AIDS (Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is one of the chronic and potentially life-threatening epidemics across the world. Hitherto, the non-existence of definitive drugs that could completely cure the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) implies an urgent necessity for the discovery of novel anti-HIV agents. Since integration is the most crucial stage in retroviral replication, hindering it can inhibit overall viral transmission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanotechnology has become the most effective and rapidly developing field in the area of material science, and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are of leading interest because of their smaller size, larger surface area, and multiple applications. The use of plant sources as reducing agents in the fabrication of silver nanoparticles is most attractive due to the cheaper and less time-consuming process for synthesis. Furthermore, the tremendous attention of AgNPs in scientific fields is due to their multiple biomedical applications such as antibacterial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities, and they could be used for clean environment applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the everlasting combat against the pests of agricultural importance, it is essential to come up with a novel strategy for pest control. This can be achieved through understanding the insect pest at cellular and molecular levels. Vitellogenin (Vg) and vitellogenin receptor (VgR) are essential for successful reproduction in insect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new black fly species, Simulium (Nevermannia) karavalliense sp. nov. is described from Southern Eastern Ghats of South India.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new mayfly species, Choroterpes (Euthraulus) kalladaensis sp. n. is described based on nymphs and subimagoes from South India.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Colon cancer is aggressive and it causes 0.5 million deaths per year. Practicing natural medicines for cancer treatment is safer than conventional drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVariations in the functional response of legume pod borer () populations to sex pheromone blends were observed in Asia and Africa. Hence, this study was carried out to understand the differences in pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) among populations in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and South America. A de novo transcriptome assembly was adopted to sequence the entire transcribed mRNAs in from Taiwan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSimulium (Gomphostilbia) kumbakkaraiense sp. n. is described based on adults, pupae and mature larvae from Kumbakkarai stream, in the Palani Hills of Western Ghats, South India.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study investigates the effects of the insect growth regulator azadirachtin on lipid transportation to the ovary of the silkworm, Bombyx mori. Lipids are hydrophobic in nature and require a carrier for circulation in the blood. Protein-lipid interactions play a vital role in lipid transport, thereby keeping the system balanced.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioconjug Chem
September 2018
Protein-based drug delivery systems have an edge over conventional drug delivery systems due to their biodegradability, non-antigenicity, and excellent biocompatibility to improve the therapeutic properties of anticancer drugs. This study describes the increased anticancer efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) conjugated with silkworm Bombyx mori pupal biowaste derived nanoparticles. Here, we have checked the toxicity of pupa-protein nanoparticles (PpNps) and their potential as a carrier for anticancer drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Colon cancer is the most aggressive form of cancers, that causes 0.5 million deaths per year around the globe. Targeting colon cancer by conventional therapeutic options elicits toxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVisceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a deadly parasitic infection which affects poorest to poor population living in the endemic countries. Increasing resistant to existing drugs, disease burden and a significant number of deaths, necessitates the need for an effective vaccine to prevent the VL infection. This study employed a combinatorial approach to develop a multi-epitope subunit vaccine by exploiting Leishmania donovani membrane proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfectious diseases are the major cause of high mortality among infants and geriatric patients. Vaccines are the only weapon in our arsenal to defend us ourselves against innumerable infectious diseases. Though myriad of vaccines are available, still countless people die due to microbial infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe end goal of HIV vaccine designing requires novel strategies to elicit a strong humoral and cell-mediated immune response. The emergence of drug resistance and the requirement of next line treatment necessitate the finding of the potential and immunogenic vaccine candidate. This study employed a novel immunoinformatics approach to design multi-epitope subunit vaccine against HIV infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdult black flies (Simuliidae) are medically important insects and they are the sole vector of Onchocerca volvulus. Immature black flies are major components of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in streams and play a vital role in nutrient dynamics. In this study, we examined effect of hierarchical dynamics (spatio-temporal pattern) on the distribution of immature black flies in South Indian streams.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Objectives: Black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) are ecologically and medically important insects. Female adults of black flies are the solitary vectors of river blindness (onchocerciasis) and their larvae play a vital role in stream ecosystem. This study examined the distribution of black flies in the Oriental region and analyzed the phylogenetic relationship of the subgenus Gomphostilbia members based on two molecular loci.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobal industrialization is a major cause of effluent discharge from industries up to alarming concentrations. Especially, uranium concentrations in water bodies are of great concern, as its radioactivity significantly affects the persistent diversity of microbiota. Recently, continuous application of pesticides in the agricultural lands and accumulation of quartz that enter the Cauvery River has significantly increased the concentration of uranium (U) and other heavy metals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new species of Prosopistoma (Ephemeroptera: Prosopistomatidae) is described on the basis of mature nymphs from Coorg, Karnataka, South India. Prosopistoma coorgum, new species can be readily distinguished from the other members of Prosopistoma by the following combination of characters: inner margin of outer canine near apex with 2-3 short spines, the length ratio of maxillary palp segments (3.3:4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Vector Borne Dis
September 2015
Background & Objectives: Vector ecology and taxonomy of snails is a prerequisite for controlling schistosomiasis in the tropics. The ecology of the freshwater limpet genus Ferrissia was investigated for detection of cercariae larvae in them, and taxonomic description of a new species of the genus Ferrissia.
Methods: This study was conducted in 15 perennial streams from five different hills of south India.
A new black fly species, Simulium (Gomphostilbia) cauveryense sp. n., is described based on adult female, adult male, pupal and larval specimens collected from Kushalanagar, Karnataka, South India.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study was undertaken to assess the genetic diversity and host plant races of M. vitrata population in South and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene was used to understand the phylogenetic relationship of geographically different M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol
January 2015
The aim of this study was to measure the serum concentrations of heat shock protein (HSP) 70 and C-reactive protein (CRP) and the expression levels of the hsp70 gene among frequent users of mobile phones (FUMPs). We enrolled 120 employees of information technology (IT)/IT enabled service companies (FUMPs; IT professionals) and 102 infrequent users of mobile phones (IFUMPs; people from non-IT professions) as controls. The serum concentrations of HSP70 and CRP were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay and hsp70 gene expression by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo new species of black flies, Simulium (Gomphostilbia) peteri sp. nov. and S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetagenomics research has been developed over the past decade to elucidate the genomes of the uncultured microorganisms with an aim of understanding microbial ecology. On the other hand, it has also been provoked by the increasing biotechnological demands for novel enzymes, antibiotic and signal mimics. The gut microbiota of insects plays crucial roles in the growth, development and environmental adaptation to the host insects.
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