Prevalence of active HCV infection and genotypic distribution among the general population of district Mardan, Pakistan

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the serious global public health burden of liver disease. Approximately 170 million people in the world are infected with (HCV). In Pakistan, where the disease has high occurrence rate. The present study envisages an up-to-date prevalence of HCV and genotypic distribution in the general population of Mardan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. The blood samples from 6,538 individuals including 3,263 males and 3,275 females were analyzed for hepatitis C surface antigen by Immuno-chromatographic test (ICT), Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It was found that 396 (12.13%) out of 3263 individuals contained antibodies in their blood against HCV, while among the different age groups, the highest incidences of HCV antibodies were found in the 31-40 age group (11.01%). The ICT positive samples were further screened by nested PCR to determine the existence of active HCV-RNA. It was identified that 7.11% (3263) of the total population (6538) tested was positive, among which the 461 (14.07%) females possessed antibodies in their blood against HCV. Our data showed total HCV infection in the investigated population was 5.78%. Higher percentage of HCV prevalence was detected in males than females in the age group 31-40 and 41-50. To compare the prevalence of HCV genotypes age-wise in male and female genotype 3a was found most prevalent genotype followed by 1a, 2a and 3b, respectively.

Placenta-Specific miR-125b Overexpression Leads to Increased Rates of Pregnancy Loss in Mice

Pregnancy loss (PL) is one of the common complications that women can experience during pregnancy, with an occurrence rate of 1 to 5%. The potential causes of pregnancy loss are unclear, with no effective treatment modalities being available. It has been previously reported that the level of miR-125b was significantly increased in placentas of PL patients. However, the role of miR-125b in the development of PL still remains unknown. In the current study, an miR-125b placenta-specific over-expression model was constructed by lentiviral transfecting zona-free mouse embryos followed by embryo transfer. On gestation day 15, it was observed that the placenta was significantly smaller in the miR-125b placenta-specific overexpression group than the control group. Additionally, the abortion rate of the miR-125b placenta-specific overexpression group was markedly higher than in the control group. The blood vessel diameter was larger in the miR-125b-overexpressing specific placenta. In addition, miR-125b-overexpressing HTR8 and JEG3 cell lines were also generated to analyze the migration and invasion ability of trophoblasts. The results showed that miR-125b overexpression significantly suppressed the migration and invasion ability of HTR8 and JEG3 cells. Overall, our results demonstrated that miR-125b can affect embryo implantation through modulating placenta angiogenesis and trophoblast cell invasion capacity that can lead to PL.

Titanium alloy composited with dual-cytokine releasing polysaccharide hydrogel to enhance osseointegration via osteogenic and macrophage polarization signaling pathways

Titanium alloy has been widely used in orthopedic surgeries as bone defect filling. However, the regeneration of high-quality new bones is limited due to the pro-inflammatory microenvironment around implants, resulting in a high occurrence rate of implant loosening or failure in osteological therapy. In this study, extracellular matrix (ECM)-mimetic polysaccharide hydrogel co-delivering BMP-2 and IL-4 was composited with 3D printed titanium alloy to promote the osseointegration and regulate macrophage response to create a pro-healing microenvironment in bone defect. Notably, it is discovered from the bioinformatics data that IL-4 and BMP-2 could affect each other through multiple signal pathways to achieve a synergistic effect towards osteogenesis. The composite scaffold significantly promoted the osteoblast differentiation and proliferation of human bone marrow mesenchyme stem cells (hBMSCs). The repair of large-scale femur defect in rat indicated that the dual-cytokine-delivered composite scaffold could manipulate a lower inflammatory level in situ by polarizing macrophages to M2 phenotype, resulting in superior efficacy of mature new bone regeneration over the treatment of native titanium alloy or that with an individual cytokine. Collectively, this work highlights the importance of M2-type macrophages-enriched immune-environment in bone healing. The biomimetic hydrogel-metal implant composite is a versatile and advanced scaffold for accelerating in vivo bone regeneration, holding great promise in treating orthopedic diseases.

Sculpting the Sub-Saturn Occurrence Rate via Atmospheric Mass Loss

The sub-Saturn (∼4–8 R ⊕) occurrence rate rises with orbital period out to at least ∼300 days. In this work we adopt and test the hypothesis that the decrease in their occurrence toward the star is a result of atmospheric mass loss, which can transform sub-Saturns into sub-Neptunes (≲4 R ⊕) more efficiently at shorter periods. We show that under the mass-loss hypothesis, the sub-Saturn occurrence rate can be leveraged to infer their underlying core mass function, and, by extension, that of gas giants. We determine that lognormal core mass functions peaked near ∼10–20 M ⊕ are compatible with the sub-Saturn period distribution, the distribution of observationally inferred sub-Saturn cores, and gas-accretion theories. Our theory predicts that close-in sub-Saturns should be ∼50% less common and ∼30% more massive around rapidly rotating stars; this should be directly testable for stars younger than ≲500 Myr. We also predict that the sub-Jovian desert becomes less pronounced and opens up at smaller orbital periods around M stars compared to solar-type stars (∼0.7 days versus ∼3 days). We demonstrate that exceptionally low-density sub-Saturns, “super-puffs,” can survive intense hydrodynamic escape to the present day if they are born with even larger atmospheres than they currently harbor; in this picture, Kepler 223 d began with an envelope ∼1.5× the mass of its core and is currently losing its envelope at a rate of ∼2 × 10−3 M ⊕ Myr−1. If the predictions from our theory are confirmed by observations, the core mass function we predict can also serve to constrain core formation theories of gas-rich planets.

Let the Great World Spin: Revealing the Stormy, Turbulent Nature of Young Giant Exoplanet Analogs with the Spitzer Space Telescope

We present a survey for photometric variability in young, low-mass brown dwarfs with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The 23 objects in our sample show robust signatures of youth and share properties with directly imaged exoplanets. We present three new young objects: 2MASS J03492367+0635078, 2MASS J09512690−8023553, and 2MASS J07180871−6415310. We detect variability in 13 young objects, and find that young brown dwarfs are highly likely to display variability across the L2–T4 spectral type range. In contrast, the field dwarf variability occurrence rate drops for spectral types >L9. We examine the variability amplitudes of young objects and find an enhancement in maximum amplitudes compared to field dwarfs. We speculate that the observed range of amplitudes within a spectral type may be influenced by secondary effects such as viewing inclination and/or rotation period. We combine our new rotation periods with the literature to investigate the effects of mass on angular momentum evolution. While high-mass brown dwarfs (>30M Jup) spin up over time, the same trend is not apparent for lower-mass objects (<30M Jup), likely due to the small number of measured periods for old, low-mass objects. The rotation periods of companion brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects are consistent with those of isolated objects with similar ages and masses, suggesting similar angular momentum histories. Within the AB Doradus group, we find a high-variability occurrence rate and evidence for common angular momentum evolution. The results are encouraging for future variability searches in directly imaged exoplanets with facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope and 30 m telescopes.

Studies on VLF atmospherics during the tropical cyclone “AILA” and several monsoon period thunderstorms over north-east India

bl 'kks/k i= esa vizSy 2009 ls vDrwcj 2009 dh vof/k ds nkSjku HkkSfrdh foHkkx] f=iqjk fo’ofo|ky; }kjk oh- ,y- ,Q- ok;qeaMyh; vFkok LQsfjDl dh vfHkyk{kf.kd fofo/krk dks pkj vyx & vyx vko`fr;ksa esa ntZ fd;k x;k gSA bl 'kks/k i= esa mRrj iwoZ Hkkjr ds 76 lfØ; xtZ ds lkFk rwQku okys vf/kdk¡’k fnuksa ds vk¡dMs+ iz;qDr fd, x,A buls izkIr ifj.kkeksa esa ekulwu ds nkSjku LQsfjDl ifjorZu esa dbZ izdkj dh fo’ks"krk,¡ n’kkZbZ xbZ gSaA bu Øfed fxjkoV] Øfed o`f) ¼th- ,Q- th- vkj-½] Øfed o`f) vpkud fxjkoV ¼th- vkj- ,l- ,Q-½] Øfed o`f) Øfed fxjkoV ¼th- vkj th- ,Q-½] Øfed fxjkoV vpkud o`f) ¼th- ,Q-,l- vkj-½] vkdfLed o`f) Øfed fxjkoV ¼,l- vkj- th- ,Q-½] vpkud fxjkoV vpkud o`f) ¼,l- vkj- ,l- ,Q-½ vpkud fxjkoV vpkud o`f) ¼,l- ,Q- ,l- vkj-½ vpkud fxjkoV Øfed o`f) ¼,l- ,Q- th- vkj-½ rFkk dBksj ¼Spiky½ Lo:i esa n’kkZ;k x;k gSA ekulwuh lfØ; xtZ ds lkFk rwQkuksa okys vf/kdka’k fnuksa esa lHkh izdkj ds iSVuksaZ esa ¼th- vkj th- ,Q-½ dh vko`fr vf/kdrj izdj.kksa esa ntZ gqbZ gS ¼izR;sd vko`fr esa vkSlru yxHkx 37 izfr’kr ?kVuk,¡ ntZ gqbZ gSa½ gekjh izs{k.kkRed vof/k ds nkSjku 23&26 ebZ dh vof/k esa caxky dh [kkM+h esa ‘vkbZyk’ uked ,d rhoz m".kdfVca/kh; pØokr vkj-,l-,e-lh- inuke% ch- vks- ch- vks-2] ts- Vh- MCY;w- lh- inuke% vks- Vw- ch- vk;k FkkA 25 ebZ 2009 ds m".k ds m".kdfVca/kh; pØokr ds nkSjku lHkh izdkj ds lkekU; ekulwuh vof/k dh vfHkyk{kf.kd fo’ks"krkvksa esa ,l-vkj-,l-,Q- ¼izR;sd vko`fr esa 86 izfr’kr ds vkSlru nj ls ?kfVr½ vko`fr vf/kdrj izdj.kksa esa ns[kh xbZ gSA tc pØokr caxky dh [kkM+h ds rVksa ls Vdjk;k ml fnu ds LQsfjDl ds vyx&vyx vko`fr forj.kksa ds vuqlkj o`f) vkSj fxjkoV dk xaHkhjrk ls fo’ys"k.k fd;k x;kA ekulwuh fnuksa vkSj ‘vkbyk’ pØokr lfØ; fnol ds lHkh ds lHkh izdkj ds iSVuksaZ dk rqyukRed v/;;u fd;k x;kA gekjs fu"d"kZ ds vuqlkj izpaM pØokr ‘vkbyk’ vkSj vU; xtZ Hkjs rwQku okys ekulwuh fnuksa ds nkSjku mRrj iwoZ Hkkjr esa cknyksa dh lw{e lajpuk esa dkQh varj fn[kkA pØokrh xfrfof/k ds nkSjku LQSfjDl ds ns[ks x, cnyko dh laHkkfor O;k[;k dks xtZ Hkjs rwQku okys cknyksa dh rfM+r xfrfof/k ds vk/kkj ij le>k;k x;k gSA The present work reports the characteristic variations in VLF atmospherics or sferics at four discrete frequencies recorded at the Department of Physics, Tripura University, during the period from April 2009 to October 2009. Data from 76 active thunder days over North-East India is considered for the present investigation. Results show several types of features in the variation of sferics during the monsoon period. These are termed as gradual fall gradual rise (GFGR), gradual rise sudden fall (GRSF), gradual rise gradual fall (GRGF), gradual fall sudden rise (GFSR), sudden rise gradual fall (SRGF), sudden rise sudden fall (SRSF), sudden fall sudden rise (SFSR), sudden fall gradual rise (SFGR) and spiky. During the Monsoon thunder active days, amongst all the patterns, GRGF occurred in most of the cases in all frequencies (average occurrence rate around 37% in each frequency). During our observational period, a severe tropical cyclonic storm named “AILA” (RSMC Designation BOB02, JTWC Designation 02B) occurred over the Bay of Bengal during 23-26 May 2009. Among several characteristic features during normal Monsoon period, SRSF (average occurrence rate around 86 % in each frequency) dominated the sferics on the 25 May, 2009, when the cyclone struck the coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal. The sferics of that day has been analyzed critically with respect to discrete frequency distribution of rise rate and fall rate of the intensity of the sferics. A comparison is made for all the patterns for the Monsoon days and the AILA cyclone active day. Our findings show substantial difference in the microstructure of clouds producing severe cyclonic storms like AILA and other thunderstorms during Monsoon seasons over North-East India. The possible interpretation of the observed variations in sferics is explained on the basis of the electrical activity that occurs inside a thunder-cloud especially during cyclonic activity.

Diseases of the digestive system of agoutis (Dasyprocta leporina) raised in captivity in the Brazilian semiarid region

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to describe the clinical and pathological aspects of diseases of the digestive system in agoutis (Dasyprocta leporina Linnaeus, 1758) diagnosed by the “Laboratório de Patologia Veterinária” (Veterinary Pathology Laboratory) of the “Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido” (UFERSA), from January 2018 to February 2020. During the study period, necropsy and a survey of the clinical history of 27 agoutis were performed, 25.93% (7/27) of which were diagnosed with digestive system diseases. The percentages of digestive tract diseases among the diagnosed were: acute carbohydrate overload (11.12%), gastric ulcer (7.41%), gastric volvulus (3.70%), and intestinal volvulus (3.70%). Studies on the occurrence rate of these diseases, as well as the description of their clinical and anatomopathological aspects, may serve as a basis for guiding the appropriate management in the breeding of these animals.

Multiple Cannulated Screw Fixation of Femoral Neck Fractures with Comminution in Young and Middle Age Patients

Objective To investigate the distribution and influence of comminutions on femoral neck fracture (FNF) patients after cannulated screw fixation (CSF). Methods From January 2019 to June 2020, a total of 473 patients with FNF treated by CSF, aged 23–65 years, were included in present study. Based on location of the cortical comminution, the FNF patients were assigned as comminution group (anterior comminution, posterior comminution, superior comminution, inferior comminution, multiple comminutions) and without comminution group. The incidence of postoperative complications, quality of life and functional outcomes were recorded in different groups at 1 year-follow up. Results The comminution was more likely to appear in displaced FNF patients (86.8%) compared with non-displaced FNF patients (8.9%), while occurrence rate of comminution was also closely associated with Pauwels classification (3.2% vs 53.5% vs 83.9%, P<0.05). Besides, the incidence of osteonecrosis of femoral head (ONFH, 11.3% vs 2.9%, P<0.05), nonunion (7.5% vs 1.7%, P<0.05), femoral neck shortening (21.6% vs 13.4%, P<0.05) and internal fixation failure (11.8% vs 2.9%, P<0.05) in FNF patients with comminutions, especially with multiple comminutions, was significantly higher than those in FNF patients without comminution. Furthermore, there was a prominently difference in Harris hip score (HHS, 85.6±15.6 vs 91.3±10.8, P<0.05) and EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D, 0.85±0.17 vs 0.91±0.18, P<0.05) score between FNF patients with comminution and FNF patients without comminution, whereas there was seem to be no significantly difference in Visual analogue scale (VAS, 1.46±2.49 vs 1.13±1.80, P>0.05) score between two groups at 1 year after surgery. Conclusion In our view, the comminution, easily happened in displaced FNF and Pauwel type III FNF, which was deemed to be a risk factor for postoperative complications in young and middle-aged patients underwent CSF, consequently causing an influence on recovery of hip function and life quality. However, further evaluation with better study design, larger sample and long-term follow-up was still imminently applied.

Quantum Dots: Synthesis, Antibody Conjugation, and HER2-Receptor Targeting for Breast Cancer Therapy

Breast cancer is becoming one of the main lethal carcinomas in the recent era, and its occurrence rate is increasing day by day. There are different breast cancer biomarkers, and their overexpression takes place in the metastasis of cancer cells. The most prevalent breast cancer biomarker is the human epidermal growth factor receptor2 (HER2). As this biomarker is overexpressed in malignant breast tissues, it has become the main focus in targeted therapies to fight breast cancer. There is a cascade of mechanisms involved in metastasis and cell proliferation in cancer cells. Nanotechnology has become extremely advanced in targeting and imaging cancerous cells. Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor NPs, and they are used for bioimaging, biolabeling, and biosensing. They are synthesized by different approaches such as top-down, bottom-up, and synthetic methods. Fully human monoclonal antibodies synthesized using transgenic mice having human immunoglobulin are used to target malignant cells. For the HER2 receptor, herceptin® (trastuzumab) is the most specific antibody (Ab), and it is conjugated with QDs by using different types of coupling mechanisms. This quantum dot monoclonal antibody (QD-mAb) conjugate is localized by injecting it into the blood vessel. After the injection, it goes through a series of steps to reach the intracellular space, and bioimaging of specifically the HER2 receptor occurs, where apoptosis of the cancer cells takes place either by the liberation of Ab or the free radicals.

Great Lakes Basin Heat Waves: An Analysis of Their Increasing Probability of Occurrence Under Global Warming

Extreme heat events in the Great Lakes Basin (GLB) region of eastern North America are expected to increase in concert with greenhouse gas (GHG) induced global warming. The extent of this regional increase is also influenced by the direct effects of the Great Lakes themselves. This paper describes results from an ensemble of dynamically downscaled global warming projection using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) regional climate model coupled to the Freshwater Lake (FLake) model over the Great Lakes region. In our downscaling pipeline, we explore two sets of WRF physics configurations, with the initial and boundary conditions provided by four different fully coupled Global Climate Models (GCMs). Three time periods are investigated, namely an instrumental period (1979–1989) that is employed for validation, and a mid-century (2050–2060) and an end-century (2085–2100) periods that are used to understand the future impacts of global warming. Results from the instrumental period are characterized by large variations in climate states between the ensemble members, which is attributed to differences in both GCM forcing and WRF physics configuration. Results for the future periods, however, are such that the regional model results have good agreement with GCM results insofar as the rise of average temperature with GHG is concerned. Analysis of extreme heat events suggests that the occurrence rate of such events increase steadily with rising temperature, and that the Great Lakes exert strong lake effect influence on extreme heat events in this region.