A perception-based study to explore COVID-19 pandemic stress and its factors in Bangladesh

Background and aimsWorldwide the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated sufferings of mental health and behaviour attitudes of people. Many countries, including Bangladesh, reported suicide as extreme consequences of the psychological burden influenced by COVID-19. The present study explores human stress and its factor influenced by COVID-19 in Bangladesh, which significantly affect the quality of life.MethodsAn online-based questionnaire survey was conducted among 651 adult Bangladeshi populations by capturing socio-demographic information, possible human stress, and consequences of the pandemic. A set of statistical tools such as Pearson's Correlation Matrix (PCM), T-test, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were applied to identify the relationship between different factors and influential factors increasing human stress.ResultsMore than 83% of the participants are facing COVID-19 related mental stress, which results in short temper, sleep disorder, and family chaos. PCA and HCA outcomes indicated a significant relationship between the respondents' opinions and human stress factors, which harmonized with the country's existing scenario. PCM results enlighten the relationship between human stress factors and found financial hardship, cutting back daily spending, and food crisis are interconnected together causes stress. Also, hampering students' formal education and future career plans significantly contribute to mental stress.ConclusionBased on the above findings, it's crucial to introduce a time-oriented strategy and implement precaution monitoring plans for Bangladesh. The rescue plan will help people to manage the pandemic and improve mental health to fight against psychological challenges related to COVID-19 and future pandemics.     

Cancer of the hypopharynx — A clinical study of 290 cases

Between 1986–1990, 290 patients with squamouscell carcinoma of the hypopharynx were assessed at the S. S. K. M. Hospital Calcutta, out of the total of 1460 number of Head Neck cancer, (19.8%). The most frequent initial symptom was a foreign body sensation in the throat (70%), and males were affected more than females (9.8 : 1.2). The peak age incidence was found between 40 and 50 years (24%). Most of the patients came in advanced stages with cervical lymph node metastases (60%). One interesting fact that came out from the present study is the Right pyriform fassa was more commonly affected than the left in righthanded persons (56.9%). Though the reason is not clear it could be due to right — sided swallow, as one side may be predominant in funtion.     

Retinoyl β-Glucuronide: A Biologically Active Form of Vitamin A

Retinoyl β-glucuronide is a naturally occurring, biologically active metabolite of vitamin A. Although retinoyl β-glucuronide is regarded as a detoxification product of retinoic acid, it plays several roles in the functions of vitamin A. It can serve as a source of retinoic acid, and it may be a vehicle for transport of retinoic acid to target tissues. Topically applied retinoyl β-glucuronide is comparable in efficacy to retinoic acid in the treatment of acne in humans, without the same side effects. Retinoyl β-glucuronide may or may not be teratogenic, depending on the mode of administration and the species in which it is used. It may be a valuable therapeutic compound for the treatment of skin disorders and certain types of cancers.     

Efficiency of the ortho VITROS assay for detection of hepatitis C virus-specific antibodies increased by elimination of supplemental testing of samples with very low sample-to-cutoff ratios

The clinical significance of specimens with low sample-to-cutoff (S/Co) ratios in the Ortho VITROS chemiluminescence assay (CIA) for detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) was evaluated. In one study of 482 CIA-reactive samples, none of the 83 samples with S/Co ratios of < 5 was HCV RNA positive. In a subsequent study, 332 samples with S/Co ratios of between 1 and 20 were tested with the recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA). None of the 163 samples with S/Co ratios of < 5 was RIBA positive, 83% were RIBA negative, and 28 samples (18%) were RIBA indeterminate. HCV RNA and/or clinical evidence of hepatitis was not found in the 27 indeterminate cases examined. These results show that over 99% of samples with very low S/Co ratios (< or = 5) have no evidence of HCV infection. Therefore, we suggest that the HCV antibody testing algorithm for the VITROS assay might be modified to eliminate supplemental testing of samples with very low S/Co ratios.     

Bivalent non-typhoidal Salmonella outer membrane vesicles immunized mice sera confer passive protection against gastroenteritis in a suckling mice model

Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) serovars, especially Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) and Salmonella Enteritidis (SE), cause gastroenteritis worldwide. Due to the emergence of multi-drug resistance in iNTS, a broad-spectrum vaccine is urgently needed for the prevention of iNTS infection. Currently, there is no effective licensed vaccine against iNTS available in the market. We have formulated an outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) based bivalent immunogen as a vaccine candidate to generate broad-spectrum protective immunity against both recently circulating prevalent ST and SE. We have isolated OMVs from ST and SE and formulated the immunogen by mixing both OMVs (1:1 ratio). Three doses of bivalent immunogen significantly induced humoral immune responses against lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) and outer membrane proteins (OMPs) as well as a cell-mediated immune response in adult mice. We also observed that proteins of OMVs act as an adjuvant for generation of high levels of anti-LPS antibodies through T cell activation. We then characterized the one-day old suckling mice model for both ST and SE mediated gastroenteritis and used the model for a passive protection study. In the passive protection study, we found the passive transfer of bivalent OMVs immunized sera significantly reduced ST and SE mediated colonization and gastroenteritis symptoms in the colon of suckling mice compared to non-immunized sera recipients. The overall study demonstrated that OMVs based bivalent vaccine could generate broad-spectrum immunity against prevalent iNTS mediated gastroenteritis. This study also established the suckling mice model as a suitable animal model for vaccine study against iNTS mediated gastroenteritis.     

NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS IN CHILDREN PRESENTING WITH AFEBRILE SEIZURE: CLINICAL PROFILE,IMAGING AND SERODIAGNOSIS

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is one of the major causes of childhood seizures in developing countries including India and Latin America. In this study neurological pediatric cases presenting with afebrile seizures were screened for anti-Cysticercus antibodies (IgG) in their sera in order to estimate the possible burden of cysticercal etiology. The study included a total of 61 pediatric afebrile seizure subjects (aged one to 15 years old); there was a male predominance. All the sera were tested using a pre-evaluated commercially procured IgG-ELISA kit (UB-Magiwell Cysticercosis Kit ^™). Anti-Cysticercus antibody in serum was positive in 23 of 61 (37.7%) cases. The majority of cases with a positive ELISA test presented with generalized seizure (52.17%), followed by complex partial seizure (26.08%), and simple partial seizure (21.73%). Headaches were the major complaint (73.91%). Other presentations were vomiting (47.82%), pallor (34.78%), altered sensorium (26.08%), and muscle weakness (13.04%). There was one hemiparesis case diagnosed to be NCC. In this study one child without any significant findings on imaging was also found to be positive by serology. There was a statistically significant association found between the cases with multiple lesions on the brain and the ELISA-positivity (p = 0.017). Overall positivity of the ELISA showed a potential cysticercal etiology. Hence, neurocysticercosis should be suspected in every child presenting with afebrile seizure especially with a radio-imaging supportive diagnosis in tropical developing countries or areas endemic for taeniasis/cysticercosis.     

Role of No Scalpel Vasectomy in Male Sterilization

No Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) is a modern method of delivery, ligation and excision of vas deference without use of a knife. It provides a permanent sterilization option for male. It is a safe, effective method of vasectomy with low complication and greater patient compliance. To evaluate effectiveness and its acceptance of the procedure data were collected on men who accepted NSV between Jan??2008 to Mar??09. Demographic information, motivating factors, educational status and surgical complications were recorded. The cases were done in rural hospitals & Primary health centers as camp procedure. A total of 649 vasectomies performed using NSV method from Jan??08 to Mar??09. The mean age of the acceptors was 35?years with 4 numbers of children on average. Complications included bleeding during surgery in 4 cases (0.6%), haematoma in one case (0.2%), and superficial wound infection occurred in two cases (0.3%) and scrotal pain in 4 cases (0.6%). NSV is an effective, minimal access method of vas delivery, ligation and excision. It provides safe and effective contraceptive option to male population with minimal complications. Doctors, health workers along with the simplicity of procedure and early return to work are great motivating factors. It is easily performed as camp procedure in a simple medical setup. Doctors can be effectively trained hands on during the camp procedure.     

From the Cover: An ancient,conserved gene regulatory network led to the rise of oral venom systems

Oral venom systems evolved multiple times in numerous vertebrates enabling the exploitation of unique predatory niches. Yet how and when they evolved remains poorly understood. Up to now, most research on venom evolution has focused strictly on the toxins. However, using toxins present in modern day animals to trace the origin of the venom system is difficult, since they tend to evolve rapidly, show complex patterns of expression, and were incorporated into the venom arsenal relatively recently. Here we focus on gene regulatory networks associated with the production of toxins in snakes, rather than the toxins themselves. We found that overall venom gland gene expression was surprisingly well conserved when compared to salivary glands of other amniotes. We characterized the “metavenom network,” a network of ∼3,000 nonsecreted housekeeping genes that are strongly coexpressed with the toxins, and are primarily involved in protein folding and modification. Conserved across amniotes, this network was coopted for venom evolution by exaptation of existing members and the recruitment of new toxin genes. For instance, starting from this common molecular foundation, Heloderma lizards, shrews, and solenodon, evolved venoms in parallel by overexpression of kallikreins, which were common in ancestral saliva and induce vasodilation when injected, causing circulatory shock. Derived venoms, such as those of snakes, incorporated novel toxins, though still rely on hypotension for prey immobilization. These similarities suggest repeated cooption of shared molecular machinery for the evolution of oral venom in mammals and reptiles, blurring the line between truly venomous animals and their ancestors.

Venoms are proteinaceous mixtures that can be traced and quantified to distinct genomic loci, providing a level of genetic tractability that is rare in other traits (1–4). This advantage of venom systems provides insights into processes of molecular evolution that are otherwise difficult to obtain. For example, studies in cnidarians showed that gene duplication is an effective way to increase protein dosage in tissues where different ecological roles can give rise to different patterns of gene expression (2, 5). Studies of venom in snakes have allowed comparisons of the relative importance of sequence evolution vs. gene expression evolution, as well as how a lack of genetic constraint enables diversity in complex traits (6, 7).Despite the wealth of knowledge venoms have provided about general evolutionary processes, the common molecular basis for the evolution of venom systems themselves is unknown. Even in snakes, which have perhaps the best studied venom systems, very little is known about the molecular architecture of these systems at their origin (8, 9). Using toxin families present in modern snakes to understand evolution at its origin is difficult because toxins evolve rapidly, both in terms of sequence and gene expression (10, 11). Toxins experience varying degrees of selection and drift, complicating interpretations of evolutionary models (12), and estimation of gene family evolution is often inconsistent, varying with which part of the gene (exon or intron) is used to construct the phylogeny (13). Most importantly, present-day toxins became a part of the venom over time; this diminishes their utility in trying to understand events that lead to the rise of venom systems in the nonvenomous ancestors of snakes (14, 15).A gene coexpression network aims to identify genes that interact with one another based on common expression profiles (16). Groups of coexpressed genes that have similar expression patterns across samples are identified using hierarchical clustering and are placed in gene “modules” (17). Constructing a network and comparing expression profiles of modules across taxa can identify key drivers of phenotypic change, as well as aid in identifying initial genetic targets of natural selection (18, 19). Comparative analysis using gene coexpression networks allows us to distinguish between ancient genetic modules representing core cellular processes, evolving modules that give rise to lineage-specific differences, and highly flexible modules that have evolved differently in different taxa (20). Gene coexpression networks are also widely used to construct gene regulatory networks (GRNs) owing to their reliability in capturing biologically relevant interactions between genes, as well as their high power in reproducing known protein–protein interactions (21, 22).Here we focus on gene coexpression networks involved in the production of snake venom, rather than the venom toxins themselves. Using a coexpression network we characterized the genes associated with venom production, which we term the “metavenom network,” and determine its biological role. We traced the origin of this network to the common ancestor of amniotes, which suggests that the venom system originated from a conserved gene regulatory network. The conserved nature of the metavenom network across amniotes suggests that oral venom systems started with a common gene regulatory foundation, and underwent lineage-specific changes to give rise to diverse venom systems in snakes, lizards, and even mammals.