Respiratory Viruses Associated Hospitalization among Children Aged <5 Years in Bangladesh: 2010-2014

Background

We combined hospital-based surveillance and health utilization survey data to estimate the incidence of respiratory viral infections associated hospitalization among children aged < 5 years in Bangladesh.

Methods

Surveillance physicians collected respiratory specimens from children aged <5 years hospitalized with respiratory illness and residing in the primary hospital catchment areas. We tested respiratory specimens for respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza viruses, human metapneumovirus, influenza, adenovirus and rhinoviruses using rRT-PCR. During 2013, we conducted a health utilization survey in the primary catchment areas of the hospitals to determine the proportion of all hospitalizations for respiratory illness among children aged <5 years at the surveillance hospitals during the preceding 12 months. We estimated the respiratory virus-specific incidence of hospitalization by dividing the estimated number of hospitalized children with a laboratory confirmed infection with a respiratory virus by the population aged <5 years of the catchment areas and adjusted for the proportion of children who were hospitalized at the surveillance hospitals.

Results

We estimated that the annual incidence per 1000 children (95% CI) of all cause associated respiratory hospitalization was 11.5 (10–12). The incidences per 1000 children (95% CI) per year for respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza, adenovirus, human metapneumovirus and influenza infections were 3(2–3), 0.5(0.4–0.8), 0.4 (0.3–0.6), 0.4 (0.3–0.6), and 0.4 (0.3–0.6) respectively. The incidences per 1000 children (95%CI) of rhinovirus-associated infections among hospitalized children were 5 (3–7), 2 (1–3), 1 (0.6–2), and 3 (2–4) in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that respiratory viruses are associated with a substantial burden of hospitalization in children aged <5 years in Bangladesh.     

Isolation and characterization of biosurfactant production under extreme environmental conditions by alkali-halo-thermophilic bacteria from Saudi Arabia

Twenty three morphologically distinct microbial colonies were isolated from soil and sea water samples, which were collected from Jeddah region, Saudi Arabia for screening of the most potent biosurfactant strains. The isolated bacteria were selected by using different methods as drop collapse test, oil displacement test, blue agar test, blood hemolysis test, emulsification activity and surface tension. The results showed that the ability of Virgibacillus salarius to grow and reduce surface tension under a wide range of pH, salinities and temperatures gives bacteria isolate an advantage in many applications such as pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food industries and bioremediation in marine environment. The biosurfactant production by V. salarius decreased surface tension and emulsifying activity (30 mN/m and 80%, respectively). In addition to reducing the production cost of biosurfactants by tested several plant-derived oils such as jatropha oil, castor oils, jojoba oil, canola oil and cottonseed oil. In this respect the feasibility to reusing old frying oil of sunflower for production rhamnolipids and sophorolipids, their use that lead to solve many ecological and industrial problems.     

Phylogenetic and Molecular Clock Analysis of Dengue Serotype 1 and 3 from New Delhi,India

Dengue fever is the most prevalent arboviral disease in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. The present report describes molecular detection and serotyping of dengue viruses in acute phase blood samples collected from New Delhi, India. Phylogenetic and molecular clock analysis of dengue virus serotype 1 and 3 strains were also investigated. Dengue virus infection was detected in 68.87% out of 604 samples tested by RT-PCR between 2011 & 2014. Dengue serotype 1 was detected in 25.48% samples, dengue serotype 2 in 79.56% samples and dengue serotype 3 in 11.29% samples. Dengue serotype 4 was not detected. Co-infection by more than one dengue serotype was detected in 18.26% samples. Envelope gene of 29 DENV-1 and 14 DENV-3 strains were sequenced in the study. All the DENV-1 strains grouped with the American African genotype. All DENV-3 strains were found to belong to Genotype III. Nucleotide substitution rates of dengue 1 and 3 viruses were determined in the study. Time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) of dengue 1 viruses was determined to be 132 years. TMRCA of DENV-3 viruses was estimated to be 149 years. Bayesian skyline plots were constructed for Indian DENV-1 and 3 strains which showed a decrease in population size since 2005 in case of DENV- 1 strains while no change was observed in recent years in case of DENV-3 strains. The study also revealed a change in the dominating serotype in Delhi, India in recent years. The study will be helpful in formulating control strategies for the outbreaks. In addition, it will also assist in tracking the movement and evolution of this emerging virus.     

Tpz1TPP1 SUMOylation reveals evolutionary conservation of SUMO‐dependent Stn1 telomere association

Elongation of the telomeric overhang by telomerase is counteracted by synthesis of the complementary strand by the CST complex, CTC1(Cdc13)/Stn1/Ten1. Interaction of budding yeast Stn1 with overhang‐binding Cdc13 is increased by Cdc13 SUMOylation. Human and fission yeast CST instead interact with overhang‐binding TPP1/POT1. We show that the fission yeast TPP1 ortholog, Tpz1, is SUMOylated. Tpz1 SUMOylation restricts telomere elongation and promotes Stn1/Ten1 telomere association, and a SUMO‐Tpz1 fusion protein has increased affinity for Stn1. Our data suggest that SUMO inhibits telomerase through stimulation of Stn1/Ten1 action by Tpz1, highlighting the evolutionary conservation of the regulation of CST function by SUMOylation.     

Structure-based prediction of protein–protein interactions between GhWlim5 Domain1 and GhACTIN-1 proteins: a practical evidence with improved fibre strength

Cotton fibre quality is a multigenic trait. Genetic modification of different genes to achieve high quality fibre is difficult without knowing the mechanism lying behind genes interaction. Based on background knowledge an attempt to explore the potential structural interactions between Gossypium hirsutum Wlim5 domain1 and Gossypium hirsutum ACTIN-1 proteins was done in current study. Sequence features of the LIM domain1 of GhWlim5 protein were identified through multiple sequence alignment analysis, and a phylogenetic tree was built to identify evolutionary relationships between sequences. Conservation indicated the evolutionary importance of side chain residues and the presence of several aliphatic and/or bulky residues, which stabilize the protein core and facilitate packing of zinc fingers. The structures of GhWlim5 domain1 and GhACTIN-1 proteins were modelled and validated through computational methods. Validation of GhACTIN-1 and GhWlim5 domain1 structures indicated good structural quality with 99.7% and 100% of the favoured number of residues in allowed regions and Z-score, within the ranges of − 9.87 and − 4.17, respectively. Docking analysis indicated various possible modes of interaction between these two proteins with favourable binding affinities. Based on our strong binding interaction results between GhWlim5 domain1 and GhACTIN-1 proteins, we further investigated the role of over-expression of GhWlim5 by transformation in cotton plants under fibre specific promoter and transgenic plants displayed significant increases in fibre strength.

     

Chlorogenic acid prevents hepatotoxicity in arsenic-treated mice: role of oxidative stress and apoptosis

Molecular Biology Reports - Arsenic is a potent and toxic heavy metal found in the environment that causes health problems, including liver disease, in humans and animals. Chlorogenic acid (CA) is...     

Combined therapy of oncolytic Newcastle disease virus and rhizomes extract of Rheum ribes enhances cancer virotherapy in vitro and in vivo

Molecular Biology Reports - Phytotherapy has been used to treat a different type of diseases including cancer for a long time, and it was a source for different active anti-tumor agents. Oncolytic...     

Lipase mediated resolution of γ-azidoalcohols in aqueous and organic media: Synthesis of (R)- and (S)-fluoxetine and duloxetine

A simple and efficient method for the synthesis of optically active γ-azidoalcohols is described. The lipase catalyzed kinetic resolutions of acetates of γ-azidoalcohols in aqueous as well as organic media have been studied. The enantiomerically pure γ-azidoalcohols obtained by the kinetic resolution in high enantiopurity have been utilized towards the synthesis of enantiomeric pairs of anti-depressant drugs, fluoxetine and duloxetine.     

Identification of a yolk sac cell population with hematopoietic activity in view of CD45/c-Kit expression

During murine embryonic development, primitive hematopoiesis occurs in the yolk sac (YS). Recent studies have shown that the YS also harbors definitive hematopoietic activity. However, the population of YS cells contributing to definitive hematopoiesis has not been identified. In this study, we characterized the hematopoietic cell populations in the YS of mouse embryos from E9.5 to E14.5 in view of the expression profiles of CD45 and c-Kit. The YS cells from E9.5 to E11.5 could be divided into six populations: CD45(-) c-Kit(-) , CD45(-) c-Kit(low) , CD45(-) c-Kit(high) , CD45(low) c-Kit(high) , CD45(high) c-Kit(high) and CD45(high) c-Kit(very low) . Among these populations, CD45(low) c-Kit(high) cells showed the highest multilineage hematopoietic colony-forming activity. Later in development, the YS cells from E12.5 to E14.5 lost the second and fourth populations (i.e., they retained CD45(-) c-Kit(-) , CD45(-) c-Kit(high) , CD45(high) c-Kit(high) and CD45(high) c-Kit(very low) cells), and concurrently with the disappearance of the CD45(low) c-Kit(high) population, no significant hematopoietic activity was found in any of the populations on and after E12.5. CD45(low) c-Kit(high) YS cells, which had a round morphology with a large nucleus, possessed the ability to differentiate into myeloid and B lymphoid cells when cultured with stromal cells. These findings suggest that CD45(low) c-Kit(high) YS cells include more undifferentiated cells than the other YS cell populations and possess in vitro potency to differentiate into multilineage hematopoietic cells. Furthermore, this cell population disappears from the YS at around E12.5, when the site of hematopoiesis has already shifted to the fetal liver and the placenta.     

Interaction network of the ribosome assembly machinery from a eukaryotic thermophile

Ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotic cells is a highly dynamic and complex process innately linked to cell proliferation. The assembly of ribosomes is driven by a myriad of biogenesis factors that shape pre‐ribosomal particles by processing and folding the ribosomal RNA and incorporating ribosomal proteins. Biochemical approaches allowed the isolation and characterization of pre‐ribosomal particles from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which lead to a spatiotemporal map of biogenesis intermediates along the path from the nucleolus to the cytoplasm. Here, we cloned almost the entire set (～180) of ribosome biogenesis factors from the thermophilic fungus Chaetomium thermophilum in order to perform an in‐depth analysis of their protein–protein interaction network as well as exploring the suitability of these thermostable proteins for structural studies. First, we performed a systematic screen, testing about 80 factors for crystallization and structure determination. Next, we performed a yeast 2‐hybrid analysis and tested about 32,000 binary combinations, which identified more than 1000 protein–protein contacts between the thermophilic ribosome assembly factors. To exemplary verify several of these interactions, we performed biochemical reconstitution with the focus on the interaction network between 90S pre‐ribosome factors forming the ctUTP‐A and ctUTP‐B modules, and the Brix‐domain containing assembly factors of the pre‐60S subunit. Our work provides a rich resource for biochemical reconstitution and structural analyses of the conserved ribosome assembly machinery from a eukaryotic thermophile.