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Static posturographic recordings were obtained from six Parkinson's patients and six age-matched, healthy control participants. The availability of vision and visuo-spatial cognitive load were manipulated. Postural sway patterns were analyzed using recurrence quantification analysis (RQA), which revealed differences in center of pressure (COP) dynamics between Parkinson's and control participants. AP COP trajectories for the Parkinson's group were not only significantly more variable than for the control group, but also exhibited distinct patterns of temporal dynamics. The visual manipulation did not differentially affect the two groups. No cognitive load effects were found. The results are generally consistent with the hypothesis that pathological physiological systems exhibit a tendency for less flexible, more deterministic dynamic patterns.

Information on the bacterial symbiosis/interactions is lacking in tasar silkworm Antheraea mylitta Drury. The detailed midgut bacterial diversity and their functions were elucidated for the first time in tasar silkworm. Taxonomic annotation of fifth instar larval midgut bacteria of three major ecoraces namely Daba, Modal and Raily was carried out using Illumina Next-Generation Sequencing. The dominant phyla and genus are Proteobacteria and Pseudomonas respectively, irrespective of the ecorace. The bacterial diversity & functions varied among ecoraces due to diet & geography. Predictive functional analysis through PICRUSt, revealed many important functional roles of gut bacteria in digestion, detoxification, amino-acid synthesis, etc. Metabolic pathways related to metabolism of amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, plant secondary metabolites and membrane transport are the most significant gut bacterial functions. Loss of native gut bacteria following the antibiotics treatment reduced the silkworm fitness. We found significant symbiotic role between silkworm and midgut bacteria mediated through various physiological functions. The information obtained from this study helps to enrich the knowledge and could contribute to engineer the functions for the enhancement of silk yield and quality through probiotics.

The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of microsporidial infection on redox regulation mechanism and oxidative stress in tasar silkworm Antheraea mylitta. High level of superoxide radical (p < 0.05), nitric oxide (p < 0.001) and lipid peroxidation (p < 0.001) was observed in haemolymph of pebrinised larvae, which indicated the resultant generation of cytotoxic molecules and oxidative damage. Increased phenol oxidase (PO) activity in haemolymph of pebrinised larvae indicated the activation of immune defences during pathological conditions. In addition, higher level of glutathione-S-tranferase (GST) activity and reduced glutathione (GSH) level observed in pebrinised larvae indicated adaptive behaviour of tissue against toxic oxyradicals (p < 0.05). Conversely, low level of ascorbic acid (ASA) content suggested that the larvae might have used these compounds to counteract stress in tissues or low uptake under microspridial infection (p < 0.05). Present findings provide new insights into the cellular and biochemical bases of host-pathogen interactions in tasar silkworm A. mylitta.

Conservation of the invaluable sericigenous genetic resources is of prime importance with respect to their utilization and improvement for wider exploitation. Conservation of wild silkworms and its applicability in hybridization have limitations due to incompatibility, less amenability, change of behaviour under ex situ conditions, non-synchronization of moth eclosion and difficulties in mating between variables. In view of this, the newer technologies such as cryopreservation and artificial insemination are offering better strategies for preservation of biologically active samples like semen at sub-zero temperature (-196º C) conditions for longer duration. In this context, under standardization of sperms preservation from wild silkworms, two methods of semen collection were scrutinized for obtaining active and viable sperm for cryopreservation and further artificial insemination. Semen collection from the seminal vesicle of freshly emerged male moth and the other from the bursa copulatrix (BC) and spermatheca of the female moth after mating. The sperms in the semen collected from seminal vesicle are in the form of bundles known as eupyrene sperm bundles and apyrene sperms. The morphology and behaviour of these sperm bundles were recorded through microscopic examination. To study the density and motility behaviour of the sperms, sperm bundles were treated with proteolytic enzyme (~2-3µg/ml) to digest the membrane and release the sperms. The density and motility behaviour of sperms in the semen recovered from the BC and spermatheca of female moth after mating were higher compared to those released after digestion of sperm bundles from seminal vesicle of the male moth.

Background and Aims: Many health care staff have been pressed into coronavirus disease-19 patient care with little experience of working in bio-hazard zones because of the overwhelming requirements of manpower. They wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow all rules for their safety. However, despite precautions, during doffing, they carry a risk of self-contamination. This randomised cross-over study assessed the risk of self- contamination because of improper doffing of PPEs. Methods: A colourless lotion that glows with a bright-green fluorescent hue under ultraviolet light was applied to simulate germ contamination in various health care workers (HCWs) who volunteered for the study. The primary objective of this study was to know the percentage of HCWs getting self-contaminated. The secondary objectives were to assess which portions of the body get maximally contaminated and infestation of germs on which portions of the PPE carry more risk of self-contaminating after doffing. Results: A total of 152 doffings by 76 participants were analysed, and the volunteers self-contaminated in 43 doffings (28.28%). In 18 of these 43 doffings, self-contamination was noted at more than one location. The most commonly contaminated areas were the arms (33%), clothes on the abdomen (24%), and areas in the lower limb (23%). Germ infestation on the upper parts of a PPE is 2.39 times more likely to cause self-contamination after improper doffing. Conclusion: Faulty doffing resulted in self-contamination in 28.28% of all doffings. Risk is 2.39 times more when germs are nested in the upper body portions of the PPE suit.

Background & objectives: Population-based seroepidemiological studies measure the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a country. We report the findings of the first round of a national serosurvey, conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among adult population of India. Methods: From May 11 to June 4, 2020, a randomly sampled, community-based survey was conducted in 700 villages/wards, selected from the 70 districts of the 21 States of India, categorized into four strata based on the incidence of reported COVID-19 cases. Four hundred adults per district were enrolled from 10 clusters with one adult per household. Serum samples were tested for IgG antibodies using COVID Kavach ELISA kit. All positive serum samples were re-tested using Euroimmun SARS-CoV-2 ELISA. Adjusting for survey design and serial test performance, weighted seroprevalence, number of infections, infection to case ratio (ICR) and infection fatality ratio (IFR) were calculated. Logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with IgG positivity. Results: Total of 30,283 households were visited and 28,000 individuals were enrolled. Population-weighted seroprevalence after adjusting for test performance was 0.73 per cent [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.34-1.13]. Males, living in urban slums and occupation with high risk of exposure to potentially infected persons were associated with seropositivity. A cumulative 6,468,388 adult infections (95% CI: 3,829,029-11,199,423) were estimated in India by the early May. The overall ICR was between 81.6 (95% CI: 48.3-141.4) and 130.1 (95% CI: 77.0-225.2) with May 11 and May 3, 2020 as plausible reference points for reported cases. The IFR in the surveyed districts from high stratum, where death reporting was more robust, was 11.72 (95% CI: 7.21-19.19) to 15.04 (9.26-24.62) per 10,000 adults, using May 24 and June 1, 2020 as plausible reference points for reported deaths. Interpretation & conclusions: Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was low among the adult population in India around the beginning of May 2020. Further national and local serosurveys are recommended to better inform the public health strategy for containment and mitigation of the epidemic in various parts of the country.

Background Increased occurrence of mucormycosis during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in early 2021 in India prompted us to undertake a multi-site case–control investigation. The objectives were to examine the monthly trend of COVID-19 Associated Mucormycosis (CAM) cases among in-patients and to identify factors associated with development of CAM. Methods Eleven study sites were involved across India; archived records since 1st January 2021 till 30th September 2021 were used for trend analysis. The cases and controls were enrolled during 15th June 2021 to 30th September 2021. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Among 1211 enrolled participants, 336 were CAM cases and 875 were COVID-19 positive non-mucormycosis controls. Results CAM-case admissions reached their peak in May 2021 like a satellite epidemic after a month of in-patient admission peak recorded due to COVID-19. The odds of developing CAM increased with the history of working in a dusty environment (adjusted odds ratio; aOR 3.24, 95% CI 1.34, 7.82), diabetes mellitus (aOR: 31.83, 95% CI 13.96, 72.63), longer duration of hospital stay (aOR: 1.06, 95% CI 1.02, 1.11) and use of methylprednisolone (aOR: 2.71, 95% CI 1.37, 5.37) following adjustment for age, gender, occupation, education, type of houses used for living, requirement of ventilatory support and route of steroid administration. Higher proportion of CAM cases required supplemental oxygen compared to the controls; use of non-rebreather mask (NRBM) was associated as a protective factor against mucormycosis compared to face masks (aOR: 0.18, 95% CI 0.08, 0.41). Genomic sequencing of archived respiratory samples revealed similar occurrences of Delta and Delta derivates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in both cases and controls. Conclusions Appropriate management of hyperglycemia, judicious use of steroids and use of NRBM during oxygen supplementation among COVID-19 patients have the potential to reduce the risk of occurrence of mucormycosis. Avoiding exposure to dusty environment would add to such prevention efforts.

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) utilizing bacteria were isolated from soils of seven sites of Mathura refinery, India. Twenty-six bacterial strains with different morphotypes were isolated. These strains were acclimatized to utilize a mixture of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, i.e., anthracene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and pyrene, each at 50 mg/L concentration as sole carbon source. Out of total isolates, 15 potent isolates were subjected to 16S rDNA sequencing and identified as a member of diverse genera, i.e., Bacillus, Acinetobacter, Stenotrophomonas, Alcaligenes, Lysinibacillus, Brevibacterium, Serratia, and Streptomyces. Consortium of four promising isolates (Acinetobacter, Brevibacterium, Serratia, and Streptomyces) were also investigated for bioremediation of PAH mixture. This consortium was proved to be efficient PAH degrader resulting in 40–70 % degradation of PAH within 7 days. Results of this study indicated that these genera may play an active role in bioremediation of PAHs.

Apnoeic oxygenation during laryngoscopy has been emphasised in recent recommendations for airway management. We aimed to compare the effect of nasal oxygen supplementation on time for pulse oximeter oxygen saturation (SpO ) to fall from 100% to 92% (desaturation safety time), to assess the arterial oxygen partial pressures (PaO ) with and without nasal oxygen supplementation and the time for SpO to recover from 92% to 100% after initiation of ventilation. This is a prospective randomised placebo-controlled trial involving sixty patients, where nasal oxygen supplementation given at 10 L/min during apnoea of laryngoscopy in one group of patients (Group O ) was compared to no oxygen supplementation in other group (Group NoO ). Desaturation safety period and the PaO just after intubation were compared. Time for SpO to increase to 100% after initiation of ventilation was also assessed. Demographic details were compared using the Chi-square and -tests. Student's -test for independent variables was used to compare means of data obtained. Desaturation safety period at 415.46 ± 97.23 seconds in group O versus 378.69 ± 89.31 seconds in group NoO ( = 0.213) and PaO ( = 0.952) and time to recovery of SpO2 ( = 0.058) were similar in both groups. Rise in arterial carbon dioxide secondary to apnoea was slower in oxygen supplementation group ( = 0.032). Apnoeic oxygen supplementation at 10 L/min flow by nasal prong did not significantly prolong the apnoea desaturation safety periods or the PaO in our study.