Dysbiosis of the Human Urinary Microbiome and its Association to Diseases Affecting the Urinary System.

The human urinary microbiome, also termed urobiome, has been overlooked due to the clinical dogma of sterile urine, as reported by routine culture. However, evolving sensitive tools such as expanded quantitative urine culture, 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing, and next-generation sequencing have discovered a vast number of microorganisms present in urine, even in healthy individuals. Microbiome dysbiosis and its links to disease is a heavily explored area in several microbial niches.

: A Rich Source of Secondary Metabolites with Antimicrobial, Disinfectant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities.

Benth is used in Sri Lankan folk medicine as a remedy for inflammatory conditions and microbial infections. Our previous investigations revealed potent 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) inhibitory activity in lipophilic extracts of this plant, supporting its anti-inflammatory potential. In-depth studies on the antimicrobial activity have not been conducted and the bioactive ingredients remained elusive.

Fungal-bacterial biofilm mediated heavy metal rhizo-remediation.

Heavy metal pollution due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers (CF) causes major damage to the environment. Microbial biofilms, closely associated with the rhizosphere can remediate heavy metal-contaminated soil by reducing plant toxicity. Thus, this study was undertaken to examine the remedial effects of microbial biofilms against contaminated heavy metals.

Establishment and application of a rapid visual detection method for based on polymerase spiral reaction (PSR).

is a common foodborne pathogen that presents in various food products, posing important threat to public health. The aim of this study was to establish a rapid and sensitive method with visualization to detect based on polymerase spiral reaction (PSR). Primers targeting conserved gene sequence of were designed based on bioinformatics analyses on the current available genomes.

Cyanotoxins uptake and accumulation in crops: Phytotoxicity and implications on human health.

The invasive nature of cyanotoxin-producing cyanobacteria and the adverse effects concerning their toxic impacts have gained heightened scientific attention of late. The persistence of cyanotoxins in irrigation water leads to bioaccumulation in plants, the development of phytotoxic effects, and the threat of groundwater contamination. The accumulation of cyanotoxins in plants is caused by several factors leading to severe toxic effects, including reduced plant growth and seed germination, enhanced oxidative stress, lowered rate of mineral uptake, decreased photosynthetic efficiency, and loss of chlorophyll content.

Household use of biomass fuel, especially traditional stove is associated with childhood wheeze and eczema: a cross sectional study of rural communities in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Background: Most households in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) rely on biomass fuel for daily cooking. Studies investigating the association between early life exposure to household air pollution and health outcomes in children in LMICs are limited.

Objective: To investigate the effects of biomass fuel for cooking and different types of stoves on wheeze and allergies in children of rural Sri Lankan communities.

Sharing Space with Monkeys and Human Tolerance Are Critical Supplements to Primate Conservation, but Not Substitutes for Protected Nature Reserves: A Long-Term View from Sri Lanka, with a Reply to Rudran [2021].

Many investigators of human-monkey competition (HMC) in Sri Lanka have revealed some common threads. Except at temple and protected sites, all monkeys were considered as household or agricultural pests wherever they shared space with humans. This included the widely distributed toque macaque (Macaca sinica), the grey langur (Semnopithecus priam thersites) of the Dry Zone, and the purple-faced langur (S.

Nature of Acquired Immune Responses, Epitope Specificity and Resultant Protection from SARS-CoV-2.

The primary global response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been to bring to the clinic as rapidly as possible a number of vaccines that are predicted to enhance immunity to this viral infection. While the rapidity with which these vaccines have been developed and tested (at least for short-term efficacy and safety) is commendable, it should be acknowledged that this has occurred despite the lack of research into, and understanding of, the immune elements important for natural host protection against the virus, making this endeavor a somewhat unique one in medical history. In contrast, as pointed out in the review below, there were already important past observations that suggested that respiratory infections at mucosal surfaces were susceptible to immune clearance by mechanisms not typical of infections caused by systemic (blood-borne) pathogens.

Recent advances in the synthesis of naturally occurring tetronic acids.

During the last decades the interest towards natural products containing the tetronic acid moiety augmented significantly, due to their challenging structures and to the wide range of biological activities they display. This increasing enthusiasm has led to noteworthy advances in the development of innovative methodologies for the construction of the butenolide nucleus. This review provides an overview of the progress in the synthesis of tetronic acid as a structural key motif of natural compounds, covering the last 15 years.

Development of a chemical-free floatation technology for the purification of vein graphite and characterization of the products.

A novel and simple flotation technique has been developed to prepare high-purity graphite from impure graphite. In this method, a suspension of pristine powdered graphite (PG) is dispersed and stirred in water without adding froth formers or supportive chemicals. This makes fine particles of graphite move upwards and float on water.

Indoor Particulate Matter in Urban Households: Sources, Pathways, Characteristics, Health Effects, and Exposure Mitigation.

Particulate matter (PM) is a complex mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in the air with varying size, shape, and chemical composition which intensifies significant concern due to severe health effects. Based on the well-established human health effects of outdoor PM, health-based standards for outdoor air have been promoted (e.g.

Regulatory network controls microbial biofilm development, with as a representative: from adhesion to dispersal.

Microorganisms mainly exist in the form of biofilm in nature. Biofilm can contaminate food and drinking water system, as well as cause chronic wound infections, thereby posing a potential threat to public health safety. In the last two decades, researchers have made efforts to investigate the genetic contributors control different stages of biofilm development (adherence, initiation, maturation, and dispersal).

Protein levels, air pollution and vitamin D deficiency: links with allergy.

https://bit.ly/3x0jYOw.

Ambient PM and PM Exposure and Respiratory Disease Hospitalization in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Evidence of associations between exposure to ambient air pollution and health outcomes are sparse in the South Asian region due to limited air pollution exposure and quality health data. This study investigated the potential impacts of ambient particulate matter (PM) on respiratory disease hospitalization in Kandy, Sri Lanka for the year 2019. The Generalized Additive Model (GAM) was applied to estimate the short-term effect of ambient PM on respiratory disease hospitalization.

Occurrence of Pharmaceutically Active Compounds and Potential Ecological Risks in Wastewater from Hospitals and Receiving Waters in Sri Lanka.

The presence of pharmaceutically active compounds (PACs) in the environment and their associated hazards is a major global health concern; however, data on these compounds are scarce in developing nations. In the present study, the existence of 39 non-antimicrobial PACs and six of their metabolites in wastewater from hospitals and adjacent surface waters in Sri Lanka was investigated from 2016 to 2018. The highest amounts of the measured chemicals, including the highest concentrations of atorvastatin (14,620 ng/L) and two metabolites, mefenamic acid (12,120 ng/L) and o-desmethyl tramadol (8700 ng/L), were detected in wastewater from the largest facility.

Investigation of the Complexes Formed between PARP1 Inhibitors and PARP1 G-Quadruplex at the Gene Promoter Region.

DNA repair inhibitors are one of the latest additions to cancer chemotherapy. In general, chemotherapy produces DNA damage but tumoral cells may become resistant if enzymes involved in DNA repair are overexpressed and are able to reverse DNA damage. One of the most successful drugs based on modulating DNA repair are the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) inhibitors.

Anti-Fibrotic and Anti-Angiogenic Activities of Leaf Extracts in Thioacetamide-Induced Experimental Liver Cirrhosis.

Chronic liver inflammation has become a major global health concern. In the absence of clinical surrogate markers to diagnose inflammatory liver disease, the intervention with effective drugs in modern medicine tends to be late. In Sri Lanka, traditional medical practitioners prescribe herbal preparations from for the prevention and treatment of liver disorders.

Iron modification to silicon-rich biochar and alternative water management to decrease arsenic accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Production of rice grains at non-toxic levels of arsenic (As) to meet the demands of an ever-increasing population is a global challenge. There is currently a lack of investigation into integrated approaches for decreasing As levels in rice agro-ecosystems. By examining the integrated iron-modified rice hull biochar (Fe-RBC) and water management approaches on As dynamics in the paddy agro-ecosystem, this study aims to reduce As accumulation in rice grains.

Risk factors for endemic chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology in Sri Lanka: Retrospect of water security in the dry zone.

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) is receiving considerable attention due to the serious threat to human health throughout the world. However, the roles of geo-socio-environmental factors in the prevalence of the CKDu endemic areas are still unknown. Sri Lanka is one of the countries most seriously affected by CKDu, where 10 out of 25 districts have been identified as the areas with the high prevalence of CKDu (10-20%).

Induction of Haploid Embryos in Datura metel by Anther Culture.

Microspores, with a haploid number of chromosomes, are destined to produce the male gametophyte, which hosts the male gametes that fertilize the female egg cell. During microsporogenesis, a particular stage of development is amenable to be switched to undergo embryogenesis and developed into a haploid plant. By doubling the chromosomes, a doubled haploid plant, homozygous for all the gene loci, is produced.

Bacterial Diversity in a Sri Lankan Geothermal Spring Assessed by Culture-Dependent and Culture-Independent Approaches.

Hot springs harbour diverse and interesting groups of microorganisms adapted to extreme conditions. However, due to limitations in the culture-dependent approach, most of such thermophiles remain uncultured and unexplored. Hence, this study was conducted to gain a comprehensive understanding of the bacterial diversity of Mahapelessa hot spring, Sri Lanka using both culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches.

Exploring the Interaction of Curaxin CBL0137 with G-Quadruplex DNA Oligomers.

Curaxins and especially the second-generation derivative curaxin CBL0137 have important antitumor activities in multiple cancers such as glioblastoma, melanoma and others. Although most of the authors suggest that their mechanism of action comes from the activation of p53 and inactivation of NF-kB by targeting FACT, there is evidence supporting the involvement of DNA binding in their antitumor activity. In this work, the DNA binding properties of curaxin CBL0137 with model quadruplex DNA oligomers were studied by H NMR, CD, fluorescence and molecular modeling.

Halogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible aquatic species of two Asian countries: Congener profiles, biomagnification, and human risk assessment.

Seventy-five contaminants including chlorinated/brominated/parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Cl/Br/PAHs) were investigated in 29 edible aquatic species from the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka and 10 species from the Pacific Ocean near Japan. Concentrations of total ClPAHs and BrPAHs in the samples were 2.6-57 and 0.

Evaluation of Performance of Existing RO Drinking Water Stations in the North Central Province, Sri Lanka.

Reverse osmosis (RO) drinking water stations have been introduced to provide safe drinking water for areas with prevailing chronic kidney disease with unknown (CKDu) etiology in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. In this investigation, RO drinking water stations established by community-based organizations (CBO) in the North Central Province (NCP) were examined. Water samples were collected from source, permeate, and concentrate in each station to determine water quality and performance.

Optimized pre-treatment of high strength food waste digestate by high content aluminum-nanocluster based magnetic coagulation.

Coagulation-based pre-treatment efficiency of high strength digestate of food waste (HSDFW) anaerobic digestion is negated by organic ligand-catalyzed decomposition of coagulants. In this study, an efficient HSDFW pre-treatment method, magnetic seeds (MS) coagulation, was employed by using highly stable Keggin Al nanocluster (PAC), MS and polyacrylamide (PAM), and its operation was optimized by evaluating the performance of removing turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total phosphorous (TP) phosphate. Results showed that at the optimum dosage of 4.