Construction of multi-epitope vaccine against the Rhipicephalus microplus tick: an immunoinformatics approach.

Rhipicephalus microplus, known as the hard tick, is a vector for the parasites Babesia spp. and Anaplasma marginale, both of which can cause significant financial losses to the livestock industry. There is currently no effective vaccine for R. microplus tick infestations, despite the identification of numerous prospective tick vaccine candidates. As a result, the current research set out to develop an immunoinformatics-based strategy using existing methods for designing a multi-epitope based vaccination that is not only effective but also safe and capable of eliciting cellular and humoral immune responses. First, R. microplus proteins Bm86, Subolesin, and Bm95 were used to anticipate and link B and T-cell epitopes (HTL and CTL) to one another. Antigenicity testing, allergenicity assessment, and toxicity screening were just a few of the many immunoinformatics techniques used to identify potent epitopes. Multi-epitope vaccine design was chosen based on the antigenic score 0.935 that is promising vaccine candidate. Molecular docking was used to determine the nature of the interaction between TLR2 and the vaccine construct. Finally, molecular dynamic simulation was used to assess the stability and compactness of the resulting vaccination based on docking scores. The developed vaccine was shown to be stable, have immunogenic qualities, be soluble, and to have high expression by in silico cloning. These findings suggest that experimental investigation of the multi-epitope based vaccine designed in the current study will produce achievable vaccine candidates against R. microplus ticks, enabling more effective control of infestations.

Exploration of a New Source of Sustainable Nanomaterial from the Koh-e-Suleiman Mountain Range of Pakistan for Industrial Applications.

The present study aimed to explore a new source of montmorillonite and to develop an extraction and purification protocol for its isolation from raw clay samples acquired from the Koh-e-Suleiman mountain range in Pakistan. The process involved the collection of raw clay from the source, identification and quantification of montmorillonite. Granulometric extraction and purification protocols increased the montmorillonite content from 21.8-25.1% in the raw clay to 90.1-93.9% after small-scale extraction and 85.33-89.33% on a larger scale. A techno-economic analysis highlighted the practicality and economic benefits of large-scale extraction for industrial applications. This study highlights the existence of a substantial new source of this valuable clay which is currently used across multiple industries including construction, pottery making, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and engineering. It is intuitively expected that the large-scale extraction of the material will improve the economic condition of the region by providing employment opportunities to locals and may be a valuable resource for export.

Female neuregulin 1 heterozygous mice require repeated exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol to alter sensorimotor gating function.

INTRODUCTION: The schizophrenia susceptibility gene neuregulin 1 (NRG1) confers vulnerability to the neurobehavioural eff ects of cannabinoids differently across sexes. Male but not female Nrg1 heterozygous (HET) mice display facilitation of prepulse inhibition (PPI) to acute Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure compared to WT controls. We aim to observe whether repeated administration of THC may overcome the acute insensitivity of female Nrg1 HET mice to THC exposure. METHODS: Female Nrg1 HET mice and WT controls were administered THC daily for 21 days, with PPI and anxiety-related behaviour in the light-dark test (LD) examined on the fi rst and last day of treatment and 21 days after cessation of dosing. RESULTS: Following repeated, but not acute THC exposure, female Nrg1 HET mice displayed THC-induced facilitation of PPI which was not observed in WT mice treated with THC. There were no residual eff ects of THC on PPI in either genotype when assessed 21 days following the final THC dose. An anxiogenic response to THC was evident following repeated, but not acute, administration in the LD test in both genotypes. DISCUSSION: These findings show that the acute insensitivity of female Nrg1 HET mice to THC-induced PPI facilitation may be overcome following repeated THC exposure.

Swedish dental hygienists' preferences for workplace improvement and continuing professional development.

UNLABELLED: The present study examined factors for workplace improvement and continuing professional development (CPD) for Swedish dental hygienists. Seventy-one per cent of 577 randomly selected members of Sweden's Dental Hygienist Association responded to a questionnaire. The chi-square test, Spearman's rank correlation, and multiple stepwise logistic regression modelling were used in the statistical analysis. The results showed that dental hygienists having more than 10 sick days annually and with a strong commitment to their work increased the preference for workplace improvements, such as peer recognition of dental hygienists' professional qualifications, clinical process quality, and time for reading research articles and participating in projects. In addition, dental hygienists in the 41-52 age group were associated with workplace improvements. This is in contrast to the factors that decreased preferences for workplace improvements: clear work roles, a 1-year training programme, a male clinic manager, and working in the private sector. Practicing dental hygiene in the public sector and lifestyle factors were the most influential determinants for a strong interest in CPD. CONCLUSION: Workplaces should observe people that are obviously committed to their work, those with many sick days, and those in a specific age group, as they indicate different preferences for workplace improvements. CPD seems to be a lower priority than workplace improvements for Swedish dental hygienists.

[Restrictive lung disease].

It was found that functional residual capacity (FRC) invariably decreased during inspiratory elastic loaded breathing and that its magnitude increased progressively with an increase in the intensity of the load. This response could not be explained by chemoreflexes nor neural reflexes. Because the sensation of dyspnea decreased at lowered FRC (FRC-0.5 liter) than that at FRC during elastic loading, we speculate that FRC decreased behaviorally during elastic loading to reduce the sensation of dyspnea. We found that the respiratory muscle became fatigued more easily at FRC than at lowered FRC during elastic loading. We therefore conclude that the decrease in FRC may be one of the compensatory mechanisms during elastic loaded breathing.