Characterization of complete mitochondrial genome of three Horse flies of the genus Tabanus (Diptera: Tabanidae): comparative analysis.

BACKGROUND: Tabanidae (Horse-Flies or Deer-Flies) are one of the most economically important as well as medically significant haematophagous insect family within the order Diptera. Members of this group are also responsible for the mortality of substantial number of live-stock every year. Due to their pathogen transmission potential and vector competencies makes them an important insect group to study. Till now, mitochondrial genome of 18 species of tabanids were available. METHODS AND RESULTS: The complete mitogenome of three species T. diversifrons (15,809 bp), T. rubidus (15,878 bp) and T. tenens (15,872 bp) were generated by Next generation sequencing method. They consist 37 genes, with a positive AT skew and a negative GC skew. The gene order of these three species is similar to the typical gene arrangement of infra-order Tabanomorpha. Most of the tRNAs showed typical clover-leaf secondary structure except trnS1, which lacks the DHU arm. The sliding window analysis showed that the nad4L is the most conserved while atp8, and nad6 are the most variable genes. Moreover, the ratios of non-synonymous to synonymous substitution rates indicated that all PCGs under the purifying selection. Phylogeny revealed Chrysops and Haematopota are monophyletic while species of Hybomitra are nested within the polyphyletic clade of Tabanus. T. diversifrons exhibits sister relationship with Atylotus miser. Two morphologically divergent species T. rubidus and T. tenens are found to be genetically similar and indistinguishable by mitochondrial genome. CONCLUSIONS: The hypervariable genes like atp8 and nad6 can be used as molecular markers for the identification of recently diverged lineages of family Tabanidae. Further, to address uncertainties arising from the two morphological divergent species, it is imperative to obtain data from nuclear gene markers.

Anti-leishmanial therapy: Caught between drugs and immune targets.

Leishmaniasis is an enigmatic disease that has very restricted options for chemotherapy and none for prophylaxis. As a result, deriving therapeutic principles for curing the disease has been a major objective in Leishmania research for a long time. Leishmania is a protozoan parasite that lives within macrophages by subverting or switching cell signaling to the pathways that ensure its intracellular survival. Therefore, three groups of molecules aimed at blocking or eliminating the parasite, at least, in principle, include blockers of macrophage receptor- Leishmania ligand interaction, macrophage-activating small molecules, peptides and cytokines, and signaling inhibitors or activators. Macrophages also act as an antigen-presenting cell, presenting antigen to the antigen-specific T cells to induce activation and differentiation of the effector T cell subsets that either execute or suppress anti-leishmanial functions. Three groups of therapeutic principles targeting this sphere of Leishmania-macrophage interaction include antibodies that block pro-leishmanial response of T cells, ligands that activate anti-leishmanial T cells and the antigens for therapeutic vaccines. Besides these, prophylactic vaccines have been in clinical trials but none has succeeded so far. Herein, we have attempted to encompass all these principles and compose a comprehensive review to analyze the feasibility and adoptability of different therapeutics for leishmaniasis.

A checklist of black flies (Diptera, Simuliidae) from India.

An updated checklist of the family Simuliidae from India is presented. A total of 79 species of Simulium belonging to eight different subgenera are listed. Eleven species that were not reported in the previous checklist are added here. The present list contributes to a better understanding of the diversity of Simuliidae in India, as well as the impact of Simulium species on the public health of this mega-diverse country.

Can anticipatory supply chain decision making manage the pandemic's effect? A regime switching game.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that stock outs of essential items like hand sanitizers, tissue papers and other items of hygiene and daily use have been characteristic of a supply chain, especially immediately following a pandemic wave. Consequently, retailers have to indulge in substantial supplier management efforts to ensure product availability during a pandemic wave. Using a piecewise deterministic differential game, we model a scenario where, while anticipating a pandemic wave, a supplier decides on product availability efforts to ensure product availability under the impending threat of stock outs. A market leader coordinating retailer, on the other hand, decides on the proportion of the costs of the efforts to be shared with the supplier.

Hypothesis: Immunotherapy by Selective Convalescent Blood Engineering to Stifle Diseases like COVID-19.

Current standard vaccine testing protocols take approximately 10-24 months of testing before a vaccine can be declared successful. Sometimes by the time a successful vaccine is out for public use, the outbreak may already be over. With no vaccine or antiviral drug available to treat the infected, we are left with the age-old methods of isolation, quarantine, and rest, to arrest such a viral outbreak. Convalescent blood therapy and covalent plasma therapy have often proved effective in reducing mortality, however, the role of innate and adaptive immune cells in these therapies have been overlooked. Antigen presenting cells (APCs), CD4+ T memory cells, CD8+ T memory cells, and memory B-Cells all play a vital role in sustainable defense and subsequent recovery. This report incorporates all these aspects by suggesting a novel treatment therapy called selective convalescent leukapheresis and transfusion (SCLT) and also highlights its potential in vaccination. The anticipated advantages of the proposed technique outweigh the cost, time, and efficiency of other available transfusion and vaccination processes. It is envisioned that in the future this new approach could serve as a rapid emergency response to subdue a pathogen outbreak and to stop it from becoming an epidemic, or pandemic.

Catalytic Regiodivergent Dearomatization Reaction of Nitrosocarbonyl Intermediates with ß-Naphthols.

The divergent reactivity of nitrosocarbonyls in oxidative dearomatization of ß-naphthols is reported. In the presence of quinidine catalyst, their reactions with α-unsubstituted ß-naphthols proceeded through the N-center to furnish α-imino-ß-naphthalenones in high yields. Upon exposure to α-substituted ß-naphthols in the presence of copper catalyst, an alteration of regioselectivity was observed to produce α-aminoxylation products. The reaction is scalable, tolerates a wide spectrum of functional groups, and represents a rare example of dearomatization of α-unsubstituted ß-naphthols.