Economic Trading Susceptibility: Constructing Networks of Mutual Influence through the Fitness of Countries.

The emergence of economic blocks and the level of influence countries exert on each other are fundamental features of the 21st century globally interconnected economy. However, limited quantitative research exists measuring the level of influence among countries and quantitatively determining economic blocks. This research develops a method to quantify the mutual influence of countries by making use of relatively standard procedures for complex networks in order to assemble non-trivial networks of influences and to identify symbiotic relationships. The methods are of significant help to an enhanced understanding of the global politics of trading and associations. Moreover, we develop the Mutual Influence Robustness (MIR) metric to work together with the Economic Fitness metric to provide some level of predictive modeling for the trends and future paths of countries. Our key results show the existence of a mutually influencing network around East and Southeast Asia, developed North America, and the northern and Iberian countries. Moreover, we find that it is possible to do some level of path predictability for the fitness and mutual influence of countries.

Pathways to reimagining commercial health insurance in India.

In this paper we explore how India's growing commercial health insurance (CHI) segment can be reformed to deliver adequate financial protection and good health outcomes. We lay out key issues in the demand- and supply-sides of the insurance market that need to be addressed for CHI to be more aligned toward universal health coverage (UHC). On the demand side, we identify a consumer who strays far from the rational actor paradigm and therefore one whose needs require a fundamentally different approach than the one that commercial health insurance in India has so far taken. We lay out precisely the different stages involved in bringing a consumer to the insurance market and the conditions under which that consumer is likely to purchase insurance. On the supply side, we describe the many concerns that a new entrant into the commercial health insurance market must grapple with. We conclude with a set of pathways that brings the two sides of the market together to shed light on possible pathways for reform in the commercial health insurance sector in India. Despite the many challenges that this sector faces in India, we believe that there is room for optimism, and with the right amount of regulatory foresight, even room for radical transformation.

Synergistic combination of violacein and azoles that leads to enhanced killing of major human pathogenic dermatophytic fungi Trichophyton rubrum.

Superficial mycoses caused by dermatophytic fungi such as Trichophyton rubrum represent the most common type of worldwide human infection affecting various keratinized tissues in our body such as the skin, hair, and nails, etc. The dermatophytic infection is a significant public health threat due to its persistent nature and high recurrence rates, and thus alternative treatments to cure this fungal infection are urgently required. The present study mainly focused on the synergistic activity of violacein with four azole drugs (ketoconazole, fluconazole, clotrimazole, and itraconazole) against T. rubrum. The synergistic antifungal activities of violacein and azoles were measured by checkerboard microdilution and time-kill assays. In our study, combinations of violacein and azoles predominantly recorded synergistic effect (FIC index < 0.5). Significant synergistic value was recorded by the combination of violacein and clotrimazole. Time-kill assay by the combination of MIC concentration of violacein and azoles recorded that the growth of the T. rubrum was significantly arrested after 4-12 h of treatment. The combination of violacein and azoles leads to the enhanced inhibition of mycelial growth and conidial germination. Moreover combination enhanced the rate of release of intracellular materials. Morphological changes by SEM analysis were also prominent with the combination. A normal human cell line [Foreskin (FS) normal fibroblast] was used to check the cytotoxicity of violacein. Interestingly violacein recorded no cytotoxicity up to 100 µg/ml. The in vitro synergistic effect of violacein and azoles against clinically relevant fungi, T. rubrum, is reported here for the first time. Finally, our findings support the potential use of the violacein as an antifungal agent especially against dermatophytic fungi T. rubrum.

Isolation and antifungal properties of cyclo(D-Tyr-L-Leu) diketopiperazine isolated from Bacillus sp. associated with rhabditid entomopathogenic nematode.

Bacillus sp. associated with an entomopathogenic nematode is shown to produce diketopiperazine (DKP) that showed stronger antifungal activity against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides [minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC): 8 µg mL(- 1)] than commercial fungicide oligochitosan (MIC: 125 µg mL(- 1)). DKP identified as cyclo(D-Tyr-L-Leu) was isolated for the first time from a natural source with a d-tyrosine residue. This report also demonstrates for the first time an antifungal property exploration of cyclo(Tyr-Leu) class of dipeptides. The structural elucidation was carried out using 1D, 2D NMR methods and HPLC.

Isolation of proline-based cyclic dipeptides from Bacillus sp. N strain associated with rhabditid [corrected] entomopathogenic nematode and its antimicrobial properties.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) are well-known as biological control agents and are found to have associated bacteria which can produce a wide range of bioactive secondary metabolites. We report herewith isolation of six proline containing cyclic dipeptides cyclo(D-Pro-L-Leu), cyclo(L-Pro-L-Met), cyclo(D-Pro-L-Phe), cyclo(L-Pro-L-Phe), cyclo(L-Pro-L-Tyr) and cyclo(L-Pro-D-Tyr) from ethyl acetate extract of the Luria Broth (LB) cell free culture filtrate of Bacillus sp. strain N associated with a new EPN Rhabditis sp. from sweet potato weevil grubs collected from Central Tuber Crops Research Institute farm. Antimicrobial studies of these 2,5-diketopiperazines (DKPs) against both medicinally and agriculturally important bacterium and fungi showed potent inhibitory values in the range of µg/mL. Cyclic dipeptides showed significantly higher activity than the commercial fungicide bavistin against agriculturally important fungi, viz., Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, and Pencillium expansum. The highest activity of 2 µg/mL by cyclo(L-Pro-L-Phe) was recorded against P. expansum, a plant pathogen responsible for causing post harvest decay of stored apples and oranges. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the isolation of these DKPs from Rhabditis EPN bacterial strain Bacillus sp.