Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Scope and Limitation of Ongoing and Innovative Therapies for Treating Chronic Hepatitis B

Millions of people of the world suffer from chronic hepatitis B (CHB), a pathological entity in which the patients are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and express hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HBV DNA, as well as evidence of liver damages. Considerable numbers of CHB patients develop cirrhosis of the liver and hepatocellular carcinoma if untreated. Two groups of drugs (interferons and nucleoside analogs) are used to treat CHB patients, but both are endowed with considerable adverse effects, increased costs, extended duration of therapy, and limited efficacy. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop new and innovative therapeutics for CHB patients, and many such drugs have been developed during the last four decades. Some of these drugs have inspired considerable optimism to be a game-changer for the treatment of CHB. Here, we first discuss why ongoing therapeutics such as interferon and nucleoside analogs could not stand the test of time. Next, we dissect the scope and limitation of evolving therapies for CHB by dissecting the cellular and molecular mechanisms of some of these innovative therapeutics.

Can Global, Extended, and Repeated Ransomware Attacks Overcome the User's Status Quo Bias and Cause a Switch of System?

Ransomware (RW) attacks’ effectiveness has increased causing far reaching consequences that are not fully understood. The ability to disrupt core services, the global reach, extended duration and the repetition has increased their ability to harm an organization. One aspect that needs to be understood better is the effect on the user. The user in the current environment is exposed to new technologies that might be adopted but there are also habits of using existing systems. The habits have developed over time with trust increasing in the organization in contact directly and the institutions supporting it. This research explores whether the global, extended and repeated RW attacks reduce the trust and inertia sufficiently to change long held habits in using information systems. The model tested measures the effect of the RW attack on the e-commerce status quo to evaluate if it is significant enough to overcome the user’s resistance to change.

Surgical Site Infections in Gynaecological Surgeries

Surgical contaminations are one of the utmost familiar medical management related contamination within the economically developing nations. Gynecologic tactics constitute a completely distinctive venture within which the infectious pathogen arising out of pores and the underlying skin or the vagina and endo-cervix can also relocate up to the area of surgery and may bring about vaginal cuff cellulitis, cellulitis of the pelvis, and abscesses of the pelvis. Numerous organisms along with operation threat elements were recognized as dangers that grow infectious sequelae after pelvic surgical treatment. The full-size use of antibiotic prophylaxis has decreased however now no longer removed severe postoperative infections; the common anticipated SSIs price being three–15% after c-section. Those costs are multiplied by the existence of various threat elements like surgical infection, which is compounded by untimely rupture of membranes, obstructed labour, chorioamnionitis, large obesity, extended duration of surgery, emergency surgeries, and immunodeficiency, all of that are not uncommon within aid-deficient nations. Other factors linked to physician ability, such as poor operation skills, insufficient hemostasis, and the presence of a useless region, lead to increased injury contamination. Working at the pinnacle, such as those medical conditions that occur during pregnancy and malnutrition, also contribute significantly to the problem. SSIs as the most common motive concerning hospital-acquired contamination in obstetrics, although the present contemporary era, remains as chief residence fitness hassle within growing nations. We may even evaluate the definitions, microbiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and control of pelvic SSIs after gynecologic surgical procedures.

Spatiotemporal elements in a poisoned bait strategy against the long-tailed silverfish (Lepismatidae: Zygentoma)

The long-tailed silverfish Ctenolepisma longicaudatum (Lepismatidae: Zygentoma) is a nuisance problem in buildings and a major concern in museums, libraries and archives where it cause damage to historical and priceless items. We used laboratory bioassays and two field studies of infested buildings to evaluate spatial and temporal elements of a poisoned bait strategy. In both laboratory experiments and field studies, the efficiency of poisoned bait with indoxacarb as the active ingredient was significantly improved by placing many small bait droplets evenly distributed along all edges of the treated area compared to more clustered distributions. Extended duration of bait presence and removal of competing food sources improved the control effect significantly in the laboratory bioassays. Bait-treated populations also showed a significant decline in the number of eggs deposited and emergence of new nymphs. The study supports poisoned bait as an efficient and low risk approach against the long-tailed silverfish in which extended duration of bait presence, wide distribution of bait droplets in combination with sanitation was crucial for control in the infested premises.

Hydraulic conductivity variation in compacted bentonite-fly ash mixes under constant volume and free swelling flow conditions

Compacted bentonite-sand (B-S) and bentonite-fly ash (B-FA) are established combinations for the construction of landfill liners. This study determined the upper and lower bounds of equilibrium hydraulic conductivity (keq) of amended bentonite under extended duration of flow. The keq for constant volume flow condition differed from free swelling condition by more than two orders of magnitude due to the difference in geomaterial interaction, microstructural changes, and mineralization. Considering constant volume and free swelling condition, B-FA mix with class F and class C fulfilled the hydraulic conductivity criterion up to 70 % and 30 % amendment, respectively. The higher keq observed for the B mixed with class C FA was attributed to the formation of porous calcium aluminium silicate hydrate gel and ettringite needle type minerals. The time taken to achieve equilibrium was inversely related to keq by a power relationship. The data from this study were used to propose empirical relationships for estimating keq (long-term) based on k obtained at 48 hours (short-term), plasticity and geomaterial type. The study reveals that FA can be used as an alternate for S as amendment material and keq based on free swelling condition should be used for designing the liner.

Supporting research and innovation

At the third Research and Innovation Day, which took place in June 2021, Mariya Gabriel, EC Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, stated: 'Our ambition is to build a renewed innovation policy that provides smart investments for scaling up companies, new forms of financial instruments and how to best exploit synergies between EU, national and regional funds.' Cross-border cooperation is key to overcoming challenges such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic and, as such, the recently released Communication on Global Approach for Research and Innovation document defines a global strategy for cooperation with other countries and entities. A key focus for Horizon Europe is on improving health, mobility, energy efficiency and food security, as well as tackling climate change and preserving cultural heritage. The programme encompasses diverse instruments for covering a range of projects, an extended duration and an increased budget. In order to be as impactful as possible, Horizon Europe collaborates with other European programmes and Gabriel believes that public-private cooperation is another tool that can be used to maximise the impact of the programme. For example, she said that collaborating with industry is key to overcoming technological challenges such as the development of clean Hydrogen or High Performance Computing. The development of a flexible and collaborative innovation ecosystem that involves the input of diverse stakeholders is a key part of Horizon Europe's strategy. A key word here is synergy and this includes synergies at all levels, between policies, programmes and instruments.