Livelihoods of young women with and without disabilities in KwaZulu-Natal during COVID-19.

Background: Persons with disabilities are more likely to have poorer livelihood outcomes, including food insecurity. Inequalities are heightened for young women with disabilities, especially in times of crisis.

Objectives: To understand the livelihood experience of young South African women with and without disabilities during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

Structure-Function Analysis of the Essential P450 Drug Target, CYP121A1.

Cytochrome P450 CYP121A1 is a well-known drug target against , the human pathogen that causes the deadly disease tuberculosis (TB). CYP121A1 is a unique P450 enzyme because it uses classical and non-classical P450 catalytic processes and has distinct structural features among P450s. However, a detailed investigation of CYP121A1 protein structures in terms of active site cavity dynamics and key amino acids interacting with bound ligands has yet to be undertaken.

Structure-Function Analysis of the Biotechnologically Important Cytochrome P450 107 (CYP107) Enzyme Family.

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs; P450s) are a superfamily of heme-containing enzymes that are recognized for their vast substrate range and oxidative multifunctionality. CYP107 family members perform hydroxylation and epoxidation processes, producing a variety of biotechnologically useful secondary metabolites. Despite their biotechnological importance, a thorough examination of CYP107 protein structures regarding active site cavity dynamics and key amino acids interacting with bound ligands has yet to be undertaken.

Genome-Wide Analysis of the Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenases in the Lichenized Fungi of the Class .

Lichens are unique organisms that exhibit a permanent symbiosis between fungi and algae or fungi and photosynthetic bacteria. Lichens have been found to produce biotechnologically valuable secondary metabolites. A handful of studies showed that tailoring enzymes such as cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs/P450s) play a key role in synthesizing these metabolites.

Pezizomycetes Genomes Reveal Diverse P450 Complements Characteristic of Saprotrophic and Ectomycorrhizal Lifestyles.

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs/P450s) are heme proteins that play a role in organisms' primary and secondary metabolism. P450s play an important role in organism adaptation since lifestyle influences P450 composition in their genome. This phenomenon is well-documented in bacteria but less so in fungi.

Saprophytic to Pathogenic Mycobacteria: Loss of Cytochrome P450s Vis a Vis Their Prominent Involvement in Natural Metabolite Biosynthesis.

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s/CYPs) are ubiquitous enzymes with unique regio- and stereo-selective oxidation activities. Due to these properties, P450s play a key role in the biosynthesis of natural metabolites. Mycobacterial species are well-known producers of complex metabolites that help them survive in diverse ecological niches, including in the host.

An Unprecedented Number of Cytochrome P450s Are Involved in Secondary Metabolism in Species.

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs/P450s) are heme thiolate proteins present in species across the biological kingdoms. By virtue of their broad substrate promiscuity and regio- and stereo-selectivity, these enzymes enhance or attribute diversity to secondary metabolites. Actinomycetes species are well-known producers of secondary metabolites, especially species.

Contrasting Health Effects of and Lies in Their Genomes: Analysis of P450s, Ferredoxins, and Secondary Metabolite Clusters.

Species belonging to the bacterial phyla and represent over 90% of the gastrointestinal microbiota. Changes in the ratio of these two bacterial groups were found to have contrasting health effects, including obesity and inflammatory diseases. Despite the availability of many bacterial genomes, comparative genomic studies on the gene pools of these two bacterial groups concerning cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s), ferredoxins, and secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (smBGCs) are not reported.

Diversification of Ferredoxins across Living Organisms.

Ferredoxins, iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster proteins, play a key role in oxidoreduction reactions. To date, evolutionary analysis of these proteins across the domains of life have been confined to observing the abundance of Fe-S cluster types (2Fe-2S, 3Fe-4S, 4Fe-4S, 7Fe-8S (3Fe-4s and 4Fe-4S) and 2[4Fe-4S]) and the diversity of ferredoxins within these cluster types was not studied. To address this research gap, here we propose a subtype classification and nomenclature for ferredoxins based on the characteristic spacing between the cysteine amino acids of the Fe-S binding motif as a subtype signature to assess the diversity of ferredoxins across the living organisms.

Ancient Bacterial Class Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenases Can Be Found in Other Bacterial Species.

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs/P450s), heme-thiolate proteins, are well-known players in the generation of chemicals valuable to humans and as a drug target against pathogens. Understanding the evolution of P450s in a bacterial population is gaining momentum. In this study, we report comprehensive analysis of P450s in the ancient group of the bacterial class .

In Silico Analysis of P450s and Their Role in Secondary Metabolism in the Bacterial Class .

The impact of lifestyle on shaping the genome content of an organism is a well-known phenomenon and cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs/P450s), heme-thiolate proteins that are ubiquitously present in organisms, are no exception. Recent studies focusing on a few bacterial species such as , , and revealed that the impact of lifestyle affected the P450 repertoire in these species. However, this phenomenon needs to be understood in other bacterial species.

Impact of lifestyle on cytochrome P450 monooxygenase repertoire is clearly evident in the bacterial phylum Firmicutes.

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs/P450s), heme thiolate proteins, are well known for their role in organisms' primary and secondary metabolism. Research on eukaryotes such as animals, plants, oomycetes and fungi has shown that P450s profiles in these organisms are affected by their lifestyle. However, the impact of lifestyle on P450 profiling in bacteria is scarcely reported.

More P450s Are Involved in Secondary Metabolite Biosynthesis in Compared to , , and .

Unraveling the role of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs/P450s), heme-thiolate proteins present in living and non-living entities, in secondary metabolite synthesis is gaining momentum. In this direction, in this study, we analyzed the genomes of 203 species for P450s and unraveled their association with secondary metabolism. Our analyses revealed the presence of 5460 P450s, grouped into 253 families and 698 subfamilies.

Comprehensive Analyses of Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenases and Secondary Metabolite Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in .

The prokaryotic phylum are some of the oldest known photosynthetic organisms responsible for the oxygenation of the earth. Cyanobacterial species have been recognised as a prosperous source of bioactive secondary metabolites with antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and/or anticancer activities. Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs/P450s) contribute to the production and diversity of various secondary metabolites.

Distribution and Diversity of Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenases in the Fungal Class .

, a fungal class in the subphylum , contain well-known opportunistic and emerging human pathogens. The azole drug fluconazole, used in the treatment of diseases caused by some species of , inhibits cytochrome P450 monooxygenase CYP51, an enzyme that converts lanosterol into an essential component of the fungal cell membrane ergosterol. Studies indicate that mutations and over-expression of CYP51 in species of are one of the reasons for fluconazole resistance.

A multivariate linear model for investigating the association between gene-module co-expression and a continuous covariate.

A way to enhance our understanding of the development and progression of complex diseases is to investigate the influence of cellular environments on gene co-expression (i.e. gene-pair correlations).

The impact of the method of extracting metabolic signal from 1H-NMR data on the classification of samples: A case study of binning and BATMAN in lung cancer.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a principal analytical technique in metabolomics. Extracting metabolic information from NMR spectra is complex due to the fact that an immense amount of detail on the chemical composition of a biological sample is expressed through a single spectrum. The simplest approach to quantify the signal is through spectral binning which involves subdividing the spectra into regions along the chemical shift axis and integrating the peaks within each region.

The Detection of Metabolite-Mediated Gene Module Co-Expression Using Multivariate Linear Models.

Investigating whether metabolites regulate the co-expression of a predefined gene module is one of the relevant questions posed in the integrative analysis of metabolomic and transcriptomic data. This article concerns the integrative analysis of the two high-dimensional datasets by means of multivariate models and statistical tests for the dependence between metabolites and the co-expression of a gene module. The general linear model (GLM) for correlated data that we propose models the dependence between adjusted gene expression values through a block-diagonal variance-covariance structure formed by metabolic-subset specific general variance-covariance blocks.

Predictors of poor adherence among people on antiretroviral treatment in Cape Town, South Africa: a case-control study.

A case-control study was conducted to describe the frequency with which structural- and individual-level barriers to adherence are experienced by people receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and to determine predictors of non-adherence. Three hundred adherent and 300 non-adherent patients from 6 clinics in Cape Town completed the LifeWindows Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills ART Adherence Questionnaire, the Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Symptoms Screener and the Structural Barriers to Clinic Attendance (SBCA) and Medication-taking (SBMT) scales. Overall, information-related barriers were reported most frequently followed by motivation and behaviour skill defects.

Whole-system change: case study of factors facilitating early implementation of a primary health care reform in a South African province.

Background: Whole-system interventions are those that entail system wide changes in goals, service delivery arrangements and relationships between actors, requiring approaches to implementation that go beyond projects or programmes.

Methods: Drawing on concepts from complexity theory, this paper describes the catalysts to implementation of a whole-system intervention in the North West Province of South Africa. This province was an early adopter of a national primary health care (PHC) strategy that included the establishment of PHC outreach teams based on generalist community health workers.

Description and implementation of U-Turn Medical, a comprehensive lifestyle intervention programme for chronic disease in the sport and exercise medicine setting: pre-post observations in 210 consecutive patients.

Background: Non-communicable disease (NCD) is increasing, but management remains mostly curative, disease-centred and focused on single interventions. We describe the development and implementation of a patient-centred, comprehensive, multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention programme (LIP) for patients with NCD in the sport and exercise medicine (SEM) setting (part 1) and present preliminary observational data (part 2).

Methods: Part 1 is a description of the programme development and implementation.

Teaching chest X-ray reading for child tuberculosis suspects.

Setting: Cape Town, South Africa.

Objective: To improve the reading of chest X-rays (CXRs) in child tuberculosis (TB) suspects.

Design: We designed a reporting and recording form to assist in the diagnosis of childhood TB from CXRs.

The effect of the biochemical marker soluble human leukocyte antigen G on pregnancy outcome in assisted reproductive technology--a multicenter study.

Objective: To determine whether the presence of soluble human leukocyte antigen G (sHLA-G) affects implantation and pregnancy outcomes in vitro.

Design: A multicenter retrospective study.

Setting: Six certified in vitro fertilization (IVF) units.

Carotid endarterectomy in the elderly: risk factors, intraoperative carotid hemodynamics and short-term complications: a UK tertiary center retrospective analysis.

This retrospective analysis aims to demonstrate the safety of carotid endarterectomy (CE) in patients >75 years with particular attention paid to intraoperative hemodynamics. Four hundred and ninety-six consecutive patients with >70% symptomatic and asymptomatic stenosis who underwent CE were prospectively assessed and divided into those <75 years (n = 408; mean 64 years) and those >75 years (n = 88; mean 78 years). Associated risk factors, hemodynamic parameters, surgical techniques and 30-day perioperative complications were compared.

Restenosis after carotid endarterectomy.

Multiple randomised trials over the last decade for both symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis have proven the efficacy of carotid endarterectomy (CE) in reducing the risk of stroke. The long-term patency of the carotid artery after CE is an important factor in the success of the operation. The incidence of recurrent carotid stenosis (excluding residual lesions) ranges from 1 to 37% with only 0-8% of patients having restenosis-related symptoms (1).