Turbans vs. Helmets: A Systematic Narrative Review of the Literature on Head Injuries and Impact Loci of Cranial Trauma in Several Recreational Outdoor Sports

When in public, faith-based mandates require practising Sikh men to wear a turban which may not be covered by hats or caps. This makes it impossible for practising Sikhs to wear helmets and other protective headwear, mandatory in many countries and facilities for engagement in recreational pursuits (e.g., skiing) and on adventure outdoor recreation camps mandatorily run for school groups. The result is often social exclusion and ostracisation in the case of school children. Despite studies into the efficacy of protective helmets in some recreational outdoor activity settings, virtually nothing is known about the protective potential of turbans. This paper systematically reviews the extant literature on head injuries in several recreational outdoor activities and sports sectors (aerial, water, winter, wheeled and animal-based sports) and finds that the extant literature is of limited value when trying to understand the spatial distribution of trauma on the cranial surface. As the data do not permit to make inferences on the protective potential of turbans, future systematic, evidence-based epidemiological studies derived from hospital admissions and forensic examinations are required. Failure to do so perpetuates social exclusion and discrimination of religious grounds without an evidentiary basis for defensible public health measures.

Synthesis of Tyrosol and Hydroxytyrosol Glycofuranosides and Their Biochemical and Biological Activities in Cell-Free and Cellular Assays

Tyrosol (T) and hydroxytyrosol (HOT) and their glycosides are promising candidates for applications in functional food products or in complementary therapy. A series of phenylethanoid glycofuranosides (PEGFs) were synthesized to compare some of their biochemical and biological activities with T and HOT. The optimization of glycosylation promoted by environmentally benign basic zinc carbonate was performed to prepare HOT α-L-arabino-, β-D-apio-, and β-D-ribofuranosides. T and HOT β-D-fructofuranosides, prepared by enzymatic transfructosylation of T and HOT, were also included in the comparative study. The antioxidant capacity and DNA-protective potential of T, HOT, and PEGFs on plasmid DNA were determined using cell-free assays. The DNA-damaging potential of the studied compounds for human hepatoma HepG2 cells and their DNA-protective potential on HepG2 cells against hydrogen peroxide were evaluated using the comet assay. Experiments revealed a spectrum of different activities of the studied compounds. HOT and HOT β-D-fructofuranoside appear to be the best-performing scavengers and protectants of plasmid DNA and HepG2 cells. T and T β-D-fructofuranoside display almost zero or low scavenging/antioxidant activity and protective effects on plasmid DNA or HepG2 cells. The results imply that especially HOT β-D-fructofuranoside and β-D-apiofuranoside could be considered as prospective molecules for the subsequent design of supplements with potential in food and health protection.

Prospects of using conservative linear B-cell epitopes of influenza virus A neuraminidase for induction of cross-protective immune response

BACKGROUND: Influenza is a dangerous, widespread infectious disease that takes thousands of lives during annual epidemics, and also causes significant damage to the countrys economy. The most effective means of fighting the influenza virus is vaccination of the population. Due to the variability of influenza viruses, the strain composition of influenza vaccines must be updated annually. In this regard, an urgent task is to improve the existing influenza vaccines in order to expand their spectrum of action. One of the promising approaches is the targeted induction of the humoral immune response to the conservative linear epitopes of influenza A virus neuraminidase. AIM: This project is aimed at assessing the immunogenicity and cross-protective activity of conserved neuraminidase epitopes in order to select promising targets for the targeted design of broad-spectrum influenza vaccines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Peptides corresponding to linear B-cell epitopes of neuraminidase were chemically synthesized de novo. The peptides were conjugated with keyhole limpet hemocyanin. CBA mice were immunized and challenged with A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) and A/Philippines/2/1982 (H3N2) viruses at a dose of 3 LD50. The survival rate of the animals was assessed within 14 days after infection. The immunogenicity of the peptides was assessed in a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the recombinant neuraminidase proteins of the viruses A/California/07/2009 (H1N1) and A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2) as antigen. RESULTS: Immunization of neuraminidase with peptides MNPNQKIITIGS and ILRTQESEC, but not DNWKGSNRP, protected mice from lethality caused by the H1N1 and/or H3N2 virus. The protective potential of the peptides correlated with the levels of antineuraminidase antibodies after immunization. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of a cross-protective potential in two conserved linear B-cell epitopes of influenza A neuraminidase (MNPNQKIITIGS and ILRTQESEC) allows them to be recommended as a target for the development of a broad-spectrum influenza vaccine.

Potential in microroughness domain of metal surface employed in cathodic protection mode

This effort presents the results of investigation of cathodic protection process of a section of the main pipeline, which has been operating in cathodic protection mode for a long time and which insulation has completely exfoliated from metal surface, and a cavity between is filled with water and salt impurities. In this case, a decisive factor is a fact that a metal surface is covered with microroughnesses in the form of protrusions with almost conical shape. The surface is immersed in electrolyte. At the electrolyte-metal interface, a potential difference is formed - a corrosion potential, which creates an unstable equilibrium among the potentials of metal and electrolyte. A mathematical model is designed and implemented into a numerical algorithm and computer program. A computational experiment has been carried out to calculate the potential around microroughness. The model describes a change in potential in this area at incomplete and complete cathodic protection of metal surface. The basis of computational model is a selection of one of metal protrusions of material microheterogeneity and placing it in a cylinder, which diameter coincides with that one of the lower base of this protrusion, and its upper part passes through the apex of the protrusion. Mathematical model equations with corresponding boundary conditions and their discrete implementation are presented. The solution of problems is obtained by iterative procedures based on reference values of protective potential taken from practice. The results of computational experiment are presented in the form of graphs: 1) potential distribution in the field of electrolytes; 2) changes in electrolyte potential at the border with protrusion at different values of polarization potential; 3) changes in polarization resistance in the area (calculated). The geometry of computational domain was also varied, and the values of protective potential were determined to ensure the absence of corrosion. Keywords: corrosion, microroughness, protective potential, plastic current density, electrolyte

Rieter, E. R., Zwaan, K., Urgency and Human Rights : The protective potential and legitimacy of interim measures, T.M.C. Asser Press, 2021, 319 pp.

<p>Recensión del libro titulado “URGENCY AND HUMAN RIGHTS : THE PROTECTIVE POTENTIAL AND LEGITIMACY OF INTERIM MEASURES”.</p>

Influenza Neuraminidase Characteristics and Potential as a Vaccine Target

Neuraminidase of influenza A and B viruses plays a critical role in the virus life cycle and is an important target of the host immune system. Here, we highlight the current understanding of influenza neuraminidase structure, function, antigenicity, immunogenicity, and immune protective potential. Neuraminidase inhibiting antibodies have been recognized as correlates of protection against disease caused by natural or experimental influenza A virus infection in humans. In the past years, we have witnessed an increasing interest in the use of influenza neuraminidase to improve the protective potential of currently used influenza vaccines. A number of well-characterized influenza neuraminidase-specific monoclonal antibodies have been described recently, most of which can protect in experimental challenge models by inhibiting the neuraminidase activity or by Fc receptor-dependent mechanisms. The relative instability of the neuraminidase poses a challenge for protein-based antigen design. We critically review the different solutions that have been proposed to solve this problem, ranging from the inclusion of stabilizing heterologous tetramerizing zippers to the introduction of inter-protomer stabilizing mutations. Computationally engineered neuraminidase antigens have been generated that offer broad, within subtype protection in animal challenge models. We also provide an overview of modern vaccine technology platforms that are compatible with the induction of robust neuraminidase-specific immune responses. In the near future, we will likely see the implementation of influenza vaccines that confront the influenza virus with a double punch: targeting both the hemagglutinin and the neuraminidase.