as intervention and placebo/standard care as a control group. Retrospective studies and studies using other drugs (namely azithromycin, corticosteroids, immunomodulators, etc.) we excluded. Thirteen RCTs and three prospective cohort studies were included in this review. We pooled data using a random-effect model.ResultsPooled data from 12 studies (9917 participants) showed that HCQs increase mortality as compared to placebo/standard of care (RR 1.10; 95% CI:1.00–1.20). Hydroxychloroquine did not reduce the need for hospitalization in out-patients (RR 0.57; 95% CI 0.31–1.02). HCQ group has a significantly higher rate of any adverse event (RR 2.68; 95% CI 1.55–4.64), as compared to the control group. Also, using HCQ for prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 infection did not reduce the risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection (RR 1.04; 95% CI 0.58–1.88).ConclusionsHCQ therapy for COVID-19 is associated with an increase in mortality and other adverse events. The negative effects are more pronounced in hospitalized patients. Therefore, with the available evidence, HCQ should not be used in prophylaxis or treatment of patients with COVID-19.     

Transient versus surgically managed small bowel intussusception in children: Role of ultrasound

Background:

To evaluate and compare the ultrasound (US) features of transient small bowel intussusception (SBI) with those which required surgical management.

Materials and Methods:

US features of 26 children with 32 intussusceptions from January 2014 to August 2014 were recorded and compared with follow-up imaging or surgical findings.

Results:

Transient SBI when compared to surgically managed intussusception has shorter length of intussusception (mean 2.25 cm, range 1.8-4.5 cm vs. mean 5.6 cm, range, 2.3-7.8 cm), smaller transverse diameter (mean, 1.2 cm, range 0.8-2.3 cm vs. mean, 3.3 cm, range 2.9-5.4 cm) and thin wall (mean, 3.3 mm, 2.3-4.9 mm vs. mean, 6.8 mm, range, 4.3-11.2 mm). Four out of five surgically managed intussusceptions were associated with the lead point while none of the transient SBI had any lead point. Peristalsis was absent in all surgically managed intussusceptions.

Conclusion:

Transient SBI is associated with a shorter length of intussusception, smaller transverse diameter, thin walls, absence of the lead point and visible peristalsis. All these findings may help in distinguishing it from those requiring surgical management.Key words: Children, surgically managed small bowel intussusception, transient small bowel intussusception, ultrasound