Structural and antigenic variance between novel influenza A/H1N1/2009 and influenza A/H1N1/2008 viruses

BACKGROUND: The emergence of influenza A/H1N1/2009 is alarming. The severity of previous epidemics suggests that the susceptibility of the human population to H1N1 is directly proportional to the degree of changes in hemagglutinin/HA and neuraminidase/NA; therefore, H1N1/2009 and H1N1/2008 were analyzed for their sequence as well as structural divergence. METHODOLOGY: The structural and sequence divergence of H1N1/2009 and H1N1/2008 strains were analyzed by aligning HA and NA amino acid sequences by using ClustalW and ESyPred3D software. To determine the variations in sites of viral attachment to host cells, a comparison between amino acid sequences of HA and NA glycosylation sites was performed with NetNGlyc software. The antigenic divergence was executed by CTL epitope prediction method. RESULTS: The amino acid homology levels of H1N1/2009 were 20.32% and 18.73% compared to H1N1/2008 for HA and NA genes, respectively. In spite of the high variation in HA and NA amino acid composition, there was no significant difference in their structures. Antigenic analysis proposes that great antigenic differences exist between both the viral strains, but no addition of a new site of glycosylation was observed. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first report suggesting that the circulating novel influenza virus A/H1N1/2009 attaches to the same glycosylation receptor sites as its predecessor influenza A/H1N1/2008 virus, but is antigenically different and may have the potential for initiating a significant pandemic. Our study may facilitate the development of better therapeutics and preventive strategies, as well as impart clues for novel H1N1 diagnostic and vaccine development

A review on scope of immuno-modulatory drugs in Ayurveda for prevention and treatment of Covid-19

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2) infection attacking mainly on the immune system of a body. It is a potentially fatal disease that is of public health and economy concern globally. In December 2019, COVID-19 outbreak occurred in Wuhan city, Hubei Province, China furthermore spread worldwide. Research is underway in many countries to develop effective vaccines and drugs for the COVID-19. In Ayurveda, Acharya Charaka explained the concept of an epidemic condition in Janapadodhwans Adhayay and combating of these diseases is to be done by Panchakarma (five procedures of purification), Rasayana Chikitsa (immune-modulators therapy) and Sadvritta (good conduct). Rasayan dravyas (immuno modulators drugs) of Ayurveda can be used for health promotion, immune-modulation, prevention and reduce disease burden from COVID-19. Drugs such as Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal), Guduchi (Tinospora cordifoloia (Willd.) Miers), Amalaki (Phyllanthus emblica L.), Mulethi (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.), Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus Willd), Chireta (Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees), Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum L.) Punarnava (Boerhaavia diffusa L.) and Pippali ((Piper longum L.) For symptom management of COVID-19 like illness Agastya Haritaki, Anutaila, AYUSH–64 can be used. Scientific research on these drugs may reveal the new approach for the prevention and management of COVID-19. The main aim of this article is to review research which has already conducted and currently being carried out on the herbal plant for their immunomodulation property which have a possible application in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19

Baryogenesis from Primordial Blackholes after Electroweak Phase Transition

Incorporating a realistic model for accretion of ultra-relativistic particles by primordial blackholes (PBHs), we study the evolution of an Einstein-de Sitter universe consisting of PBHs embedded in a thermal bath from the epoch $\sim 10^{-33}$ sec to $\sim 5\times 10^{-9}$ sec. In this paper we use Barrow et al's ansatz to model blackhole evaporation in which the modified Hawking temperature goes to zero in the limit of the blackhole attaining a relic state with mass $\sim m_{pl}$. Both single mass PBH case as well as the case in which blackhole masses are distributed in the range $8\times 10^2 - 3\times 10^5$ gm have been considered in our analysis. Blackholes with mass larger than $\sim 10^5$ gm appear to survive beyond the electroweak phase transition and, therefore, successfully manage to create baryon excess via $X-\bar X$ emissions, averting the baryon number wash-out due to sphalerons. In this scenario, we find that the contribution to the baryon-to-entropy ratio by PBHs of initial mass $m$ is given by $\sim \epsilon \zeta (m/1 {gm})^{-1}$, where $\epsilon$ and $\zeta$ are the CP-violating parameter and the initial mass fraction of the PBHs, respectively. For $\epsilon$ larger than $\sim 10^{-4}$, the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe can be attributed to the evaporation of PBHs.Comment: Latex2e file with seven figures included as postscript file

Investigations on the Tribological Characteristics of TiO2-Doped Nanofluid Fuel (Biodiesel/Diesel Blend) at Different Contact Parameters

Abstract The fuels (diesel/biodiesel blends) for diesel engines must possess a minimum of lubricating characteristics to prolong the life of some of the engine vital parts lubricated by the fuel itself. Hence, the tribological characteristic of the modified nanofluid fuel blends needs to be investigated for its suitability and sustainability. In the present study, an experimental analysis on the tribological aspect of fuel blends comprising 40% Acacia concinna biodiesel and 60% diesel (by volume) mixed with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles in a concentration of 50–200 mg/l was conducted. The prepared fuel blends in varying volume concentrations were tested on a four-ball tribotester. The effects of varying operating parameters such as load and temperature as well as oxidation of biodiesel fuel blend on friction and wear behavior were evaluated with the help of three-dimensional (3D) surface plots (response surface methodology approach). Further, wear patch diameter, wear debris, wear volume, and flash temperature parameter were analyzed using optical micrographs and ferrographs. The obtained results revealed that despite having an influence of all parameters, the effect of TiO2 nanoparticles is more significant in improving the antiwear/friction characteristics of modified nanofluid fuel blends. It was observed that a TiO2 concentration of 150 mg/l in fuel blend was found to be the most suitable to reduce the friction, wear, and wear volume compared with those of diesel and biodiesel blend.</jats:p

A review on scope of immuno-modulatory drugs in Ayurveda for prevention and treatment of Covid-19

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2) infection attacking mainly on the immune system of a body. It is a potentially fatal disease that is of public health and economy concern globally. In December 2019, COVID-19 outbreak occurred in Wuhan city, Hubei Province, China furthermore spread worldwide. Research is underway in many countries to develop effective vaccines and drugs for the COVID-19. In Ayurveda, Acharya Charaka explained the concept of an epidemic condition in Janapadodhwans Adhayay and combating of these diseases is to be done by Panchakarma (five procedures of purification), Rasayana Chikitsa (immune-modulators therapy) and Sadvritta (good conduct). Rasayan dravyas (immuno modulators drugs) of Ayurveda can be used for health promotion, immune-modulation, prevention and reduce disease burden from COVID-19. Drugs such as Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal), Guduchi (Tinospora cordifoloia (Willd.) Miers), Amalaki (Phyllanthus emblica L.), Mulethi (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.), Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus Willd), Chireta (Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees), Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum L.) Punarnava (Boerhaavia diffusa L.) and Pippali ((Piper longum L.) For symptom management of COVID-19 like illness Agastya Haritaki, Anutaila, AYUSH–64 can be used. Scientific research on these drugs may reveal the new approach for the prevention and management of COVID-19. The main aim of this article is to review research which has already conducted and currently being carried out on the herbal plant for their immunomodulation property which have a possible application in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.</jats:p