Role of air pollution in chronic kidney disease: an update on evidence, mechanisms and mitigation strategies

Air pollution results from a variable and complex mixture of harmful gases and suspended particles and is the most worrisome of all environmental hazards. It is implicated in several non -communicable diseases and is recognized to be a public health problem. Though the initial exposure to air pollution is through the respiratory system, kidneys are thought to be exposed to higher concentrations owing to their filtration function. Chronic kidney disease is the insidious end result of several disease processes which cumulatively form a large healthcare burden, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. There is a growing body of evidence that air pollution may be a contributing factor that leads to CKD by not only its direct effects, but can also compound the effect of other factors/diseases causing kidney injury. PM_2.5 exposure particularly has been implicated, although there is some evidence regarding other air pollutants as well. These pollutants are thought to act on kidneys through several interlinked systemic pathways and mechanisms which individually and collectively damage the nephrons. Long-term exposures seem to gradually diminish renal function and lead to end-stage renal disease. A thorough understanding of the mechanism of kidney injury is the key for formulating and implementing effective strategies for reducing this burden. Maintaining the air quality, promoting education, improving health quality and promotion of targeted nephroprotective measures through effective policy and research support are required in addressing this global public health problem.

Genetic interaction between RLM1 and F-box motif encoding gene SAF1 contributes to stress response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

BACKGROUND

Stress response is mediated by the transcription of stress-responsive genes. The F-box motif protein Saf1p is involved in SCF-E3 ligase mediated degradation of the adenine deaminase, Aah1p upon nutrient stress. The four transcription regulators, BUR6, MED6, SPT10, SUA7, are listed for SAF1 in the genome database of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here in this study, we carried out an in-silico analysis of gene expression and transcription factor databases to understand the regulation of SAF1 expression during stress for hypothesis and experimental analysis.

RESULT

An analysis of the GEO profile database indicated an increase in SAF1 expression when cells were treated with stress agents such as Clioquinol, Pterostilbene, Gentamicin, Hypoxia, Genotoxic, desiccation, and heat. The increase in expression of SAF1 during stress conditions correlated positively with the expression of RLM1, encoding the Rlm1p transcription factor. The expression of AAH1 encoding Aah1p, a Saf1p substrate for ubiquitination, appeared to be negatively correlated with the expression of RLM1 as revealed by an analysis of the Yeastract expression database. Based on analysis of expression profile and regulatory association of SAF1 and RLM1, we hypothesized that inactivation of both the genes together may contribute to stress tolerance. The experimental analysis of cellular growth response of cells lacking both SAF1 and RLM1 to selected stress agents such as cell wall and osmo-stressors, by spot assay indicated stress tolerance phenotype similar to parental strain however sensitivity to genotoxic and microtubule depolymerizing stress agents.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on in-silico and experimental data we suggest that SAF1 and RLM1 both interact genetically in differential response to genotoxic and general stressors.

Large eddy fire simulation applications from nuclear industry

A computational study has been carried out for predicting the behaviour of a pool fire source using the field-model based code Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). Time dependent velocity and temperature fields are predicted along with the resulting changes in the plume structure and its width. Firstly, a grid study was performed to find out the best grid size for this purpose. Then calculations were done which showed a very good agreement with earlier reported experimental based correlations for the temperature of the plume region. These studies have been extended to use this field-model based tools for modelling particular separate effect phenomena like puffing frequency and to validate against experimental data. There are several applications in nuclear industry like room fires, wildland fires, smoke or ash disposal, hydrogen transport in nuclear reactor containment, natural convection in building flows etc. In this paper the use of FDS with the advanced Large Eddy Simulation (LES) based CFD turbulence model is described for various applications: Fire simulation for Alpha storage, Bhabhatran teletherapy, pool fire for transport casks, fire PSA of a representative NPP, exhaust air fan buildings of a process plant and smoke dispersion in large fires around NPPs.

Stem cell therapies and benefaction of somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning in COVID-19 era

BACKGROUND

The global health emergency of COVID-19 has necessitated the development of multiple therapeutic modalities including vaccinations, antivirals, anti-inflammatory, and cytoimmunotherapies, etc. COVID-19 patients suffer from damage to various organs and vascular structures, so they present multiple health crises. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are of interest to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection.

MAIN BODY

Stem cell-based therapies have been verified for prospective benefits in copious preclinical and clinical studies. MSCs confer potential benefits to develop various cell types and organoids for studying virus-human interaction, drug testing, regenerative medicine, and immunomodulatory effects in COVID-19 patients. Apart from paving the ways to augment stem cell research and therapies, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) holds unique ability for a wide range of health applications such as patient-specific or isogenic cells for regenerative medicine and breeding transgenic animals for biomedical applications. Being a potent cell genome-reprogramming tool, the SCNT has increased prominence of recombinant therapeutics and cellular medicine in the current era of COVID-19. As SCNT is used to generate patient-specific stem cells, it avoids dependence on embryos to obtain stem cells.

CONCLUSIONS

The nuclear transfer cloning, being an ideal tool to generate cloned embryos, and the embryonic stem cells will boost drug testing and cellular medicine in COVID-19.

MODELLING AND ANALYSIS OF FUEL ASSEMBLY VIBRATIONAL MODES IN PWRS USING SIMULATE-3K

Some of the KWU pre-KONVOI PWRs operating across Europe saw a systematic increase in the neutron noise levels over several cycles in the last decade, and subsequently, core internals’ movements, especially vibrations of fuel assemblies with specific designs were identified as one of the plausible causes. Therefore, it is important to develop computational methods that can allow to investigate and predict the reactor noise response to fuel assemblies vibrations. To this aim, the 3D nodal reactor dynamics code SIMULATE-3K is used at PSI with a special module called the ‘assembly vibration model’ that imitates time-dependent motions of fuel assemblies by dynamically modifying the water-gaps surrounding the laterally moving fuel assemblies. The varying water-gaps are represented by the variation in the corresponding two-group macroscopic cross sections generated using the lattice code CASMO-5 in 2D. The studies conducted so far to assess the methodology for full core noise simulations were based on assuming vibrations of a clamped-free cluster of fuel assemblies that are unsupported from both ends. However, as this represents a non-physical movement, further developments were made at PSI to allow simulating more realistic movements of fuel assemblies such as the cantilevered mode vibration. The updated methodology, along with evaluations of the simulated noise response to realistic vibration modes, is presented in this paper. Results show that, as expected, the radial and axial neutron noise behaviour follow the vibration pattern of the imposed time-dependent axial functions corresponding to the natural oscillation modes of the fuel assemblies, thereby providing confidence in the application of the developed methodology for numerical neutron noise analyses of the PWR cores.

Futuristic Non-antibiotic Therapies to Combat Antibiotic Resistance: A Review

The looming problem of resistance to antibiotics in microorganisms is a global health concern. The drug-resistant microorganisms originating from anthropogenic sources and commercial livestock farming have posed serious environmental and health challenges. Antibiotic-resistant genes constituting the environmental "resistome" get transferred to human and veterinary pathogens. Hence, deciphering the origin, mechanism and extreme of transfer of these genetic factors into pathogens is extremely important to develop not only the therapeutic interventions to curtail the infections, but also the strategies to avert the menace of microbial drug-resistance. Clinicians, researchers and policymakers should jointly come up to develop the strategies to prevent superfluous exposure of pathogens to antibiotics in non-clinical settings. This article highlights the present scenario of increasing antimicrobial-resistance in pathogenic bacteria and the clinical importance of unconventional or non-antibiotic therapies to thwart the infectious pathogenic microorganisms.

Stem cells-derived in vitro meat: from petri dish to dinner plate

Sustainable food supply to the world is possibly the greatest challenge that human civilization has ever faced. Among animal sourced foods, meat plays a starring role in human food chain. Traditional meat production necessitates high proportion of agricultural land, energy and clean water for rearing meat-producing animals; also massive emission of greenhouse gases from the unutilized nutrients of the digestive process into the environment is a major challenge to the world. Also, conventional meat production is associated with evolution and spread of superbugs and zoonotic infections. In vitro meat has the potential to provide a healthy alternative nutritious meal and to avoid the issues associated with animal slaughtering and environmental effects. Stem cell technology may provide a fascinating approach to produce meat in an animal-free environment. Theoretically, in vitro meat can supplement the meat produced by culling the animals and satisfy the global demand. This article highlights the necessity and potential of stem cell-derived in vitro meat as an alternative source of animal protein vis-a-vis the constraints of conventional approaches of meat production.

Environmental Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical Exposure: Role in Non-Communicable Diseases

The exponential growth of pollutant discharges into the environment due to increasing industrial and agricultural activities is a rising threat for human health and a biggest concern for environmental health globally. Several synthetic chemicals, categorized as potential environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), are evident to affect the health of not only livestock and wildlife but also humankind. In recent years, human exposure to environmental EDCs has received increased awareness due to their association with altered human health as documented by several epidemiological and experimental studies. EDCs are associated with deleterious effects on male and female reproductive health; causes diabetes, obesity, metabolic disorders, thyroid homeostasis and increase the risk of hormone-sensitive cancers. Sewage effluents are a major source of several EDCs, which eventually reach large water bodies and potentially contaminate the drinking water supply. Similarly, water storage material such as different types of plastics also leaches out EDCs in drinking Water. Domestic wastewater containing pharmaceutical ingredients, metals, pesticides and personal care product additives also influences endocrine activity. These EDCs act via various receptors through a variety of known and unknown mechanisms including epigenetic modification. They differ from classic toxins in several ways such as low-dose effect, non-monotonic dose and trans-generational effects. This review aims to highlight the hidden burden of EDCs on human health and discusses the non-classical toxic properties of EDCs in an attempt to understand the magnitude of the exposome on human health. Present data on the environmental EDCs advocate that there may be associations between human exposure to EDCs and several undesirable health outcomes that warrants further human bio-monitoring of EDCs.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of cancer patients affected by a novel coronavirus

BACKGROUND

Cancer patients with COVID-19 disease have been reported to have double the case fatality rate of the general population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central, Google Scholar, and MedRxiv was done for studies on cancer patients with COVID-19. Pooled proportions were calculated for categorical variables. Odds ratio and forest plots were constructed for both primary and secondary outcomes. The random-effects model was used to account for heterogeneity between studies.

RESULTS

This systematic review of 31 studies and meta-analysis of 181,323 patients from 26 studies involving 23,736 cancer patients is the largest meta-analysis to the best of our knowledge assessing outcomes in cancer patients affected by COVID-19. Our meta-analysis shows that cancer patients with COVID-19 have a higher likelihood of death (odds ratio, OR 2.54), which was largely driven by mortality among patients in China. Cancer patients were more likely to be intubated, although ICU admission rates were not statistically significant. Among cancer subtypes, the mortality was highest in hematological malignancies (OR 2.43) followed by lung cancer (OR 1.8). There was no association between receipt of a particular type of oncologic therapy and mortality. Our study showed that cancer patients affected by COVID-19 are a decade older than the normal population and have a higher proportion of co-morbidities. There was insufficient data to assess the association of COVID-directed therapy and survival outcomes in cancer patients. Despite the heterogeneity of studies and inconsistencies in reported variables and outcomes, these data could guide clinical practice and oncologic care during this unprecedented global health pandemic.

CONCLUSION

Cancer patients with COVID-19 disease are at increased risk of mortality and morbidity. A more nuanced understanding of the interaction between cancer-directed therapies and COVID-19-directed therapies is needed. This will require uniform prospective recording of data, possibly in multi-institutional registry databases.

Ethnopharmacology-aided antiplasmodial evaluation of six selected plants used for malaria treatment in Nigeria

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Sub - Saharan Africa has a high malaria burden and Nigeria accounts for majority of malaria cases worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate selected plants extracts used against malaria in Nigeria for antiplasmodial activity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An ethnomedicinal based - approach by literature survey was used to identify plants used in the study. The parts of the plant used were collected and extracted with 70% v/v ethanol; a portion of each extract was used to prepare successive solvent and residual fractions. Chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) P. falciparum strain and human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293) were used for antiplasmodial and cytotoxicity screening respectively. Hemolysis assay was also carried out on red blood cells (RBCs). Test for in vivo efficacy of an active extract was conducted in a mouse model of established P. berghei ANKA-infection.

RESULTS

A total of six plants; Andropogon schirensis, Celtis durandii, Chasmanthera dependens, Daniellia ogea, Icacina trichantha and Triumfetta cordifolia were selected and screened. Triumfetta cordifolia leaf extract was observed to display moderate in vitro antiplasmodial activity (IC₅₀ = 48.09 μg/ml) and was non-toxic to HEK293 cells and erythrocytes. At a dose of 400 mg/kg, T. cordifolia significantly (p<0.001) suppressed parasitemia, significantly (p<0.001) inhibited RBC depletion and prolonged survival in infected mice.

CONCLUSIONS

T. cordifolia ethanol extract possesses antiplasmodial efficacy and this is the first report of its kind on the plant. It is a potential candidate for further studies to identify its mechanism of action.

Post-treatment mortality after definitive chemoradiotherapy versus resection for esophageal cancer

In efforts to better characterize incidence and predictors of 30- and 90-day mortality following operative versus nonoperative approaches for locally advanced esophageal cancer (EC), we conducted a novel investigation of a large, contemporary US database. The National Cancer Database was queried for newly-diagnosed T1-3N0-1 squamous cell or adenocarcinoma receiving surgical-based therapy (esophagectomy alone or preceded by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy) versus definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT). Statistics included graphing cumulative incidences of mortality before and following propensity score matching (PSM), based on age-based intervals. Cox regression determined factors independently predictive of 30- and 90-day mortality. Of 15,585 patients, 9,278 (59.5%) received surgical-based therapy and 6,307 (40.5%) underwent dCRT. In the unadjusted population, despite nonsignificant differences at 30 days (3.3% dCRT, 3.6% surgical-based), the dCRT cohort experienced higher 90-day mortality (11.0% vs. 7.5%, P < 0.001). Following PSM, however, dCRT patients experienced significantly lower 30-day mortality (P < 0.001), with nonsignificant differences at 90 days (P = 0.092). Surgical-based management yielded similar (or better) mortality as dCRT in ≤70-year-old patients; however, dCRT was associated with reduced mortality in subjects > 70 years old. In addition to the intervention group, factors predictive for 30- and 90-day mortality included age, gender, insurance status, facility type, comorbidity index, tumor location, histology, and T/N classification. In summary, surgical-based therapy for EC is associated with higher 30-day mortality, which becomes statistically similar to dCRT by 90 days. Differences between surgery and dCRT were most pronounced in patients > 70 years of age. These data may better inform shared decision-making between multidisciplinary providers and patients.

in silico screening and molecular dynamics simulations study to identify novel potent inhibitors against Mycobacterium tuberculosis DnaG primase

Tuberculosis remains a major global health threat killing millions of people. Due to existing multiple drug resistance (MDR) and prolonged treatment it becomes necessary to explore novel drug targets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). DnaG primase, having a significant role in primer synthesis during initiation of DNA replication, has emerged as a promising drug target. The three dimensional (3D) model of its catalytic domain (Toprim) was constructed. Further, in silico screening of the three diverse chemical compound libraries against the modeled domain was carried out. Four top screened compounds were identified and evaluated by ADMET analysis. The stability of these compounds in complex with the Toprim domain was validated through 50 ns molecular dynamics simulations. Lys 101, Glu 137 and Asp 188 in the active site predominantly formed the hydrogen bonds with the top screened compounds. Hence, the drug-like compounds identified can be taken up for the further experimental investigation as anti-tubercular agents.

Alpha lipoic acid supplementation ameliorates the wrath of simulated tropical heat and humidity stress in male Murrah buffaloes

A supplement which ameliorates temperature-humidity menace in food producing livestock is a prerequisite to develop climate smart agricultural packages. A study was conducted to investigate the heat stress ameliorative efficacy of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) in male Murrah water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). Eighteen animals (293.61 ± 4.66Kg Bwt) were randomly allocated into three groups (n = 6); NHSC (non-heat-stressed control), HS (heat-stressed) and HSLA (heat-stressed-supplemented with ALA@32 mg/kg Bwt orally) based on the temperature humidity index (THI) and ALA supplementation. HS and HSLA were exposed to simulated heat challenge in a climatically controlled chamber (40 °C) for 21 consecutive days, 6 h daily. Physiological responses viz. Respiration rate (RR), Pulse rate (PR) and Rectal temperature (RT) were recorded daily before and after heat exposure. Blood samples were collected at the end of heat exposure on days 1, 6, 11, 16, and 21 and on day 28 (7th day post exposure which is considered as recovery) for peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) separation, followed by RNA and Protein extraction for Real time quantitative PCR and Western blot analysis respectively, of heat shock proteins (HSPs). Two-way repeated measure ANOVA was performed between groups at different experimental periods. RR (post exposure) in HS and HSLA was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than NHSC from day 1 onwards but HSLA varied significantly from the HS 8th day onwards. Post exposure RT and PR in both HS and HSLA varied (P < 0.05) from NHSC throughout the study; but between HS and HSLA, RT significantly varied on initial 2 days and last 6 days (from days 16 to 21). HSP70 mRNA expression significantly up regulated in high THI groups with respect to the low THI group throughout the experimental period. During chronic stress (days 16 and 21) HSP70 significantly (P < 0.05) increased in HS but not in HSLA (P > 0.05) with respect to NHSC. ALA supplementation up-regulates and sustains (P < 0.05) the expression of HSP90 in HSLA in comparison to the HS and NHSC. HSP105 expression was significantly up-regulated (P < 0.05) in HS on days 16 and 21 (during long-term exposure) but only on day 21 (P < 0.05) in HSLA. HSP70, HSP90, and HSP105 protein expression dynamics were akin to the mRNA transcript data between the study groups. In conclusion, supplementing ALA ameliorates the deleterious effect of heat stress as reflected by improved physiological and cellular responses. ALA supplementation improved cellular antioxidant status and sustained otherwise easily decaying heat shock responses which concertedly hasten the baton change from a limited window of thermo tolerance to long run acclimatization.