Arexvy: A Comprehensive Review of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine for Revolutionary Protection

The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of acute lower respiratory tract infection in children and poses a significant risk to older adults. Developing a vaccine against RSV has been a priority, and the recently approved Arexvy vaccine has shown promise in preventing lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by RSV in individuals aged 60 years and older. This comprehensive review discusses the history of RSV, challenges in vaccine development, and the mechanism of action of Arexvy. The efficacy and safety of the vaccine are explored based on phase 3 clinical trial, demonstrating its effectiveness in preventing RSV-associated LRTD. The most common adverse reactions reported include injection site pain, fatigue, myalgia, headache, and arthralgia. Ongoing research focuses on the long-term effectiveness of Arexvy, including the need for booster doses and its impact on reducing RSV-associated hospitalizations. The potential of Arexvy to lessen the burden of RSV-related illnesses, particularly in vulnerable populations, is highlighted, emphasizing the importance of widespread immunization efforts and accessibility to this groundbreaking vaccine.

PHLPP1 regulates PINK1-parkin signalling and life span

Adaptability to intracellular or extracellular cues is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Metabolic signals intricately control the morphology and functions of mitochondria by regulating bioenergetics and metabolism. Here, we describe the involvement of PHLPP1, a Ser/Thr phosphatase, in mitochondrial homeostasis. Microscopic analysis showed the enhanced globular structure of mitochondria in PHLPP1-depleted HEK 293T and C2C12 cells, while forced expression of PHLPP1 promoted mitochondrial tubularity. We show that PHLPP1 promoted pro-fusion markers MFN2 and p-DRP1Ser637 levels using over-expression and knockdown strategies. Contrastingly, PHLPP1 induced mitochondrial fragmentation by augmenting pro-fission markers, t-DRP1 and pDrp1Ser616 upon mitochondrial stress. At the molecular level, PHLPP1 interacted with and caused dephosphorylation of calcineurin, a p-DRP1Ser637 phosphatase, under basal conditions. Likewise, PHLPP1 dimerized with PINK1 under basal conditions. However, the interaction of PHLPP1 with both calcineurin and PINK1 was impaired upon CCCP and oligomycin-induced mitochondrial stress. Interestingly, upon mitochondrial membrane depolarization, PHLPP1 promoted PINK1 stabilization and parkin recruitment to mitochondria, and thereby activated the mitophagy machinery providing a molecular explanation for the dual effects of PHLPP1 on mitochondria under different conditions. Consistent with our in-vitro findings, depletion of phlp-2, ortholog of PHLPP1 in C. elegans, led to mitochondrial fission under basal conditions, extended the lifespan of the worms, and enhanced survival of worms subjected to paraquat-induced oxidative stress.

Copper(II) Complexes Derived from Schiff Bases Containing 4-Methylbenzylamine as a Core Unit: Cytotoxicity, pBR322-DNA Studies, Biological Assays, and Quantum Chemical Parameters

Bivalent copper complexes, [Cu(SB1 )2 ] 1 (SB1 =(2-(4-methylbenzylimino)methyl)-5-methylphenol, [Cu(SB2 )2 ] 2 (SB2 =(2-(4-methylbenzylimino)methyl)-4-bromolphenol), and [Cu(SB3 )2 ] 3 (SB3 =(2-(4-methylbenzylimino)methyl)-4,6-dibromophenol) were synthesized using the Schiff bases prepared from 4-methylbenzylamine (p-tolylmethanamine). These were characterized using a variety of spectro-analytical methods. For all copper complexes, a square planar geometry was determined through spectral analyses. Utilizing molecular orbital energies, the stability of the copper complexes was calculated from quantum chemical characteristics. The kinetic and thermal degradation parameters were calculated from the thermograms. Studies on DNA binding interactions, such as UV absorption and emission, have shown that the manner of DNA binding is intercalative, and the binding constant (Kb ) order is 3>2>1. Under oxidative and photolytic techniques, the copper complexes outperform the parent Schiff bases in their ability to cleave double-stranded pBR322 DNA. When tested for cytotoxicity on the KB3 and MCF7 cell lines, complexes displayed greater activity than their parent ligands. Studies on the complexes' in-vitro antibacterial and antioxidant activity showed that they are significantly more powerful than the parent ligands.

Spatiotemporal evolution of sea ice and its teleconnections with large-scale climate indices over Antarctica

Sea ice variability patterns are highly influenced by several large-scale ocean-atmospheric oscillations. We analysed both statistical and wavelet coherence methods to examine sea ice's interannual and interdecadal variability. During the past 42-year, the total Southern Ocean sea ice extent (SIE) has expanded, while the Amundsen-Bellingshausen Sea SIE has decreased. A wavelet coherence analysis (WCA) of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the SIE in various sectors revealed an out-of-phase correlation between the Indian Ocean and the Ross Sea. There are significant out-of-phase correlations between sea ice variability and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) on an interannual scale. A consistent phase relationship was seen between SIE and Southern Annular Mode (SAM) over the past decade, with in-phase relationships advancing to out-of-phase relationships. The Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) shifted from positive to negative after the 1990s. In recent years, SAM has had a stronger impact on sea ice variability than ENSO.

PHLPPs: Emerging players in metabolic disorders

That reversible protein phosphorylation by kinases and phosphatases occurs in metabolic disorders is well known. Various studies have revealed that a multi-faceted and tightly regulated phosphatase, pleckstrin homology domain leucine-rich repeat protein phosphatase (PHLPP)-1/2 displays robust effects in cardioprotection, ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R), and vascular remodelling. PHLPP1 promotes foamy macrophage development through ChREBP/AMPK-dependent pathways. Adipocyte-specific loss of PHLPP2 reduces adiposity, improves glucose tolerance,and attenuates fatty liver via the PHLPP2-HSL-PPARα axis. Discoveries of PHLPP1-mediated insulin resistance and pancreatic β cell death via the PHLPP1/2-Mst1-mTORC1 triangular loop have shed light on its significance in diabetology. PHLPP1 downregulation attenuates diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) by restoring PI3K-Akt-mTOR signalling. In this review, we summarise the functional role of, and cellular signalling mediated by, PHLPPs in metabolic tissues and discuss their potential as therapeutic targets.

Lead exposure induces metabolic reprogramming in rat models

Lead is a toxin of great public health concern affecting the young and aging population. Several factors such as age, gender, lifestyle, dose, and genetic makeup result in interindividual variations to lead toxicity mainly due to variations in metabolic consequences. Hence, the present study aimed to examine dose-dependent lead-induced systemic changes in metabolism using rat model by administering specific doses of lead such as 10 (low lead; L-Pb), 50 (moderate lead; M-Pb), and 100 mg/kg (high lead; H-Pb) body weight for a period of one month. Biochemical and haematological analysis revealed that H-Pb was associated with low body weight and feed efficiency, low total protein levels (p ≤ 0.05), high blood lead (Pb-B) levels (p ≤ 0.001), low ALAD (δ-aminolevulinate dehydratase) activity (p ≤ 0.0001), high creatinine (p ≤ 0.0001) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (p ≤ 0.01) levels, elevated RBC and WBC counts, reduced haemoglobin and blood cell indices compared to control. Spatial learning and memory test revealed that H-Pb exposed animals presented high latency to the target quadrant and escape platform compared to other groups indicating H-Pb alters cognition function in rats. Histopathological changes were observed in liver and kidney as they are the main target organs of lead toxicity. LC-MS analysis further revealed that Butyryl-L-carnitine (p ≤ 0.01) and Ganglioside GD2 (d18:0/20:0) (p ≤ 0.05) levels were significantly reduced in H-Pb group compared to all groups. Further, pathway enrichment analysis revealed abundance and significantly modulated metabolites associated with oxidative stress pathways. The present study is the first in vivo model of dose-dependent lead exposure for serum metabolite profiling.

Standardization of a cone beam computed tomography machine in evaluating bone density: a novel approach

BACKGROUND

Advent of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in dentistry has brought us to a new era of precise imaging. Radiographic evaluation of a CBCT image is more informational when compared to CT. The density measurements in CBCT images are based on greyscale values, which are more accurate in CT and these values are inconsistent across various CBCT machines. Hence, we aim at standardizing a single CBCT scanner to evaluate or determine tissue density from the greyscale values.

METHODS

A total of 8 halves of undamaged, dry goat mandibles are included in the study. Scans of the bone are obtained using the KODAK CBCT unit and the PHILLIPS CT machine respectively. Densities are evaluated at 96 points on both the CT scans and the CBCT scans, respectively, using the Radiant Dicom viewer. The obtained data is entered into the excel spreadsheet and subjected to statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The greyscale values are obtained from each of the CBCT scans. Hounsfield units are calculated from CT images coinciding with the same points on CBCT scans. The collected data is subjected to linear regression analysis and an equation is derived to determine Hounsfield units (calculated HU units) from greyscale values of CBCT images. We found no significant difference between the mean original HU units and the mean calculated HU units, thus making the equation reliable for calculating HU units from CBCT greyscale values.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results conclude that the technique was effective in calculating the Original density of tissues using grey standards of CBCT scans.

Comparative Study of CAMSHIFT and RANSAC Methods for Face and Eye Tracking in Real-Time Video

Real-Time Facial and eye tracking is critical in applications like military surveillance, pervasive computing, Human Computer Interaction etc. In this work, face and eye tracking are implemented by using two well-known methods, CAMSHIFT and RANSAC. In our first approach, a frontal face detector is run on each frame of the video and the Viola-Jones face detector is used to detect the faces. CAMSHIFT Algorithm is used in the real- time tracking along with Haar-Like features that are used to localize and track eyes. In our second approach, the face is detected using Viola-Jones, whereas RANSAC is used to match the content of the subsequent frames. Adaptive Bilinear Filter is used to enhance quality of the input video. Then, we run the Viola-Jones face detector on each frame and apply both the algorithms. Finally, we use Kalman filter upon CAMSHIFT and RANSAC and compare with the preceding experiments. The comparisons are made for different real-time videos under heterogeneous environments through proposed performance measures, to identify the best-suited method for a given scenario.

A Study of Liver Function Tests in leprosy

Leprosy is a chronic progressive granulomatous disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Hepatic involvement is seen in early stages of the disease. Administration of the hepatotoxic drugs like Rifampicin and Dapsone may further deteriorate the liver function. The present study was undertaken to evaluate hepatic status by studying the various liver function tests in leprosy patients and compared to healthy controls. Thirty untreated leprosy patients (18 Multibacillary, 12 Paucibacillary) with duration of illness varying from one month to three years were selected as cases. Twenty healthy age and sex matched persons were taken as controls. Hepatic functional status was evaluated by estimation of serum total bilirubin, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, total protein, albumin and globulin. Independent sample 't' test was used to compare the data. P < 0.05 was considered as significant. Except for serum total protein, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean values of all the parameters in cases when compared to controls. The present study revealed minimal derangement in hepatic function in leprosy patients. Therefore monitoring of liver function tests is very important to assess the functional status of the liver before administration of therapy in leprosy.