Publications by authors named "Sarfraz A"

Purpose: Dengue virus, a major global health concern, exhibits significant genetic diversity, leading to distinct serotypes and genotypes. Dengue is the second most common disease spread by mosquitoes that infect humans, after malaria. In recent decades, there has also been a shift in the tendencies of virus transmission from urban to peri-urban and rural settings.

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Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, caused by the gram-negative intracellular bacteria Rickettsia rickettsii, is a serious tick-borne infection with a fatality rate of 20-30%, if not treated. Since it is the most serious rickettsial disease in North America, modified prevention and treatment strategies are of critical importance. In order to find new therapeutic targets and create multiepitope vaccines, this study integrated subtractive proteomics with reverse vaccinology.

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The Hendra virus (HeV) has resulted in epidemics of respiratory and neurological illnesses in animals. Humans have contracted diseases with high fatality rates as a result of infected domestic animals, but effective vaccinations and therapies are currently not available against HeV. Herein, we analyzed the proteome of HeV and constructed an effective and innovative multi-epitope vaccine using immunoinformatics techniques.

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Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a prevalent nosocomial infection in the intensive care unit (ICU), significantly increasing patient morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Effective management is essential, particularly in the context of antimicrobial resistance and the frequent use of antibiotics in ICUs.

Methods: This prospective pre-post interventional study was conducted in the medical ICU of a tertiary care centre, over 6 months.

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Transgenic Ocimum sanctum plants were engineered to produce vanillin by overexpressing the VpVAN gene using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Positive transformants developed shoots within 4-5 weeks and were transferred to a root induction medium and four independent transformants with no observed adverse effects were kept for anlysis. Quantitative RT-PCR indicated significantly higher VpVAN expression in transgenic lines AG_3 and AG_1, impacting the phenylpropanoid pathway and phenolic compound accumulation.

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This work aimed to evaluate the antiviral potential of compounds from Asian medicinal plants against SARS-CoV-2's main protease and spike glycoprotein, identifying dual inhibitors from these plants that target both proteins through advanced virtual screening, molecular dynamics simulations, and pharmacophore analysis. An in-house library of 335 antiviral natural products was prepared from the selected medicinal plants. Following the virtual screening of this library against the main protease and spike glycoprotein, top compounds were subjected to downstream analysis for evaluating druggability potential and toxicity analysis.

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Purpose: Guanarito mammarenavirus (GTOV) is a highly pathogenic virus that leads to Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever (VHF). Despite being a severe disease, there are currently no commercially available drugs or vaccines for its prevention.

Methods: Here we computationally formulated a mRNA vaccine construct (VC) from the genome of GTOV to produce immunity against its infections.

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Oz virus (OZV) belongs to the Orthomyxoviridae family which includes viruses with a negative-sense, single-stranded, and segmented RNA genome. OZV is a zoonotic pathogen, particularly since the virus can cause deadly illness when injected intracerebrally into nursing mice. OZV is an emerging pathogen with the potential to spark a pandemic as there is no preventive and licensed treatment against this virus.

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Article Synopsis
  • A meta-analysis of clinical trials evaluated the FDA-approved antifungal drug rezafungin for treating serious fungal infections like candidemia, showing no significant advantages over the existing treatment, caspofungin, in cure rates or mortality.
  • Rezafungin offers unique benefits, such as a new mechanism of action and once-weekly dosing, which might improve patient adherence, but its clinical significance remains questionable given the costs involved.
  • The study highlights the importance of continued research and monitoring of rezafungin post-approval to fully assess its effectiveness and safety in real-world scenarios.
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  • O-prenylation of 3-aryl-benzopyrans boosts their biological effects, leading to the synthesis of various substituted compounds for testing their abilities to promote bone growth and inhibit cancer cell growth.* -
  • Compounds 21a, 22b, 23c, and 24c exhibited strong osteogenic activity at low concentrations, while certain other compounds showed activity at higher doses.* -
  • Notably, compound 27 showed the highest anticancer activity against breast cancer cells, specifically MDAMB-231, while demonstrating selectivity for non-cancerous cells, indicating potential for targeted cancer treatment.*
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Objectives: Automated results for determining colistin susceptibility tests are unreliable, micro broth dilution requires expertise, and CBDE has limited dilutions. International Consensus Document of 2022 suggested that agar dilution was unacceptable due to varying results in the literature.

Methods: The study was designed to evaluate the agar dilution method for colistin susceptibility in CRE isolates compared to CBDE.

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  • Leishmania is widespread, affecting almost half the globe, and its diagnosis remains particularly difficult in low- to middle-income countries.
  • On average, it takes 4.5 years from the onset of symptoms to get a diagnosis, indicating significant delays.
  • While traditional microscopic detection methods often miss diagnoses, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is highly effective; however, the varying clinical presentations complicate matters, especially in areas where the disease is not common.
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Background: Brevifoliol is a diterpenoid that occurs naturally in the plants of Taxus genus and is widely used as chemotherapy agent for the management of cancer. A series of semisynthetic esters analogues of brevifoliol were prepared by Steglich esterification and attempted for their pharmacological potential against insulin resistance conditions using in-vitro and in-silico assays.

Objective: The aim of this study is to understand the pharmacological potential of eighteen semisynthetic analogs through Steglich esterification of Brevifoliol against insulin resistance condition Methods: In the in-vitro study, insulin resistance condition was induced in skeletal muscle cells using TNF-α, pro-inflammatory cytokine and these cells were treated with brevifoliol analogues.

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  • Blastomyces dermatitidis is a dangerous fungus that can cause life-threatening infections, particularly affecting the lungs and other body systems, yet no vaccines are currently approved to prevent it.
  • A new peptide-based vaccine was developed using innovative techniques that involves analyzing the fungus's genome to identify effective targets and create multi-epitope constructs that enhance immune response.
  • The vaccine demonstrated promising properties through simulations, showing a strong interaction with the human immune receptor and predicted significant immune responses, paving the way for future validation and potential use.
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is the etiological agent of the disease opisthorchiasis and related cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). It infects fish-eating mammals and more than 10 million people in Southeast Asia suffered from opisthorchiasis with a high fatality rate. The only effective drug against this parasite is Praziquantel, which has significant side effects.

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The coronavirus illness caused by SARS-CoV-2 can cause multiple organ involvement, with varying degrees of severity. Besides inhalation as a route for transmission, feco-oral has also been proposed. Its transmission to sewage systems is a growing public health issue.

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Background: Pancreatic cancer remains a lethal malignancy with a 5-year survival rate below 6% and about 500,000 deaths annually worldwide. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the most prevalent form, is commonly associated with diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, obesity, and smoking, mainly affecting individuals aged 60 to 80 years. This systematic review aims to evaluate the efficacy of immunotherapeutic approaches in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many therapies, of which many are repurposed and used for other diseases in the last decade such in Influenza and Ebola. We intend to provide a robust foundation for cardiovascular outcomes of the therapies to better understand the rationale for the clinical trials that were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to gain more clarity on the steps moving forward should the repurposing provide clinical benefit in pandemic situations. With this state-of-the-art review, we aim to improve the understanding of the cardiovascular involvement of the therapies prior to, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic to provide meaningful findings to the cardiovascular specialists and clinical trials for therapies, moving on from the period of pandemic urgency.

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Introduction: Up to 25% of children and 5.6% of adults in the USA have atopic dermatitis (AD), with substantial impacts on quality of life. Effective control can be challenging despite therapy efforts.

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Postpartum depression (PPD) is a psychiatric condition affecting women post-childbirth. Medication combined with psychotherapy, is the current protocol for its treatment. A meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and preparedness of Latin American dentists in managing anaphylactic reactions to local anesthetics (LAs).
  • A survey involving 507 dentists revealed that while many could identify symptoms of anaphylaxis, like dyspnea, only half knew how to properly administer epinephrine, and confidence in their management abilities was notably low.
  • The results indicate a significant gap in emergency preparedness, suggesting a need for educational initiatives to enhance dentists' readiness for anaphylactic emergencies in their practices.
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Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a gram-negative bacterium that can be fatal if not treated properly. Three types of plague are currently known: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague, among which the fatality rate of septicemic and pneumonic plague is very high. Bubonic plague can be treated, but only if antibiotics are used at the initial stage of the infection.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to evaluate Ecuadorian physicians' knowledge and perceptions of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients post-COVID-19, highlighting its importance for improving respiratory function and well-being.
  • - An online survey of 295 physicians revealed that while a majority recognized the need for respiratory follow-up in COVID-19 patients (81.4%), only 18.3% were aware of specific rehabilitation guidelines.
  • - Overall, 93.6% of participants believed pulmonary rehabilitation is beneficial for patients with a history of COVID-19, but there is still uncertainty regarding the proper follow-up and implementation of rehabilitation strategies.
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Objective: In regenerative biology, the most commonly used cells are adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs). This is due to the abundance and easy accessibility of AD-MSCs.

Methods: In this study, canine AD-MSCs were harvested from different anatomical locations, i.

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