The only part of an antigen (a protein molecule found on the surface of a pathogen) that is composed of epitopes specific to T and B cells is recognized by the human immune system (HIS). Identification of epitopes is considered critical for designing an epitope-based peptide vaccine (EBPV). Although there are a number of vaccine types, EBPVs have received less attention thus far. It is important to mention that EBPVs have a great deal of untapped potential for boosting vaccination safety—they are less expensive and take a short time to produce. Thus, in order to quickly contain global pandemics such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as epidemics and endemics, EBPVs are considered promising vaccine types. The high mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2 has posed a great challenge to public health worldwide because either the composition of existing vaccines has to be changed or a new vaccine has to be developed to protect against its different variants. In such scenarios, time being the critical factor, EBPVs can be a promising alternative. To design an effective and viable EBPV against different strains of a pathogen, it is important to identify the putative T- and B-cell epitopes. Using the wet-lab experimental approach to identify these epitopes is time-consuming and costly because the experimental screening of a vast number of potential epitope candidates is required. Fortunately, various available machine learning (ML)-based prediction methods have reduced the burden related to the epitope mapping process by decreasing the potential epitope candidate list for experimental trials. Moreover, these methods are also cost-effective, scalable, and fast. This paper presents a systematic review of various state-of-the-art and relevant ML-based methods and tools for predicting T- and B-cell epitopes. Special emphasis is placed on highlighting and analyzing various models for predicting epitopes of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. Based on the various methods and tools discussed, future research directions for epitope prediction are presented.

Zika virus (ZIKV), the causative agent of Zika fever in humans, is an RNA virus that belongs to the genus Flavivirus. Currently, there is no approved vaccine for clinical use to combat the ZIKV infection and contain the epidemic. Epitope-based peptide vaccines have a large untapped potential for boosting vaccination safety, cross-reactivity, and immunogenicity. Though many attempts have been made to develop vaccines for ZIKV, none of these have proved to be successful. Epitope-based peptide vaccines can act as powerful alternatives to conventional vaccines due to their low production cost, less reactogenic, and allergenic responses. For designing an effective and viable epitope-based peptide vaccine against this deadly virus, it is essential to select the antigenic T-cell epitopes since epitope-based vaccines are considered safe. The in silico machine-learning-based approach for ZIKV T-cell epitope prediction would save a lot of physical experimental time and efforts for speedy vaccine development compared to in vivo approaches. We hereby have trained a machine-learning-based computational model to predict novel ZIKV T-cell epitopes by employing physicochemical properties of amino acids. The proposed ensemble model based on a voting mechanism works by blending the predictions for each class (epitope or nonepitope) from each base classifier. Predictions obtained for each class by the individual classifier are summed up, and the class with the majority vote is predicted upon. An odd number of classifiers have been used to avoid the occurrence of ties in the voting. Experimentally determined ZIKV peptide sequences data set was collected from Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource (IEDB) repository. The data set consists of 3,519 sequences, of which 1,762 are epitopes and 1,757 are nonepitopes. The length of sequences ranges from 6 to 30 meter. For each sequence, we extracted 13 physicochemical features. The proposed ensemble model achieved sensitivity, specificity, Gini coefficient, AUC, precision, F-score, and accuracy of 0.976, 0.959, 0.993, 0.994, 0.989, 0.985, and 97.13%, respectively. To check the consistency of the model, we carried out five-fold cross-validation and an average accuracy of 96.072% is reported. Finally, a comparative analysis of the proposed model with existing methods has been carried out using a separate validation data set, suggesting the proposed ensemble model as a better model. The proposed ensemble model will help predict novel ZIKV vaccine candidates to save lives globally and prevent future epidemic-scale outbreaks.

An ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a single-stranded RNA virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has caused a worldwide pandemic that continues to date. Vaccination has proven to be the most effective technique, by far, for the treatment of COVID-19 and to combat the outbreak. Among all vaccine types, epitope-based peptide vaccines have received less attention and hold a large untapped potential for boosting vaccine safety and immunogenicity. Peptides used in such vaccine technology are chemically synthesized based on the amino acid sequences of antigenic proteins (T-cell epitopes) of the target pathogen. Using wet-lab experiments to identify antigenic proteins is very difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. We hereby propose an ensemble machine learning (ML) model for the prediction of T-cell epitopes (also known as immune relevant determinants or antigenic determinants) against SARS-CoV-2, utilizing physicochemical properties of amino acids. To train the model, we retrieved the experimentally determined SARS-CoV-2 T-cell epitopes from Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource (IEDB) repository. The model so developed achieved accuracy, AUC (Area under the ROC curve), Gini, specificity, sensitivity, F-score, and precision of 98.20%, 0.991, 0.994, 0.971, 0.982, 0.990, and 0.981, respectively, using a test set consisting of SARS-CoV-2 peptides (T-cell epitopes and non-epitopes) obtained from IEDB. The average accuracy of 97.98% was recorded in repeated 5-fold cross validation. Its comparison with 05 robust machine learning classifiers and existing T-cell epitope prediction techniques, such as NetMHC and CTLpred, suggest the proposed work as a better model. The predicted epitopes from the current model could possess a high probability to act as potential peptide vaccine candidates subjected to in vitro and in vivo scientific assessments. The model developed would help scientific community working in vaccine development save time to screen the active T-cell epitope candidates of SARS-CoV-2 against the inactive ones.

The term heart-related disease is stated as the range of condition that impacts an individual heart negatively. In the current scenario, cardiovascular diseases are causing more deaths when compared with other ailments, it has been estimated that there are nearly 18 million deaths annually as per the recent report released by World Health Organization (WHO). It has been stated that unhealthy habits and other related aspects adopted by individuals are considered as the primary reasons for an increase in the risk of heart diseases. High cholesterol, eating more junk foods, hypertension, etc., created the issue related to heart diseases. Hence, addressing food quality and suggesting better eating habits enable individuals to enhance their living and support better health. The application of new technologies like machine learning, deep learning, and other models support doctors, nurses, and radiologists to predict heart disease effectively. Studies have stated that the various models are used mainly for the classification and forecasting of the diagnosis of heart-related diseases. The researchers have identified that critical algorithms like CART support the predictability of the disease by 93.3% whereas the conventional models possess vert less specificity. Furthermore, deep neural networks can be applied for analyzing and detecting heart failures effectively and supporting medical practitioners in making better and more critical clinical decisions making. The researchers focus on using a descriptive research study for performing the study; moreover, the researcher collates the data using the questionnaire method, which enables sourcing the critical information from the medical practitioners and supports in making critical data analysis effectively. The researchers also use secondary data modes for sourcing the information related to past studies on the related topic. The researchers use the frequency analysis, correlation analysis, and structural equation model analysis for performing the study, and the results are stated in detail in the respective sections.

Accurate temperature and rainfall (T&R) forecasting is vital for the climate-sensitive regions of Northern India, particularly Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, where volatile weather patterns significantly affect livelihoods, socio-economic development, and disaster management efforts. Despite their importance, traditional forecasting methods often fall short due to their high computational demands and inability to provide localized, real-time predictions, leaving a critical research gap in addressing these challenges. This study addresses the need for precise and efficient T&R forecasting using deep learning-based framework tailored to the unique climatic conditions of these regions. The major research focus is to develop and evaluate a model capable of capturing complex temporal dependencies in localized time-series weather data. Utilizing data from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for Jammu, Srinagar, and Ladakh stations covering the period from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2023, the proposed framework employs recurrent neural networks (RNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) architectures, both optimized for time-series forecasting. Key findings reveal that while both RNN and LSTM models exhibit robust performance in single input single output (SISO) setups, RNN model consistently outperforms the LSTM in capturing intricate temporal relationships. The RNN model in MIMO configuration achieved significantly lower mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), and mean squared error (MSE) for Jammu, Srinagar, and Ladakh, with respective values of [0.0636, 0.1011, 0.0401] for Jammu, [0.1048, 0.1555, 0.0455] for Srinagar, and [0.0854, 0.1344, 0.0411] for Ladakh. These results underscore the RNN model’s precision, making it a practical tool for real-time weather forecasting. By enhancing the accuracy of T&R predictions in regions with challenging meteorological conditions, this study contributes to improved climate adaptation strategies, disaster preparedness, and sustainable development. Its findings hold broader implications for advancing localized forecasting technologies in other regions with similar climatic complexities.