In vitro inhibition of biofilm and virulence factor production in azole-resistant strains of Candida albicans isolated from diabetic foot by Artemisia vulgaris stabilized tin (IV) oxide nanoparticles.

The advent of nanotechnology has been instrumental in the development of new drugs with novel targets. Recently, metallic nanoparticles have emerged as potential candidates to combat the threat of drug-resistant infections. Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are one of the dreadful complications of diabetes mellitus due to the colonization of numerous drug-resistant pathogenic microbes leading to biofilm formation. Biofilms are difficult to treat due to limited penetration and non-specificity of drugs. Therefore, in the current investigation, SnO2 nanoparticles were biosynthesized using Artemisia vulgaris (AvTO-NPs) as a stabilizing agent and were characterized using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Furthermore, the efficacy of AvTO-NPs against biofilms and virulence factors of drug-resistant Candida albicans strains isolated from DFUs was assessed. AvTO-NPs displayed minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 1 mg/mL to 2 mg/mL against four strains of C. albicans. AvTO-NPs significantly inhibited biofilm formation by 54.8%-87%, germ tube formation by 72%-90%, cell surface hydrophobicity by 68.2%-82.8%, and exopolysaccharide (EPS) production by 69%-86.3% in the test strains at respective 1/2xMIC. Biosynthesized NPs were effective in disrupting established mature biofilms of test strains significantly. Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in the AvTO-NPs-treated C. albicans could be the possible cause of cell death leading to biofilm inhibition. The useful insights of the present study could be exploited in the current line of treatment to mitigate the threat of biofilm-related persistent DFUs and expedite wound healing.

Impact of personal protective equipment on psychological and physical health during menstruation: A cross-Sectional study among female frontline healthcare workers during COVID pandemic.

Introduction: During the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, personal protective equipment (PPE) has undoubtedly provided a shield of protection for the healthcare workers fighting the disease. However, the layers of the PPE kit restrict basic human activities and also have been associated with various other problems like dehydration, suffocation, breathlessness, headache, and dermatitis. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among 180 Female health workers who wore the PPE kit during COVID-19 duty in a tertiary health care center during the period March 2021 to May 2021. The content-validated survey tool developed by Google Forms used as a platform was sent to 180 Female health workers of COVID-19 hospitals to minimize face-to-face or physical interaction. The Work-Related Quality of Life Scale (WRQoL) was used. Results: The majority of the participants were interns (48.9%) and belonged to the age group of 21 to 25 years (67.7%). The approximate duration of wearing a PPE kit was 6 to 12 h for almost half of the study participants. Sanitary pads were used by over 90% of the participants. Only 59 out of 180 (32.7%) were provided with an extra PPE kit during menstruation. About 131 (72.7%) Female Health workers (FHWs) (FHWs) had to remove the PPE kit due to excessive sweat during menstruation; 110 FHW's out of 180 (61.1%) who participated in the study had to remove the PPE kit due to severe thirst and dehydration. Sweating (91%), dehydration (86.7%), rashes (49.9%), extreme thirst (56.5%), abdominal cramps (53.3%), and headache (59.8%) were the major complaints of the participants. The majority of the participants had low quality of life scores based on WRQoL. Conclusions: Use of PPE for long hours especially during menstruation can affect one both physically and psychologically compromising the work performance and decision-making. Minor changes in the work place environment can drastically improve the work-related quality of life.

Revision of Indian species of Caenohomalopoda Tachikawa (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae).

The Indian species of the genus Caenohomalopoda Tachikawa (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) are revised. The seven species known from India are redescribed, and a new species, C. sudhiri sp. nov., is described. An identification key to the eight Indian species is given.

Functional and Structural Analysis of Predicted Proteins Obtained from Homo sapiens' Minisatellite 33.15-Tagged Transcript pAKT-45 Variants.

The spermatozoa are transcriptionally dormant entities which have been recognized to be an archive of mRNA, coding for a variety of functionally crucial cellular proteins. This significant repository of mRNA is predicted to be associated with early embryogenesis and postfertilization. The mRNA transcripts which are tagged with minisatellites have been involved in the regulation of the gene functions as well as their organization. However, very little information is available regarding the expression of the transcripts tagged with minisatellites in spermatozoa. Therefore, in order to understand the functions and the conformational behavior of the proteins expressed from these minisatellite-tagged transcripts, we have performed a detailed in silico analysis using the sequences of the transcripts. The protein predicted from KF274549 showed the functionalities similar to uncharacterized C4orf26 proteins, while that obtained from KF274557 predicted to be a metallophosphoesterase. Furthermore, the structural folds in the structure of these predicted proteins were analyzed by using the homology modeling and their conformational behaviors in the explicit water conditions were analyzed by using the techniques of Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. This detailed analysis will facilitate the understanding of these proteins in the spermatozoon region and can be used for uncovering other attributes of the metabolic network.