Comprehensive Analysis and Assessment of the Role of Major Bioactive Compounds Isolated from Justicia Adhatoda Leaves as Potent Antimycobacterial Agents

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be one of the world's leading causes of death by the infectious pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which infects one-third of the global population. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic made its spread rapid and the treatment task more daunting. With the havoc of infectious disease expansion, traditional medicines have triggered tremendous interest worldwide. However, less availability of scientific evidence still hinders its practical use. In the present study, we evaluated the potential of the traditional medicinal plant, Justicia adhatoda, which has been used to treat respiratory ailments since ancient times. We have successfully isolated and characterized several bioactive compounds viz- Vasicoline, Vasicolinone, Adhatodine, Adhavasine, Aniflorine, and Vasicinone from J. adhatoda plant leaves, including Vasicine as the principal compound, and showed their anti-tubercular activity on nutrient-starved Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium bovis. The study also directs their in-vitro and ex-vivo antimycobacterial potential on THP1 macrophages with internalized Mycobacterium. Our study is one of its first kind, where we assessed the synergistic antimycobacterial effect of the isolated compounds with the first-line drug Isoniazid (INH). Their potential role in promoting phagolysosome fusion and apoptosis of M. bovis infected THP1 macrophages is further evaluated.

Modeling the Contribution of Milk to Global Nutrition

Nutrient-rich foods play a major role in countering the challenges of nourishing an increasing global population. Milk is a source of high-quality protein and bioavailable amino acids, several vitamins, and minerals such as calcium. We used the DELTA Model, which calculates the delivery of nutrition from global food production scenarios, to examine the role of milk in global nutrition. Of the 29 nutrients considered by the model, milk contributes to the global availability of 28. Milk is the main contributing food item for calcium (49% of global nutrient availability), Vitamin B2 (24%), lysine (18%), and dietary fat (15%), and contributes more than 10% of global nutrient availability for a further five indispensable amino acids, protein, vitamins A, B5, and B12, phosphorous, and potassium. Despite these high contributions to individual nutrients, milk is responsible for only 7% of food energy availability, indicating a valuable contribution to global nutrition without necessitating high concomitant energy intakes. Among the 98 food items considered by the model, milk ranks in the top five contributors to 23 of the 29 nutrients modeled. This quantification of the importance of milk to global nutrition in the current global food system demonstrates the need for the high valuation of this food when considering future changes to the system.

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) genomics and transmission in a London hospital

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous environmental microorganisms and opportunistic pathogens in individuals with pre-existing lung conditions such as cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-CF bronchiectasis (BX). Whilst recent studies of Mycobacterium abscessus have identified transmission within single CF centres as well as nationally and globally, transmission of other NTM species is less well studied. We sequenced 1000 Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) isolates from CF and non-CF patients at the Royal Brompton Hospital (RBH), London. Epidemiological links were identified from patient records. Previously published genomes were used to characterise global population structures. Analysis of the three most predominant MAC species identified putative transmission clusters that contained patients with CF, BX and other lung conditions, although few epidemiological links could be identified. For M. avium, lineages were largely limited to single countries, whilst for M. chimaera, global transmission clusters previously associated with heater cooler units (HCUs) were found. However, the origin of the major HCU-associated outbreak was a lineage already circulating in patients with pre-existing lung conditions. CF and non-CF patients share transmission chains even in the presence of CF patient-focussed hospital control measures, although the lack of epidemiological links suggests that most transmission is indirect and may be due to environmental foci or else asymptomatic carriage in the wider population. The major HCU-associated M. chimaera lineage being derived from an already circulating lineage, suggests that HCUs are not the sole vector nor the ultimate source of this lineage. Future studies should include sampling of environmental reservoirs and potential asymptomatic carriers.

Plant-Based Proteins: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

Our global population is growing at a pace to exceed 10 billion people by the year 2050. This growth will place pressure on the agricultural production of food to feed the hungry masses. One category that will be strained is protein. Per capita protein consumption is rising in virtually every country for both nutritional reasons and consumption enjoyment. The United Nations estimates protein demand will double by 2050, and this will result in a critical overall protein shortage if drastic changes are not made in the years preceding these changes. Therefore, the world is in the midst of identifying technological breakthroughs to make protein more readily available and sustainable for future generations. One protein sourcing category that has grown in the past decade is plant-based proteins, which seem to fit criteria established by discerning consumers, including healthy, sustainable, ethical, and relatively inexpensive. Although demand for plant-based protein continues to increase, these proteins are challenging to utilize in novel food formulations. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, Volume 13 is March 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Vaccination of elite athletes against SARS-CoV-2 and broader implications for public health policy

SARS-CoV-2, a human β-coronavirus implicated as thecausative agent in the COVID-19 pandemic, has been the subject of the most globally intensive vaccine development effort inrecorded history. The spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates, deployedglobally, demonstrates an expansive diversity in regardsto design philosophies and immunological mechanisms of action. In the context of an aging, physically deconditioned, and overweight global population, which finds itself heavily burdened by a high prevalence of non-communicable chronic disease; elite strength, power and endurance athletes represent a minority population comprised of extreme physiological outliers. This report explores the molecular toxicity and pathophysiology of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, the design and immunological strategies embodied by the spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates, and the intersection of these phenomena with the demographic, lifestyle and physiological characteristics of elite athletes; so as to inform vaccination strategies against SARS-CoV-2 which most protect this outlying minority population.

Emotional and Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic in College Students

COVID-19 has altered the mental health of the global population. The fear of getting sick, combined with other factors from a healthcare crisis—fear of losing loved ones, social isolation, unemployment, uncertainty about the future, etc.—have created the perfect environment for a greater development of psychological health disorders. All sectors of society are being affected by these changes, including above all, college students. The aim of this chapter is to observe the specific disorders college students may develop and what teachers can do about them. A language exchange project will be proposed as an integrated and preventive tool. It will also constitute a resource for eventual mental health disorders management. The combination of these two realities—mental health and education—should work as the basis for further investigation on integrated projects.

Social Media Alternative for Health Communication in Nigeria

In the changing media and health landscapes, health communication requires more ways to improve and sustain new practices for health advocacy. The same way global population is soaring, people are becoming more urbane, and these vicissitudes are accompanied by the need to access new forms of media to meet information needs. This chapter assesses social media relevance as an alternative tool for health communication and clearly established that social media holds an integral locus in the day-to-day activities of the people, the same way it has for health communication. The growing concern is for stakeholders who are government and non-government agencies actors like traditional rulers, faith-based organisations, and international bodies to adopt the use of social media as an alternative for health communication in Nigeria.

Solid Waste Disposal on Inland Water Wetlands

Generation of solid waste precedes the surge of urbanization. The earliest waste dumping is recorded in Greece as early as 500 BCE, the conservancy workers in France, wastewater treatment in London, and aqueduct systems in oriental civilizations. The magnitude of waste has been compounding annually with the rise of global population, urbanization, and economic growth. Waste has been overtly and irresponsibly dumped in inland water bodies and the wetlands around it causing inherent damage to the fluvial, pond, or riverine ecosystems. The United Nations has declared this decade to be for ecosystem restoration, and hence, this chapter intends to ponder and establish the concerns of health, species modification, ecosystem endangering, pollution of the surface and subsurface water, impact on the vegetation along the water stretches, to name a few. The objective of this chapter is to evaluate the impact on the ecospheres while arriving at sustainable restoration options.