Summary: The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid‐19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), is an international public health crisis with devastating effects. In particular, this pandemic has further exacerbated the burden in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, where dengue fever, caused by dengue virus (DENV), is already endemic to the population. The similar clinical manifestations shared by Covid‐19 and dengue fever have raised concerns, especially in dengue‐endemic countries with limited resources, leading to diagnostic challenges. In addition, cross‐reactivity of the immune responses in these infections is an emerging concern, as pre‐existing DENV‐antibodies might potentially affect Covid‐19 through antibody‐dependent enhancement. In this review article, we aimed to raise the issue of Covid‐19 and dengue fever misdiagnosis, not only in a clinical setting but also with regards to cross‐reactivity between SARS‐CoV‐2 and DENV antibodies. We also have discussed the potential consequences of overlapping immunological cascades between dengue and Covid‐19 on disease severity and vaccine development.

Marburg virus (MARV) has been a major concern since 1967, with two major outbreaks occurring in 1998 and 2004. Infection from MARV results in severe hemorrhagic fever, causing organ dysfunction and death. Exposure to fruit bats in caves and mines, and human-to-human transmission had major roles in the amplification of MARV outbreaks in African countries. The high fatality rate of up to 90% demands the broad study of MARV diseases (MVD) that correspond with MARV infection. Since large outbreaks are rare for MARV, clinical investigations are often inadequate for providing the substantial data necessary to determine the treatment of MARV disease. Therefore, an overall review may contribute to minimizing the limitations associated with future medical research and improve the clinical management of MVD. In this review, we sought to analyze and amalgamate significant information regarding MARV disease epidemics, pathophysiology, and management approaches to provide a better understanding of this deadly virus and the associated infection.

Obesity is a complex disease associated with various metabolic abnormalities, cardiovascular diseases, and low-grade chronic inflammation. Inflammation associated with T helper 1 (Th1) immune cells is dominant in adipose tissue (AT) and exerts metabolically deleterious impacts. The precise mechanism of alteration in AT immune system and its effect on metabolic homeostasis remains unclear. In this study, we investigated how a high-fat diet (HFD) alters the AT immune response and influences inflammation during obesity. HFD consumption amends the metabolic parameters, including body weight, glucose, and insulin levels. We observed increased infiltration of Th17 cells, a subset of dendritic cells (CD103⁺), and M1 macrophages in AT of mice fed HFD compared to those fed a normal diet (ND). In mice that were fed HFD, we also observed a reduction in regulatory T cells (Tregs) relative to the numbers of these cells in mice fed ND. Corresponding with this, mice in the HFD group exhibited higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines than those in the ND group. We also observed alterations in signaling pathways, including increased protein expression of IRF3, TGFβ1, and mRNA expression of IL-6, KLF4, and STAT3 in the AT of the mice fed HFD as compared to those fed ND. Further, HFD-fed mice exhibited decreased protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-γ) compared to mice fed ND, suggesting that PPAR-γ functions as a negative regulator of Th17 cell differentiation. These results suggest that HFD induces increased levels of inflammatory cytokines and key immune cells, including Th17, M1 macrophages, and CD103⁺ dendritic cells, and reduces levels of PPAR-γ and Tregs to sustain AT inflammation. This study supports the notion that dysregulation of Th17/Tregs, which polarizes macrophages towards M1 phenotypes in part through TGFβ1-IRF3-STAT3 and negatively regulates PPAR-γ mediated pathways, results in AT inflammation during obesity.

Contamination of aquatic ecosystems by various sources has become a major worry all over the world. Pollutants can enter the human body through the food chain from aquatic and soil habitats. These pollutants can cause various chronic diseases in humans and mortality if they collect in the body over an extended period. Although the phytoremediation technique cannot completely remove harmful materials, it is an environmentally benign, cost-effective, and natural process that has no negative effects on the environment. The main types of phytoremediation, their mechanisms, and strategies to raise the remediation rate and the use of genetically altered plants, phytoremediation plant prospects, economics, and usable plants are reviewed in this review. Several factors influence the phytoremediation process, including types of contaminants, pollutant characteristics, and plant species selection, climate considerations, flooding and aging, the effect of salt, soil parameters, and redox potential. Phytoremediation’s environmental and economic efficiency, use, and relevance are depicted in our work. Multiple recent breakthroughs in phytoremediation technologies are also mentioned in this review.

Over the last few decades, the prevalence of metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hypertension, and hyperuricemia has surged, primarily due to high-fat diet (HFD). The pathologies of these metabolic diseases show disease-specific alterations in the composition and function of their gut microbiome. How HFD alters the microbiome and its metabolite to mediate adipose tissue (AT) inflammation and obesity is not well known. Thus, this study aimed to identify the changes in the gut microbiome and metabolomic signatures induced by an HFD to alter obesity. To explore the changes in the gut microbiota and metabolites, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and metabolomic analyses were performed after HFD and normal diet (ND) feeding. We noticed that, at taxonomic levels, the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), along with the Chao and Shannon indexes, significantly shifted in HFD-fed mice compared to those fed a ND. Similarly, at the phylum level, an increase in Firmicutes and a decrease in Bacteroidetes were noticed in HFD-fed mice. At the genus level, an increase in Lactobacillus and Ruminococcus was observed, while Allobaculum, Clostridium, and Akkermansia were markedly reduced in the HFD group. Many bacteria from the Ruminococcus genus impair bile acid metabolism and restrict weight loss. Firmicutes are efficient in breaking down complex carbohydrates into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and other metabolites, whereas Bacteroidetes are involved in a more balanced or efficient energy extraction. Thus, an increase in Firmicutes over Bacteroidetes enhances the absorption of more calories from food, which may contribute to obesity. Taken together, the altered gut microbiota and metabolites trigger AT inflammation, which contributes to metabolic dysregulation and disease progression. Thus, this study highlights the potential of the gut microbiome in the development of therapeutic strategies for obesity and related metabolic disorders.

A pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and the number of newly reported cases continues to increase. More than 19.7 million cases have been reported globally and about 728,000 have died as of this writing (10 August 2020). Recently, it has been confirmed that the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M^pro) enzyme is responsible not only for viral reproduction but also impedes host immune responses. The M^pro provides a highly favorable pharmacological target for the discovery and design of inhibitors. Currently, no specific therapies are available, and investigations into the treatment of COVID-19 are lacking. Therefore, herein, we analyzed the bioactive phytocompounds isolated by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) from Tinospora crispa as potential COVID-19 M^pro inhibitors, using molecular docking study. Our analyses unveiled that the top nine hits might serve as potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 lead molecules, with three of them exerting biological activity and warranting further optimization and drug development to combat COVID-19.