Leaving conventional “Dai” assisted home delivery to opt for institutional delivery is not unusual followed by shift from rural to urban living. However, this case, in particular, is oddly different. Hence, a deeper insight is warranted leading to a view that is unique. While analyzing the reasons it stands as a pointer in policy formulation, a necessity to understand such cases. Health belief model is applied in arriving at the inferences. It is often not just what is offered that makes bait but how it is perceived by the recipient matters. This can be visualized by this case study.

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BackgroundLatent tuberculosis infection is attributed in part to the existence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a persistent non-replicating dormant state that is associated with tolerance to host defence mechanisms and antibiotics. We have recently reported that vitamin C treatment of M. tuberculosis triggers the rapid development of bacterial dormancy. Temporal genome-wide transcriptome analysis has revealed that vitamin C-induced dormancy is associated with a large-scale modulation of gene expression in M. tuberculosis.ResultsAn updated transcriptional regulatory network of M.tuberculosis (Mtb-TRN) consisting of 178 regulators and 3432 target genes was constructed. The temporal transcriptome data generated in response to vitamin C was overlaid on the Mtb-TRN (vitamin C Mtb-TRN) to derive insights into the transcriptional regulatory features in vitamin C-adapted bacteria. Statistical analysis using Fisher’s exact test predicted that 56 regulators play a central role in modulating genes which are involved in growth, respiration, metabolism and repair functions. Rv0348, DevR, MprA and RegX3 participate in a core temporal regulatory response during 0.25 h to 8 h of vitamin C treatment. Temporal network analysis further revealed Rv0348 to be the most prominent hub regulator with maximum interactions in the vitamin C Mtb-TRN. Experimental analysis revealed that Rv0348 and DevR proteins interact with each other, and this interaction results in an enhanced binding of DevR to its target promoter. These findings, together with the enhanced expression of devR and Rv0348 transcriptional regulators, indicate a second-level regulation of target genes through transcription factor- transcription factor interactions.ConclusionsTemporal regulatory analysis of the vitamin C Mtb-TRN revealed that there is involvement of multiple regulators during bacterial adaptation to dormancy. Our findings suggest that Rv0348 is a prominent hub regulator in the vitamin C model and large-scale modulation of gene expression is achieved through interactions of Rv0348 with other transcriptional regulators.

SummaryA fibre-enriched, reduced-calorie biscuit [formulated biscuit (FB)] was evaluated for its antidiabetic and antilipidaemic potential in streptozotocin-induced diabetes in Wistar rats against control biscuit (CB) having high calorie and low fibre content. Animals were allocated into five groups: a control group fed with synthetic diet, two diabetes-induced groups (CBD and FBD) and two nondiabetic groups (CBND and FBND). CBD and CBND were fed with synthetic diet + CB while FBD and FBND were fed with synthetic diet + FB. After 6 weeks of feeding, the change in weight of nondiabetic group fed with FB (+16.20%) was nonsignificantly lower compared to control (+33.01%) and CB-fed (+34.55%) group. Nonsignificant loss in body weight was observed among diabetic group fed with FB (À11.76%) or CB (À36.88%). Feeding of FB led to a significant decrease in fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, VLDL-C and atherosclerotic index and increase the HDL-C. Histological examination showed that feeding of FB was able to partially recover the destroyed b-cell in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

To understand functional duality of the complement system in host defense and lung injury, a more comprehensive view of its localized production in the lung, and the impact of age on complement production are essential. Here, we explored the expression of complement genes through computational analysis of preexisting single cell RNA sequencing data from lung transcriptomes of healthy young (3 months) and old C57BL/6 mice (24 months), and humans. We characterized the distribution of 48 complement genes. Across 28 distinct immune and non-immune cell types in mice, mesothelial cells expressed the greatest number of complement genes (e.g., C1ra , C2, C3 ), and regulators (e.g., Serping1 , Cfh ). C5 was abundant in type II alveolar epithelial cells and C1q in interstitial lung macrophages. There were only moderate differences in gene expression between young and old mice. Among 57 human lung cell types, mesothelial cells showed abundant complement expression. A few differences in gene  expression (e.g., FCN1 , CFI , C6 , C7 ) were also evident between mice and human lung cells. Our findings present a novel perspective on the expression patterns of complement genes in normal lungs. These findings highlight the potential functions of complement in tissue-specific homeostasis and immunity and may foster a mechanistic understanding of its role in lung health and disease.

Background In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an increased incidence of ROCM was noted in India among those infected with COVID. We determined risk factors for rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) post Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among those never and ever hospitalized for COVID-19 separately through a multicentric, hospital-based, unmatched case-control study across India. Methods We defined cases and controls as those with and without post-COVID ROCM, respectively. We compared their socio-demographics, co-morbidities, steroid use, glycaemic status, and practices. We calculated crude and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) through logistic regression. The covariates with a p-value for crude OR of less than 0·20 were considered for the regression model. Results Among hospitalised, we recruited 267 cases and 256 controls and 116 cases and 231 controls among never hospitalised. Risk factors (AOR; 95% CI) for post-COVID ROCM among the hospitalised were age 45–59 years (2·1; 1·4 to 3·1), having diabetes mellitus (4·9; 3·4 to 7·1), elevated plasma glucose (6·4; 2·4 to 17·2), steroid use (3·2; 2 to 5·2) and frequent nasal washing (4·8; 1·4 to 17). Among those never hospitalised, age ≥ 60 years (6·6; 3·3 to 13·3), having diabetes mellitus (6·7; 3·8 to 11·6), elevated plasma glucose (13·7; 2·2 to 84), steroid use (9·8; 5·8 to 16·6), and cloth facemask use (2·6; 1·5 to 4·5) were associated with increased risk of post-COVID ROCM. Conclusions Hyperglycemia, irrespective of having diabetes mellitus and steroid use, was associated with an increased risk of ROCM independent of COVID-19 hospitalisation. Rational steroid usage and glucose monitoring may reduce the risk of post-COVID.

Purpose: The biggest challenge for the banking industry is to tangibilize the intangible banking experience. One way of overcoming this challenge is creation of strong brands. It has been well recognized that Brands are regarded as most important corporate asset but recently serious attempts have been made by various organizations in order to estimate their brand value (Farquhar, 1989). Academic literature has revealed that high brand value resulted in increased financial returns and shareholder value, which leads to superior financial performance. This research focuses on the investigating the impact of brand value on various financial indicators on of banks. Design/ Methodology/Approach: The investigation is designed as a quantitative study and is based on the brand value of Indian banks. The sampling frame constituted Top 10 banks listed by Brand Finance, a leading brand valuation agency. Five banks were selected on the basis of highest brand values reported in Brand Finance Banking 500, (2014) from Public sector as well as Private sector banks. In public sector banks, State Bank of India, Punjab national bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Canara bank were selected. Amongst private sector banks, ICICI, HDFC, Axis, Kotak Mahindra and Yes bank form the sample of the study. The data of Brand values were collected from the report of Brand Finance Banking 500 published during 2009-2014. Multiple Regression analysis has been applied in order to analyze the impact of Brand value on various financial indicators such as Return on Assets (ROA), Return on equity (ROE), Return on Investments (ROI), Stock Prices and Earnings Per share (EPS). Findings: The findings revealed that Brand value has significant impact on the financial performance of banks. Brand value has significant negative impact on ROA, ROI and ROE. This negative phenomenon indicates the marginal diminishing returns of the bank's brand advantage, ceteris paribus (Tsai and Chang, 2012) whereas brand value has significant positive impact on Stock Prices and EPS. Originality/Value: This is the most comprehensive quantitative study in the field of branding and financial performance of the banking sector. There has been limited research on the impact of brand value on the financial performance of banks. This study provides new insights for marketing managers and brand valuation agencies.

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