Impact of different decontamination methods on the reduction of spiromesifen residue in chilli fruits.

Chilli is an indispensable food item in the daily life of humans but it is affected by many insects, so various pesticides, including spiromesifen, are applied to chilli crops to protect this crop from insect infestation. However, the use of pesticides poses environmental and health issues. These issues have raised the demand for pesticide-free chillies among consumers. The primary aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of various decontamination methods in removing spiromesifen residues from chilli fruits. A randomized block design was employed to conduct a supervised field experiment at the Rajasthan Agricultural Research Institute in Durgapura, Jaipur, India. The samples of chillies treated with pesticides are subjected to seven different homemade techniques. The samples were extracted using the QuEChERS method, known for its efficiency, affordability, simplicity, robustness, and safety. The analysis of spiromesifen residues was conducted using gas chromatography (GC) equipped with an electron capture detector (ECD), and the results were verified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Out of several decontamination methods, the lukewarm water treatment was more effective than any other decontamination method, which led to the highest elimination of spiromesifen residue, whereas rinsing with tap water eliminates the least amount of spiromesifen residue. So, the lukewarm water treatment is a safe, cost-effective, and eco-friendly approach to remove spiromesifen residues from Chilli.

Synthesis and immunopharmacological evaluation of novel TLR7 agonistic triazole tethered imidazoquinolines.

Toll-like receptors-7 and -8 are expressed abundantly on antigen-presenting cells, and their agonists make potential adjuvant candidates for the development of new efficacious vaccines. In view of the importance of new efficacious imidazoquinoline based adjuvants, herein we have synthesized a focused library of a new class of imidazoquinolines retaining the N-isobutyl substitution of an imidazole moiety as in imiquimod and introduced a 1,2,3-triazolyl moiety upon alkyl substitution at the imidazolemethyne carbon employing triazolyl click chemistry. All the novel analogues were characterized using various spectroscopic techniques and the target specificity of these molecules was determined using HEK TLR7/8 transfected cell lines. TLR7/8 activity and also the molecular docking results correlated primarily to the position of the substituent for aromatic groups and also to the chain length in alkyl substitutions. The immunomodulatory properties of these analogues were evaluated using murine DC activation and also with hPBMC activation markers, cytokines which revealed that these analogues after modification were able to target the TLR7 receptors and also had a pro-inflammatory immune response.

Are the impacts of renewable energy use on load capacity factors homogeneous for developed and developing nations? Evidence from the G7 and E7 nations.

Both developed and underdeveloped economies worldwide are now more concerned than ever in respect of achieving environmental sustainability. Accordingly, the majority of the global economies have ratified several environment-related pacts to facilitate the tackling of global environment-related problems. Although these problems are assumed to be addressed using diverse mechanisms, limiting the use of fossil fuels has often been recognized as the ultimate enabler of environmental sustainability. Against this backdrop, this study aims to assess the environmental impacts associated with higher renewable energy use, controlling for economic growth and population size, in the context of the G7 and E7 countries using data from 1997 to 2018. Moreover, instead of using the traditional environmental quality proxies, this study tries to proxy environmental degradation with the load capacity factor levels of the countries of concern. The long-run associations among the study's variables are confirmed by outcomes generated from the cointegration analysis. Besides, regression analysis highlighted that integrating renewable energy into the energy systems while withdrawing from the use of fossil fuels can help to improve environmental quality by increasing the load capacity factor levels. In contrast, economic growth and population size expansion are evidenced to impose environmental quality-dampening impacts by reducing the load capacity factor levels. However, the findings, in the majority of the cases, are seen to differ across the groups of the G7 and E7 countries, especially in terms of the variations in the magnitudes of marginal environmental effects over the short and long run. Lastly, the causality analysis confirms the directions of the causal relationships among the variables of concern. Based on these results, a couple of policy interventions are recommended for improving environmental quality in the G7 and E7 countries.

Pandemic and its effect on professional environment on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The pandemic has affected the world from many different perspectives, including environmental change. This research study aims to investigate the pandemic and its associated effect on the professional environment by measuring some of the parameters that are likely to disclose the impact of the pandemic. A structural questionnaire elicits design to capture the effect of COVID-19, where 284 respondents participated and present their views on a different statement based on the Likert scale. The factor analysis reveals five factors, which were further tested by hypothesis testing and binary logistic regression-and found factors 2, 3, and 5 to be significant in both tests.

Ameliorative effect of Aloe gel against L-T4-induced hyperthyroidism via suppression of thyrotropin receptors, inflammation and oxidative stress.

Untreated hyperthyroidism may develop serious complications. This attempt was made to investigate the potential of Aloe vera gel in regulating experimentally induced hyperthyroidism in rats. Female Wistar rats were made hyperthyroid with L-thyroxine (L-T4) at 0.5 mg/kg/day, i.p. for 14 days and the effects of Aloe vera methanolic fraction (AVMF) (50 or 500 mg/kg/day, p.o.,) and a conventional antithyroid drug propylthiouracil (PTU) (10 mg/kg, i.p.) for 30 days were studied in those hyperthyroid rats. At the end, alterations in serum thyroid hormones and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH); hepatic 5'mono-deiodinase-1(5'D1) activity, oxidative stress markers and antioxidants; serum inflammatory cytokines and the expression of thyrotropin receptor in thyroid gland were evaluated in all experimental animals. Hyperthyroid condition was confirmed by an increase in thyroid hormone levels and hepatic 5'D-1 activity with a decrease in TSH. However, either AVMF or PTU treatment in hyperthyroid rats decreased the levels of thyroid hormones and 5'D1 activity. AVMF administration in T4-induced rats also decreased the oxidative stress markers such as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and lipid hydroperoxides and increased the antioxidant levels in liver tissues. Levels of liver marker enzymes, cytokines and different lipids were decreased in T4-induced AVMF treated rats. Further, a down regulation in the TSHR expression in thyroid was observed in AVMF or PTU treated groups. All these thyroid inhibiting effects were supported by an improvement in thyroid histology in hyperthyroid rats. It appears, about 15 compounds, as evidenced by LC-MS/MS study, mostly phenolics are involved in this anti-thyroid effects of the test compound.

Coagulase gene polymorphism, enterotoxigenecity, biofilm production, and antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine raw milk in North West India.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is the predominant bacterium responsible for various diseases in animals and humans. Preventive strategies could be better implemented by understanding the prevalence, genetic patterns, and the presence of enterotoxin and biofilm-producing genes along with the antibiotic susceptibility of this organism. This study was conducted in Rajasthan, the northwestern state of India, holding the largest population of cattle that makes it the second largest milk producer in India and no such prior information is available on these aspects. METHODS: A total of 368 individual quarter bovine raw milk samples were collected from 13 districts of Rajasthan, and screened for the presence of S. aureus. Microbiological and molecular approaches were followed for bacterial identification. Genetic diversity was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of coagulase gene (coa), whereas enterotoxin and biofilm-producing genes were studied by PCR analysis. Antibiotic strips were employed to study the antibiotic resistance among strains. RESULTS: In all, 73 S. aureus strains were obtained from 368 bovine raw milk samples out of that only 30 showed the presence of coa. Nine types of coa patterns ranging from 730 to 1130 bp were observed among these isolates. PCR-RFLP of coa distinguished the isolates into 15 genotypic patterns, of which patterns I, IV, V, and VI were predominant. Of the isolates, 30% were positive for sec, 10% for sea, and 3.3% for seb; these genes are responsible for enterotoxin production, whereas all isolates were found positive for icaAD and eno. The prevalence rates of other biofilm-producing genes fnbA, clfB, ebpS, sasG, fnbB, sasC, cna, bap, fib and, bbp were 97, 93, 90, 80, 80, 77, 53, 27, 10, and 6.6%, respectively. Twenty-seven (90%) strains were multidrug resistant, of which 15 were methicillin resistant. Maximum sensitivity was reported for kanamycin and it could be considered as a drug of choice for controlling S. aureus mediated cattle infections in the studied regions. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these strains could cause several diseases to humans, insisting the need for developing a stricter hygiene program for improving milking practices and animal health.

Prevalence, Virulence Potential, and Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Listeria monocytogenes Isolated From Bovine Raw Milk Samples Obtained From Rajasthan, India.

Listeriosis is a serious foodborne disease of a global concern, and can effectively be controlled by a continuous surveillance of the virulent and multidrug-resistant strains of Listeria monocytogenes. This study was planned to investigate prevalence of L. monocytogenes in bovine raw milk samples. A total of 457 raw milk samples collected from 15 major cities in Rajasthan, India, were analyzed for the presence of L. monocytogenes by using standard microbiological and molecular methods. Five of the 457 samples screen tested positive for L. monocytogenes. Multiplex serotyping showed that 3/5 strains belonged to serotype 4b followed by one strain each to 1/2a and to 1/2c. Further virulence potential assessment indicated that all strains possessed inlA and inlC internalins, and, in addition, two strains also possessed the gene for inlB. All strains were positive for Listeriolysin O (LLO) and showed phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) activity on an in vitro agar medium with variations in production levels among the strains. A good correlation between the in vitro pathogenicity test and the chick embryo test was observed, as the strains showing higher LLO and PI-PLC activity were found to be lethal to fertilized chick embryos. All strains were resistant to the majority of antibiotics and were designated as multidrug-resistant strains. However, these strains were susceptible to 9 of the 22 tested antibiotics. The maximum zone of inhibition (mm) and acceptable minimum inhibitory concentration were observed with azithromycin, and thus it could be the first choice of a treatment. Overall, the presence of multidrug-resistant L. monocytogenes strains in the raw milk of Rajasthan region is an indicator of public health hazard and highlighting the need of consumer awareness in place and implementation of stricter food safety regulations at all levels of milk production.

Raman spectroscopy of serum: A study on 'pre' and 'post' breast adenocarcinoma resection in rat models.

Risk of recurrence is a major problem in breast cancer management. Currently available prognostic markers have several disadvantages including low sensitivity and specificity, highlighting the need for new prognostic techniques. One of the candidate techniques is serum-based Raman spectroscopy (RS). In this study, feasibility of using RS to distinguish 'pre' from 'post' breast tumor resection serum in rats was explored. Spectral analysis suggests change in proteins and amino acid profiles in 'post' compared to 'pre-surgical' group. Principal-Component-Linear-Discriminant-Analysis shows 87% and 91% classification efficiency for 'pre' and 'post-surgical' groups respectively. Thus, the study further supports efficacy of RS for theranostic applications.