Polymeric optical fiber biosensor with PAMAM dendrimer-based surface modification and PlGF detection for pre-eclampsia diagnosis.

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a life-threatening complication that occurs during pregnancy, affecting a large number of pregnant women and newborns worldwide. Rapid, on-site and affordable screening of PE at an early stage is necessary to ensure timely treatment and minimize both maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates. Placental growth factor (PlGF) is an angiogenic blood biomarker used for PE diagnosis.

Soluble TNFR1 Levels in Type 2 Diabetes and its Association with Stages of Proteinuria.

Aims: Early identification of at-risk individuals for diabetic nephropathy would help in preventing or delaying end-stage renal failure. We measured the levels of circulating soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNFR1) in various stages of proteinuria (MAC) to determine the association of this marker with diabetic nephropathy.

Materials And Methods: The study was performed on 160 subjects, and a case-control methodology was employed.

Standardization of an in-house multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction for the simultaneous detection of , cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex Virus 1 and 2, and infection among pregnant women.

Background: An in-house multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed in two cocktails for the identification of six Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus (1 and 2), and Treponema pallidum (syphilis) (TORCH-S) agents, which causes congenital infection among pregnant women.

Objective: Standardization and validation of an in-house multiplex real-time PCR assay for the detection of TORCH-S infection.

Methods: This study was conducted from February 2017 to February 2019.

Identification of biomarkers for early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy disease using direct flow through mass spectrometry.

Background And Aims: Albuminuria is not an effective marker for early diagnosis of diabetic renal complication with several subjects progressing to chronic kidney disease without any albuminuria. A biomarker that can predict early changes of the diabetic kidney will be useful in effective management of type 2 diabetes. Mass spectrometry based metabolomics approach offers tremendous promise for the identification of novel metabolite biomarkers.

Interaction of human immunodeficiency virus-1 and human immunodeficiency virus-2 capsid amino acid variants with human tripartite motif 5α protein SPRY domain and its association with pathogenesis.

Purpose: The sequence variation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) capsid region may influence and alter the susceptibility to human tripartite motif 5α protein (huTRIM5α).

Materials And Methods: Molecular docking was carried out with huTRIM5α SPRY domain by the use of ClusPro and Hex docking program for HIV-1 and HIV-2 capsid sequences.

Results: The sequence analysis on HIV-1 and HIV-2 capsid gag gene identified 35 (19.

Molecular Docking Studies of Potential Inhibition of the Alcohol Dehydrogenase Enzyme by Phyllanthin, Hypophyllanthin and Gallic Acid.

A review of literature shows certain phytochemicals, phyllanthin, hypophyllanthin and gallic acid have beneficial effects in experimental animals for improving liver metabolism in alcoholic liver disease. We investigated the ability of these chemicals to exhibit the inhibitory effect on the enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase active site. The software used were CASTp, AutoDock and Molinspiration in Windows platform.

B cell epitopes in the intrinsically disordered regions of neuraminidase and hemagglutinin proteins of H5N1 and H9N2 avian influenza viruses for peptide-based vaccine development.

Avian influenza viruses (AIV) are very active in several parts of the globe and are the cause of huge economic loss for the poultry industry and also human fatalities. Three dimensional modeling was carried out for neuraminidase (NA) and hemagglutinin (HA) proteins of AIV. The C-score, estimated TM-Score, and estimated root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) score for NA of H5N1 were -1.

Identification of B- and T-cell epitopes on HtrA protein of Orientia tsutsugamushi.

Orientia tsutsugamushi, a cause of scrub typhus is emerging as an important pathogen in several parts of the tropics. The control of this infection relies on rapid diagnosis, specific treatment, and prevention through vector control. Development of a vaccine for human use would be very important as a public health measure.

Design of peptide epitope from the neuraminidase protein of influenza A and influenza B towards short peptide vaccine development.

Influenza viruses A and B are important human respiratory pathogens causing seasonal, endemic and pandemic infections in several parts of the globe with high morbidity and considerable mortality. The current inactivated and live attenuated vaccines are not effective. Therefore, it is of interest to design universal influenza virus vaccines with high efficacy.

Detection of parvovirus B19 in selected high-risk patient groups & their phylogenetic & selection analysis.

Background & Objectives: Human parvovirus B19V (B19V) is known to be associated with erythema infectiosum commonly in children, aplastic crisis, especially in persons with underlying haemolytic disorders, hydrops fetalis in pregnancies and arthritis. This cross-sectional study was aimed to determine the presence of B19V infection in childhood febrile illnesses, association of B19V with arthropathies and in adult patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on dialysis. The genetic diversity among the sequences was also analysed.

Genetic characterization of Chikungunya virus 2009 isolates from South India.

Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) is a single stranded positive sense enveloped RNA virus. Re-emergence of CHIKV caused a massive outbreak with severe clinical manifestation affecting multiple organs. The genetic diversity of CHIKV, which caused recurring outbreaks in India, was studied.

Development & standardization of an in-house IgM indirect ELISA for the detection of parvovirus B19 infections.

Background & Objectives: Parvovirus B19 infections occur worldwide; the infection is acquired early in childhood but could occur later. B19 is reported to cause infection in childhood febrile illnesses, and arthropathies in adults and children and in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) seen in adults. This study was designed to develop an in-house IgM indirect ELISA for serological screening among patients and controls, and to compare ELISA results with those of nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) assay.

Application of viromics: a new approach to the understanding of viral infections in humans.

This review is focused at exploring the strengths of modern technology driven data compiled in the areas of virus gene sequencing, virus protein structures and their implication to viral diagnosis and therapy. The information for virome analysis (viromics) is generated by the study of viral genomes (entire nucleotide sequence) and viral genes (coding for protein). Presently, the study of viral infectious diseases in terms of etiopathogenesis and development of newer therapeutics is undergoing rapid changes.

In Silico Validation of D7 Salivary Protein-derived B- and T-cell Epitopes of Aedes aegypti as Potential Vaccine to Prevent Transmission of Flaviviruses and Togaviruses to Humans.

Mosquito (Aedes aegyptii) salivary proteins play a crucial role in facilitating viral transmission from vector-to-host due to their role in facilitating the "blood meal" of the vector. Three main proteins, D7, aegyptin and Sialokinin play a role in this process. Using in-silico programs, we identified B- and T-cell epitopes in the mosquito salivary proteins D7 long and short form.

Short peptide epitope design from hantaviruses causing HFRS.

Several genotypes of the hantavirus cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and is an important public health problem worldwide. There is now growing interest to develop subunit vaccines especially focused to elicit cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses which are important against viral infection. We identified candidate T-cell epitopes that bind to Class I HLA supertypes towards identifying potential subunit vaccine entity.

T-cell epitopes predicted from the Nucleocapsid protein of Sin Nombre virus restricted to 30 HLA alleles common to the North American population.

Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome in North America is caused by Sin Nombre virus (SNV) and poses a public health problem. We identified T-cell epitopes restricted to HLA alleles commonly seen in the N. American population.

Clinical Evaluation of a Polyherbal Nutritional Supplement in Dyslipidemic Volunteers.

Ten important plant parts routinely used in South Indian ethnic food preparation as spices and condiments were investigated for their potential antidyslipidemic properties. The aim of the study was to characterize the biochemical properties of the polyherbal formulation (nutritional supplement) and evaluate its use to control dyslipidemia in patients. Phytochemical evaluation, in vitro α-amylase inhibitory assay, and high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) fingerprinting were carried out with alcoholic extracts of all 10 individual plants and with the nutritional supplement.

Effect of HIV-1 Subtype C integrase mutations implied using molecular modeling and docking data.

The degree of sequence variation in HIV-1 integrase genes among infected patients and their impact on clinical response to Anti retroviral therapy (ART) is of interest. Therefore, we collected plasma samples from 161 HIV-1 infected individuals for subsequent integrase gene amplification (1087 bp). Thus, 102 complete integrase gene sequences identified as HIV-1 subtype-C was assembled.

Prediction of Pan-Specific B-Cell Epitopes From Nucleocapsid Protein of Hantaviruses Causing Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome.

Hantaviruses are emerging viral pathogens that causes hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) in the Americas, a severe, sometimes fatal, respiratory disease in humans with a case fatality rate of ≥50%. IgM and IgG-based serological detection methods are the most common approaches used for laboratory diagnosis of hantaviruses. Such emerging viral pathogens emphasizes the need for improved rapid diagnostic devices and vaccines incorporating pan-specific epitopes of genotypes.

Prediction of B Cell Epitopes Among Hantavirus Strains Causing Hemorragic Fever With Renal Syndrome.

Hantavirus infections are now recognized to be a global problem. The hantaviruses include several genotypic variants of the virus with different distributions in varying geographical regions. The virus genotypes seem to segregate in association with certain manifestations specific for each syndrome.

Natural Inhibitors of HMG-CoA Reductase-An Insilico Approach Through Molecular Docking and Simulation Studies.

Plant products have always been considered for many important metabolic disorders due to its abundant medicinal properties. Alarming adverse effects of overuse of statins has been reported for patients with dyslipidemia. This study was aimed to identify compounds with potent anti-dyslipidemic property from selected plants and analyze them for their efficiency in binding with HMG-CoA reductase, a key enzyme in lipid metabolism.

Frequency of transmitted drug resistance mutations among treatment-naïve HIV-1-infected individuals at a tertiary care centre in South India.

Introduction: Morbidity and mortality among HIV-1-infected individuals has been dramatically reduced by the implementation of combinational antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the efficiency of these therapies is compromised due to HIV-1 transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRMs).

Methods: We collected a total of 127 samples from ART-naïve HIV-infected individuals and sequenced the pol gene and analysed for drug resistance mutations using the Calibrated Population Resistance (CPR) tool in the Stanford database.

Novel Insights on Hantavirus Evolution: The Dichotomy in Evolutionary Pressures Acting on Different Hantavirus Segments.

Background: Hantaviruses are important emerging zoonotic pathogens. The current understanding of hantavirus evolution is complicated by the lack of consensus on co-divergence of hantaviruses with their animal hosts. In addition, hantaviruses have long-term associations with their reservoir hosts.