Co-infection of Dengue and Chikungunya viruses: A Serological study from Ananthapuramu District, Andhra Pradesh

Introduction: It is observed that the infections of Dengue and Chikungunya were rising in many parts of India. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are common vectors for dengue virus (DENV) and CHIK virus (CHIKV). In areas where both viruses co circulate, they can be transmitted together. The present study was undertaken to study the clinical features of dengue–CHIK coinfection and compare it with mono infection. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at Government General hospital, Ananthapuramu on 100 hospitalized suspected patients from July 2021 and November 2021. They were serologically screened for DENV, CHIKV and both by performing RTPCR for dengue and ELISA CHIK IgM for Chikungunya. Results: Out of the total 100 samples collected from suspected patients, 28 (28%) samples were positive for DENV while 5 (5%) samples were positive for CHIKV. In addition to this, 4 sera were positive (4%) for coinfection of DENV and CHIKV. Co infected patients had fever in all cases while rash was seen in only 50% cases. Fever, Myaliga, Arthralgia and thrombocytopenia were seen in many number of co infected cases which signifies the overlapping nature of dengue–CHIK coinfection. Conclusion: It is concluded that strict control measures should be implemented to stop the spread of these viruses as there in Increase in the number of Dengue and Chikungunya infections and their co circulation.

Seismic Vulnerability Due to Construction Defects

In Ecuador, informal construction is a recurrent problem, especially in low-span constructions, as well as in medium-size constructions, in which there is no strict control during their construction and design. This leads to deficient constructions, which diminishes the resilience of the elements, even though they are designed by a professional with experience in structural design, who follows at least all the guidelines of the current standards, and uses the appropriate tools for their conception and design. This generates a false sense of security in the occupants of the building. Failures do not usually occur in the short term, no matter how pitiful the construction method was. In case of anomalies, it is considered something futile, easy to cover up, which only has aesthetic implications. This causes even the most experienced of technicians to trust, making crass mistakes that can lead to the collapse of the structure. Given these problems, the degree of vulnerability due to defects in the building was evaluated.

Analysis of Microplastics Released from Plain Woven Classified by Yarn Types during Washing and Drying

Microplastics reach the aquatic environment through wastewater. Larger debris is removed in sewage treatment plants, but filters are not explicitly designed to retain sewage sludge’s microplastic or terrestrial soils. Therefore, the effective quantification of filtration system to mitigate microplastics is needed. To mitigate microplastics, various devices have been designed, and the removal efficiency of devices was compared. However, this study focused on identifying different fabrics that shed fewer microplastics. Therefore, in this study, fabric-specific analyses of microplastics of three different fabrics during washing and drying processes were studied. Also, the change in the generation of microplastics for each washing process of standard washing was investigated. The amount of microplastics released according to the washing process was analyzed, and the collected microplastics’ weight, length, and diameter were measured and recorded. According to the different types of yarn, the amount of microplastic fibers produced during washing and drying varied. As the washing processes proceed, the amount of microplastics gradually decreased. The minimum length (>40 µm) of micro-plastics generated were in plain-woven fabric. These results will be helpful to mitigate microplastics in the production of textiles and in selecting built-in filters, and focusing on the strict control of other parameters will be useful for the development of textile-based filters, such as washing bags.

Evaluation of the Anti-fouling Efficacy of Bacillus licheniformis Extracts Under Environmental and Natural Conditions

There is an increasing interest in developing innovative coatings and testing natural products with anti-fouling activity to substitute current highly toxic biocides that have a harmful impact on marine organisms. Bacillus licheniformis species have shown different anti-biofilm and anti-fouling activities in vitro, but so far, its efficacy in field trials has not been tested. For this purpose, the capacity of different extracts of B. licheniformis NCTC 10341T to prevent micro and macro-fouling was first tested in vitro. The methanol cell extract (MCE) inhibited bacterial biofilm formation without significantly affecting planktonic growth and displayed a significant efficacy to prevent larval settlement of the macro-fouler Bugula neritina in vitro without inducing lethality. Additionally, the MCE presented low toxicity against the non-target species Artemia salina. The B. licheniformis MCE was then incorporated in a self-polishing paint at 2 and 5% w/w and tested in a static immersion experiment in the Gulf of Aqaba (northern Red Sea) for 180 days. Fouling coverage decreased by 30% in the 5% MCE-treated panels in comparison with the control panels. Differences in the anti-biofilm activity of the extracts depending on the culture medium highlight the importance of the strict control of culture conditions for the production of biomass with stable bioactive activity. The results indicate the potential of B. licheniformis NCTC 10341T crude extracts for environmentally friendly anti-fouling applications, although a deeper characterization of the bioactive compounds present in the B. licheniformis MCE and its mode of action is required to allow strict control of the activity of the extracts to achieve large-scale industrial production.

On the Border: Bulgarian Art in the 60s of the 20th Century Faced at a New Choice

The representation examines the complex choices that artists must make in the 60s of the last century in the face of strict control and liberal demagoguery. Some decide to accept the regime’s demands unconditionally, others are willing to cooperate with the hope that in time they will continue to develop their own aesthetics, but there are a few who do not accept to serve the system and remain in their personal world rich in inventions, enduring all misfortunes. In this different behaviour is the picture of Bulgarian art in this dramatic decade, which gave impetus to the subsequent development of new strategies in changing social and psychological conditions.

Regulation of Bacterial Ribonucleases

Ribonucleases (RNases) are essential for almost every aspect of RNA metabolism. However, despite their important metabolic roles, RNases can also be destructive enzymes. As a consequence, cells must carefully regulate the amount, the activity, and the localization of RNases to avoid the inappropriate degradation of essential RNA molecules. In addition, bacterial cells often must adjust RNase levels as environmental situations demand, also requiring careful regulation of these critical enzymes. As the need for strict control of RNases has become more evident, multiple mechanisms for this regulation have been identified and studied, and these are described in this review. The major conclusion that emerges is that no common regulatory mechanism applies to all RNases, or even to a family of RNases; rather, a wide variety of processes have evolved that act on these enzymes, and in some cases, multiple regulatory mechanisms can even act on a single RNase. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Microbiology, Volume 75 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Strategic Boredom: The Experience and Dynamics of Boredom in Refugee Camp. A Mediterranean Case

This article examines the boredom of asylum seekers living in a refugee camp in southern Europe. It concerns the understudied yet widespread phenomenon of boredom in the detention centers and other places where people wait several months/years to obtain permits to stay in a given state (EU) and cannot work. Boredom is defined as a socially constructed feeling that is an effect of the interaction between people and institutional/organizational ambiance that lacks qualities necessary to arouse engagement. We distinguished three modalities of the phenomenon: “doing nothing,” “life in limbo,” and “strategic boredom.” We claim that the last is the most powerful phenomenon. Strategic boredom is the specific tool of strict control exercised on the asylum seekers by the administration of the camp to force them to be idle and passive. On the other hand, the dominated group uses the expected mood of boredom as a strategy to obtain the favors of camp administration; this strategy—they hope—will conclude in the obtention of a permit of stay and/or the legal status of a refugee.

Reduction in mobility and COVID-19 transmission

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have sought to control SARS-CoV-2 transmission by restricting population movement through social distancing interventions, thus reducing the number of contacts. Mobility data represent an important proxy measure of social distancing, and here, we characterise the relationship between transmission and mobility for 52 countries around the world. Transmission significantly decreased with the initial reduction in mobility in 73% of the countries analysed, but we found evidence of decoupling of transmission and mobility following the relaxation of strict control measures for 80% of countries. For the majority of countries, mobility explained a substantial proportion of the variation in transmissibility (median adjusted R-squared: 48%, interquartile range - IQR - across countries [27–77%]). Where a change in the relationship occurred, predictive ability decreased after the relaxation; from a median adjusted R-squared of 74% (IQR across countries [49–91%]) pre-relaxation, to a median adjusted R-squared of 30% (IQR across countries [12–48%]) post-relaxation. In countries with a clear relationship between mobility and transmission both before and after strict control measures were relaxed, mobility was associated with lower transmission rates after control measures were relaxed indicating that the beneficial effects of ongoing social distancing behaviours were substantial.

Technology of engraving production in the conditions of distance learning

The article deals with methods of teaching to create colored engraving in the framework of distance learning of the discipline "Graphics Technique" in the field of "Design". Creating an engraving by means of distance learning can give a positive result under condition of strict control by the teacher and the active work of students.