Review on cultured meat: ethical alternative to animal industrial farming

It is estimated that around 8% of the entire world population identifies themselves as vegetarians. That leaves us with statistics of more than 90% of the world's population prefers a meat-based diet. Now with the alarmingly increasing population of over 7.8 billion, the demand for meat is skyrocketing. Due to the high demand, factors like land, water and greenhouse emission are becoming unsustainable. Even after taking all these concerns into account, why is it so difficult for us to eliminate/reduce meat from our diet? How is the future generation going to satisfy their meat cravings? However, through recent research, it seems there is an alternative, a solution to all these concerns, cultured/ lab-grown meat. Cultured meat is meat produced by in vitro cell culture of animal cells, instead of from slaughtered animals using various tissue engineering techniques. This invitro meat technology is still at its elementary stages but shows great potential in curbing the problem of livestock overcrowding and its impact on the environment. Cultured meat seems to promise a sustainable and reliable alternative for its consumers. This review aimed to provide an elaborate comprehension of the entire process of the production, processing and commercialization of cultured meat, and also provides an insight on the possible obstacles it encounters, especially overcoming ethical conundrums and social prejudice.

Hemolytic Disease of Newborn due to ABO Incompatibility between B Blood Group Mother and A Blood Group Neonate

ABO incompatibility between O blood group mother and non–O blood group neonate is common. It rarely causes anemia and hyperbilirubinemia in neonate, requiring invasive management. Direct antiglobulin test may be positive in these cases with immunoglobulin (Ig)-G antibody specificity. There are few cases of hemolytic disease of newborn due to ABO incompatibility between mother and newborn with non ̶ O blood group mother. After obtaining consent from the patient, we reported a case of incompatibility in a B blood group mother and A blood group neonate, and it was managed with phototherapy.

The Spectrum of Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn: Evaluating the Etiology of Unconjugated Hyperbilirubinemia Among Neonates Pertinent to Immunohematological Workup

Background and objective The exact burden of hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) attributed to neonatal unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia (NUH) in developing nations is still unclear. Still, anti-D is reported to be the most common cause of HDN in India. ABO incompatibility has emerged as a leading cause of exchange transfusion (ET) in many countries. But many centers in our country rely on direct antiglobulin test (DAT) as a screening tool to evaluate immunological causes, whereas advanced immunohematological workup like antibody screening, identification, and elution tests are also required. Early identification of implicated antibodies resulting in HDN can aid in the proper selection of blood units when ET is indicated, and hence also in managing the subsequent pregnancy. This study focused on determining the causes of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (NH), especially with respect to immunohematological evaluation. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 neonates requiring neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) support for NUH at a tertiary care hospital. Materials and methods Demographic data, along with detailed history pertaining to the cause of hyperbilirubinemia, was collected. Clinical and laboratory evaluation and complete immunohematological work including DAT, heat elution, antibody screening, antibody identification, and Rh Kell phenotyping were performed from neonate blood samples. Data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics version 19 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results Pathological jaundice was more common (62.1%) than physiological jaundice (37.9%). The various pathological causes identified were HDN (42.6%), sepsis (12%), cephalohematoma (5.4%), and idiopathic (1.7%). Among HDN cases, ABO incompatibility (39.2%) was the most prevalent cause, followed by Rh HDN and G6PD deficiency (1.7% each). DAT was positive in only 14 cases out of 94 ABO-incompatible cases. Elution revealed antibodies in four DAT-negative neonates with ABO incompatibility and more specificity to the OA setting. DAT was positive with 100% sensitivity in Rh HDN cases (n=4). Elution demonstrated the presence of anti-D (n=2), anti-D + anti-C (n=1) and anti-E (n=1), confirming Rh HDN. DAT strength was found to be significantly associated with hemoglobin (Hb) level (p=0.048). The majority of cases were treated with phototherapy only (94.1%), and 10 cases received both ET and phototherapy. Four neonates' condition improved without any intervention. Conclusion This study highlighted the shift in the trend from Rh HDN to ABO incompatibility as the cause of hemolytic jaundice in NICU neonates. Elution tests can aid in the diagnosis of DAT-negative ABO-incompatible hemolytic anemia. Early diagnosis, along with timely intervention and appropriate measures, can prevent neonatal morbidity and mortality. Negative DAT does not rule out HDN. Sensitive techniques like elution must be used in the presence of clinical suspicion.

An Unusual Case of Hemolytic Disease of Newborn Due to ABO and Rh Isoimmunization

Anti-D is the most common cause of hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) in the developing countries even after the introduction of anti-D immunoprophylaxis. Still, ABO incompatibility and other alloantibodies against minor blood group antigens have emerged as significant causes of HDN. Moreover, ABO incompatibility acts as a protective barrier to the expression of Rh isoimmunization. Here we are presenting a case of HDN where both Rh and ABO incompatibility co-existed with their manifestations in a B positive neonate born to an O positive mother. Use of appropriate elution technique can aid in the diagnosis of such cases. Hence, antenatal screening of all mothers irrespective of their Rh D status can help in early diagnosis and proper management that can decrease the neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Electrophoretic profile of seminal proteins and their correlation with in vitro sperm characters in Black Bengal buck semen

Aim:

This study aimed to study the electrophoretic properties of seminal plasma and sperm proteins of Black Bengal buck semen and their correlation with in vitro sperm characters and freezability.

Materials and Methods:

Semen ejaculates from nine Black Bengal bucks were collected by artificial vagina (n=20/buck). Ejaculates were evaluated for in vitro sperm characters and electrophoretic profile of seminal protein. In vitro sperm characters were evaluated immediately after collection, after completion of equilibration period, and after freeze-thawing. For seminal protein studies, seminal plasma proteins were precipitated by ice-cold ethanol method, and sperm proteins were extracted by Triton X detergent extraction method. Discontinuous sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was performed to assess the molecular weight of seminal proteins. Correlation between in vitro sperm characters and protein bands was determined by Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and two-way ANOVA was applied to find the individual buck differences.

Results:

Significant difference (p<0.01) among the bucks was noticed in the in vitro sperm characters evaluated at all the three stages of semen evaluation such as immediately after collection, after completion of equilibration period, and post-freeze thawing. Progressive loss of sperm motility, membrane integrity, and other in vitro sperm characters were noticed during cryopreservation. A total of ten protein bands in the molecular weight ranging from 17 to 180 kDa were found in the SDS-PAGE of seminal plasma proteins, while nine bands of 17-134 kDa were observed in sperm proteins. Seminal plasma proteins of molecular weight 75, 62-49, 20, and 17 kDa and sperm proteins of 75, 20, and 17 kDa were present in all the nine bucks (100%) screened, and variation among the bucks was noticed for the presence of other proteins. Seminal plasma protein of 180-134 kDa showed a negative correlation with individual motility (−0.716) and functional membrane integrity of sperm cells (−0.724) in post-freeze–thaw analysis and 48 kDa protein had a positive correlation with individual motility (0.649) and functional membrane integrity of sperm cells (0.664) in post-thaw analysis. Sperm proteins of 63 kDa had a negative correlation (−0.616) with sperm concentration in neat semen.

Conclusion:

Variation among the bucks was noticed in the in vitro sperm characters and semen freezability. Correlation between seminal proteins and in vitro sperm characters and semen freezability had been found which might be useful as a tool to select breeding bucks.

Influence of Temperature and Humidity on Pregnancy Rate of Murrah Buffaloes under Subtropical Climate

Heat stress has adverse effects on fertility of dairy animals. Decline in fertility is linearly associated with an increase in combination of both temperature and humidity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between temperature humidity index (THI) and the pregnancy rate of Murrah buffaloes in a subtropical climate. The effects of genetic and non-genetic factors viz., sire, parity, period of calving and age group at first calving were found non-significant on pregnancy rate. The effect of THI was found significant (p<0.001) on pregnancy rate of Murrah buffaloes calved for first time and overall pregnancy rate. The threshold THI affecting the pregnancy rate was identified as THI 75. The months from October to March showed THI<75 and considered as non heat stress zone (NHSZ), while months from April to September were determined as heat stress zone (HSZ) with THI≥75. The lowest overall pregnancy rate (0.25) was obtained in July with THI 80.9, while the highest overall pregnancy rate (0.59) was found in November with THI 66.1. May and June were identified as critical heat stress zone (CHSZ) within the HSZ with maximum decline (-7%) in pregnancy rate with per unit increase in THI. The highest overall pregnancy rate was estimated as 0.45 in NHSZ with THI value 56.7 to 73.2. The pregnancy rate was found to have declined to 0.28 in HSZ with THI 73.5 to 83.7. However, the lowest pregnancy rate was estimated as 0.27 in CHSZ with THI value 80.3 to 81.6.

An atomic magnetometer with autonomous frequency stabilization and large dynamic range

The operation of a highly sensitive atomic magnetometer using elliptically polarized resonant light is demonstrated. It is based on measurement of zero magnetic field resonance in degenerate two level systems using polarimetric detection. The transmitted light through the polarimeter is used for laser frequency stabilization, whereas reflected light is used for magnetic field measurement. Thus, the experimental geometry allows autonomous frequency stabilization of the laser frequency leading to compact operation of the overall device and has a preliminary sensitivity of <10 pT/Hz(1/2) @ 1 Hz. Additionally, the dynamic range of the device is improved by feedback controlling the bias magnetic field without compromising on its sensitivity.

Prediction of anticancer property of bowsellic acid derivatives by quantitative structure activity relationship analysis and molecular docking study

Context:

Boswellic acid consists of a series of pentacyclic triterpene molecules that are produced by the plant Boswellia serrata. The potential applications of Bowsellic acid for treatment of cancer have been focused here.

Aims:

To predict the property of the bowsellic acid derivatives as anticancer compounds by various computational approaches.

Materials and Methods:

In this work, all total 65 derivatives of bowsellic acids from the PubChem database were considered for the study. After energy minimization of the ligands various types of molecular descriptors were computed and corresponding two-dimensional quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) models were obtained by taking Andrews coefficient as the dependent variable.

Statistical Analysis Used:

Different types of comparative analysis were used for QSAR study are multiple linear regression, partial least squares, support vector machines and artificial neural network.

Results:

From the study geometrical descriptors shows the highest correlation coefficient, which indicates the binding factor of the compound. To evaluate the anticancer property molecular docking study of six selected ligands based on Andrews affinity were performed with nuclear factor-kappa protein kinase (Protein Data Bank ID 4G3D), which is an established therapeutic target for cancers. Along with QSAR study and docking result, it was predicted that bowsellic acid can also be treated as a potential anticancer compound.

Conclusions:

Along with QSAR study and docking result, it was predicted that bowsellic acid can also be treated as a potential anticancer compound.