Uma Dubey | BITS Pilani (original) (raw)

Papers by Uma Dubey

Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management, 2021

Introduction: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the economy and has resulted in ch... more Introduction: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the economy and has resulted in changes to the working arrangements of employees who are based at home and may continue to work from home (WFH). Organizations are expected to develop an inclusive policy for their employees to promote mental health whilst working from home. The aim of this study was to document the impact of WFH on mental health and determine the expectations of employees from their organizations regarding occupational health policy. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the impact of work from home on mental health and to document the mental health support needs of employees. Google form was floated through social media platform to receive the responses. A total of 74 responses were received. Descriptive analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel, while qualitative answers were manually analysed. Results: About 67% employees (n=45) mentioned that their workload has increased significant...

Nonlinear Analysis: Modelling and Control, 2021

Virus dynamics models are useful in interpreting and predicting the change in viral load over the... more Virus dynamics models are useful in interpreting and predicting the change in viral load over the time and the effect of treatment in emerging viral infections like HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B virus (HBV).We propose a mathematical model involving the role of total immune response (innate, CTL, and humoral) and treatment for productively infected cells and free virus to understand the dynamics of virus–host interactions. A threshold condition for the extinction or persistence of infection, i.e. basic reproductive number, in the presence of immune response (RI ) is established. We study the global stability of virus-free equilibrium and interior equilibrium using LaSalle’s principle and Lyapunov’s direct method. The global stability of virus-free equilibrium ensures the clearance of virus from the body, which is independent of initial status of subpopulations. Central manifold theory is used to study the behavior of equilibrium points at RI = 1, i.e. when the basic reproductive number in th...

BIOCELL

Sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor used for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, is limited... more Sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor used for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, is limited by its low oral bioavailability. To overcome this drawback, we have developed novel camel milk casein-derived nanoparticles as a drug delivery system. Camel milk casein is not only biocompatible on oral administration but is actually a dietary protein of pharmaceutical relevance. Casein is used because of its amphiphilic nature, self-assembling property, ability to show sustained release, and capability of encapsulating both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. In this study, camel milk casein nanoparticles loaded with sorafenib were developed and characterized. Characterization of casein nanoparticles was done by dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential analysis, scanning light microscopy (SEM), and FTIR. The drug content in nanoparticle and drug-protein binding studies were conducted by UV spectroscopy. The cytotoxicity and cellular uptake efficiency studies were performed in HepG2 cell lines. It was observed that the cytotoxic effect of sorafenib loaded camel milk casein nanoparticles was more than free sorafenib in HepG2 cells. This work suggests camel milk casein as a suitable drug delivery molecule for sorafenib. In the future, it may also be used in enhancing the efficacy and specific distribution of other water-insoluble anticancer drugs.

Mathematics and Computers in Simulation

Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2017

Breast cancer has ranked number one cancer among Indian females with age adjusted rate as high as... more Breast cancer has ranked number one cancer among Indian females with age adjusted rate as high as 25.8 per 100,000 women and mortality 12.7 per 100,000 women. Data reports from various latest national cancer registries were compared for incidence, mortality rates. The age adjusted incidence rate of carcinoma of the breast was found as high as 41 per 100,000 women for Delhi, followed by Chennai (37.9), Bangalore (34.4) and Thiruvananthapuram District (33.7). A statistically significant increase in age adjusted rate over time (1982-2014) in all the PBCRs namely Bangalore (annual percentage change: 2.84%), Barshi (1.87%), Bhopal (2.00%), Chennai (2.44%), Delhi (1.44%) and Mumbai (1.42%) was observed. Mortality-to-incidence ratio was found to be as high as 66 in rural registries whereas as low as 8 in urban registries. Besides this young age has been found as a major risk factor for breast cancer in Indian women. Breast cancer projection for India during time periods 2020 suggests the number to go as high as 1797900. Better health awareness and availability of breast cancer screening programmes and treatment facilities would cause a favorable and positive clinical picture in the country.

Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics, 2016

Scientific Reports, 2016

Currently no effective vaccine is available for human visceral leishmaniasis(VL) caused by Leishm... more Currently no effective vaccine is available for human visceral leishmaniasis(VL) caused by Leishmania donovani. Previously, we showed that centrin1 and p27gene deleted live attenuated Leishmania parasites (LdCen1 −/− and Ldp27 −/−) are safe, immunogenic and protective in animal models. Here, to assess the correlates of protection, we evaluated immune responses induced by LdCen1 −/− and Ldp27 −/− in human blood samples obtained from healthy, healed VL (HVL), post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis(PKDL) and VL subjects. Both parasites infected human macrophages, as effectively as the wild type parasites. Further, LdCen1 −/− and Ldp27 −/− strongly stimulated production of proinflammatory cytokines including, IL-12, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6 and IL-17 in the PBMCs obtained from individuals with a prior exposure to Leishmania (HVL and PKDL). There was no significant stimulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10). Induction of Th1 biased immune responses was supported by a remarkable increase in IFN-γ secreting CD4 + and CD8 + T cells and IL-17 secreting CD4 + cells in PBMCs from HVL cases with no increase in IL-10 secreting T cells. Hence, LdCen1 −/− and Ldp27 −/− are promising as live vaccine candidates against VL since they elicit strong protective immune response in human PBMCs from HVL, similar to the wild type parasite infection, mimicking a naturally acquired protection following cure.

Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation, 2016

Transition Metal Chemistry, 2006

Journal of Biological Systems, 2011

In this paper, two mathematical models are proposed and analyzed. The first one deals with the in... more In this paper, two mathematical models are proposed and analyzed. The first one deals with the interaction of uninfected cells, infected cells, viruses and immune response within humans. The second one deals with the effects of environmental toxicant on the first model. In each case, sufficient conditions for local stability and global stability of the equilibria are obtained, computer simulations are performed and the result is biologically interpreted. It has been seen that the environmental toxicant has detrimental effects on healthy cells, infected cells as well as on the immune response of the body.

Journal of Biological Systems, 2013

In this study, an SEIR epidemic model is proposed for treatment of infectives considering the dev... more In this study, an SEIR epidemic model is proposed for treatment of infectives considering the development of acquired immunity in recovered individuals. We employed two different types of treatment functions. Stability analysis for disease-free as well as endemic equilibria is performed. It is observed that the existence of unique endemic equilibrium depends on the basic reproductive number R0 as well as on treatment rate. Numerical simulations are performed on the proposed models to support and analyze theoretical findings.

Journal of Biological Systems, 2007

In this paper, a nonlinear mathematical model is proposed and analyzed to study the effect of env... more In this paper, a nonlinear mathematical model is proposed and analyzed to study the effect of environmental toxicant on the immune response of the body. Criteria for local stability, instability and global stability are obtained. It is shown that the immune response of the body decreases as the concentration of environmental toxicant increases, and certain criteria are obtained under which it settles down at its equilibrium level. In the absence of toxicant, an oscillatory behavior of immune system and pathogenic growth is observed. However, in the presence of toxicant, oscillatory behavior is not observed. These studies show that the toxicant may have a grave effect on our body's defense mechanism.

Nonlinear Analysis: Modelling and Control, Mar 25, 2016

In this paper, the impact of awareness programs as well as treatment on an SIR model has been inv... more In this paper, the impact of awareness programs as well as treatment on an SIR model has been investigated. We assume that the whole population is divided into four compartments, named as susceptible (S), infected (I), aware susceptible (Sa) and recovered (R). Analytical findings and numerical simulations of the model show that if the exposure to the awareness program is high and adequate treatment is available, then the infection can be eliminated. Analysis of the model also depicts that if treatment is not available, then infection is high even if enough awareness is present. But in absence of awareness an infection can not be eliminated inspite of adequate treatment. Effective treatment can led to a diminished level of infection. Stability analysis of the model is investigated by using stability theory of differential equations. Further, numerical simulations are carried out to validate the analytical results.