YOGA AND ITS HISTORY

Yoga is a group of practices, many of which those beneficial, helpful and mind-enriching practices that originated in India. The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Yuj’ which means connection or fusion or to join; it simply refers to ‘uniting’ our individual souls to the almighty cosmic soul. It is a very vast term, covering a lot of practices and knowledge. It is the science of inner well being. We can understand more clearly about yoga if we about how it came to be and what is the history of yoga.

HISTORY OF YOGA

VEDIC AND PRE-VEDIC PERIOD: The history and origin of yoga closely relate to the Vedic and pre-Vedic periods, in the Indian subcontinent. The earliest mention of the word yoga is found in “Rig-Veda”, dating back to 1500 BC. However, to determine the exact date and timeline of Vedas is difficult since before being written down, Vedas were orally passed on from one generation to another. PRE-CLASSICAL PERIOD (UPANISHAD ERA): Roughly between 700 BC and 500 BC Upanishads took birth. Out of the 108 Upanishads, there are 20 Upanishads describing yoga. They talk about different elements of yoga such as pranayama, pratyahara, Yama and dhyana. CLASSICAL AND POST CLASSICAL PERIODS: Classical period saw many significant developments and additions in the whole philosophy of yoga. Lord Mahavira and Lord Buddha both spoke about meditation as a way toward enlightenment. Lord Krishna also taught about a number of variations of yoga in “Bhagawat Gita”. They were Dhyana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga.

Another notable and significant development that took place during this time was the Patanjali’s ‘Yoga Sutras’. Sage Patanjali was the first to systematize the whole philosophy and practice of yoga. He introduced Ashtanga yoga or the ‘eight limbs of yoga in his Yoga sutras. Later in the classical period, many other sages and yogis contributed to Yoga. Moreover, Hatha yoga, which includes the practice of asana, grew up to be more popular and to date is the most popular form of yoga.

MODERN PERIOD: Yoga practitioners of recent times like Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Vivekananda were some of the first yogis who introduced the concepts and philosophies of yoga to the western world. However, yoga today is basically comprehended by most people as a bunch of different poses and different breathing exercises and meditation. But in reality, is much more.

On the surface, it may look like it is just a bunch of different postures, that are found to have therapeutic effects but yoga and meditation have much more depth to them. Both, mental and physical health can be improved by practising yoga.

Yogic postures or the ‘asanas’, meditation and breathing techniques or the ‘pranayam’ are the limbs of yoga that help one to get in the best of mental and physical conditions.

Stress, anxiety and depression are a few of the psychological disorders that are taking their toll on a larger part of the population. Yogic asanas and pranayams are said to provide benefits to people suffering from stress, anxiety and depression.

Following are the ways in which practising yoga is good for mental health:

IMPROVED MOOD: Firstly yoga involves asana and they are a form of physical activity any physical activity improves the oxygenation of the blood and more oxygenated blood is circulated to your brain. Feel-good chemicals or endorphins are released during this process. So in a way, feeling good is an instant benefit of practising yoga asana.
EASE ANXIETY: Yoga includes breathing exercises which are known as Pranayama. Anxiety can be helped by practising these pranayamas regularly.
IMPROVED SLEEP: Almost half the population suffers from sleeplessness at some point in their lives. Meditation is extremely beneficial when it comes to releasing tension and producing a state of comfort, both of which are ingredients that are required for a good sleep. Racing thoughts and stress-induced due to them are some of the reasons behind sleeplessness. Getting efficient and skilled in practising meditation enables one to control and comprehend thoughts and emotions in a better way hence preventing sleeplessness.
REDUCES STRESS AND DEPRESSION: Yoga asana and dhyana (Meditation) help bring a balance to the hormonal imbalance as during meditation one truly doesn’t keep track of things that stress them. Moreover, it brings a sense of happiness due to the happy hormones that get released during meditation.

There is now growing evidence that the MAPK4 enzyme may be involved in cancer growth and resistance to specific therapies.

Recently, an article titled ” MAPK4 promotes triple negative breast cancer growth and reduces tumor sensitivity to PI3K blockade” was published in Nature Communications.

By analyzing public genome databases, the researchers found that a large number of triple-negative breast cancer patients express high levels of MAPK4, and in animal models, elimination of MAPK4 reduced the growth of human triple-negative breast cancer cells and made cancer cells resistant to blocking PI3K.

The discovery of PI3K, a signaling pathway that promotes cancer growth, supports further research by scientists to investigate whether targeting MAPK4 in triple-negative breast cancer could improve cancer treatment.

“In this study, we combined two longstanding interests of our laboratory, namely to study the critical role that MAPK4 plays in human cancer, and to better understand breast cancer, the most common disease worldwide,” said Feng Yang, one of the researchers. The study specifically focused on triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most difficult-to-treat breast cancer subtypes.

First, the researchers analyzed gene expression profiles in 817 human breast cancer samples from the Cancer Genome Atlas database, including multiple breast cancer subtypes, and found that MAPK4 expression was elevated in 30% and more basal-like breast cancer subtypes (70% – 80% of which were triple-negative breast cancers).

In addition, the researchers analyzed MAPK4 expression in a collection of breast cancer patient-derived xenografts (PDX) from Baylor Cancer Research Center, most of which were triple-negative breast cancers. PDX refers to an animal model of human cancer that closely reproduces cancer in humans. Physically, the researchers also found elevated MAPK4 expression in PDX tumors in triple-negative breast cancer.

Previous studies have shown that MAPK4 plays a role in promoting carcinogenesis in other cancers, such as prostate cancer, and the discovery of important subtypes of triple-negative breast cancer with elevated MAPK4 levels may prompt researchers to investigate whether MAPK4 can also promote the development of triple-negative breast cancer.

In seven different human triple-negative breast cancer cell lines, some had high and some had low MAPK4 expression, and the researchers manipulated the gene expression level of MAPK4 when MAPK4 was knocked down or eliminated by the knockout method. The researchers found that the growth of cancer cells slowed significantly, suggesting that MAPK4 plays an important role in the development of triple-negative breast cancer.

The researchers also increased MAPK4 levels in low-expressing triple-negative breast cancers, which in turn boosted cancer cell growth, a finding that supports a critical role for MAPK4 in triple-negative breast cancer growth.

Subsequently, Yang and his colleagues investigated the tumor-promoting molecular mechanism of MAPK4 in triple-negative breast cancer. Previously, researchers found that MAPK4 may promote the development of other cancers by activating a cancer-promoting signaling pathway in cells called AKT.

Triple-negative breast cancer can activate AKT through two independent mechanisms, one mediated by MAPK4 and the other by an enzyme called PI3K. “We all know that alterations in the PI3K pathway are very common in triple-negative breast cancer, but the therapeutic effect of PI3K inhibitors is very limited,” said researcher Yang.

The researchers noted that inhibiting PI3K may allow cells to activate AKT through MAPK4, allowing cells to continue to grow; to confirm this idea, the researchers found that knocking out MAPK4 may cause cells to become sensitive to PI3K inhibitors and reduce cancer growth. In addition, in low-expressing triple-negative breast cancer, overexpression of MAPK4 may make cells resistant to the effects of PI3K inhibitors and continue to promote their growth.

The researchers say the study in this paper may provide new therapeutic opportunities for triple-negative breast cancer based on MAPK4 expression, which could include a new combination of inhibitors to help control cancer growth, although this may require further research.

Taken together, the study suggests that high MAPK4 expression may define a large subset or subtype of triple-negative breast cancers that respond to MAPK4 blockade, while targeting subsets/subtypes of triple-negative breast cancer that act on MAPK4 not only inhibits tumor growth, but also makes tumors more sensitive to PI3K blockade.

There are special circumstances when the air in a room becomes contaminated from such things as airborne diseases or dangerous fibres like asbestos or mold spores. When this happens, the room must be isolated from the surrounding area until the air has been cleansed. One way to do this is to turn the contaminated space into a sealed negative pressure room.

How It’s Created

A negative pressure room is created by lowering the air pressure in a room below what it is in the hallway or area outside it. The first step in creating a low pressure space is to seal all joints or cracks that air could leak through. This includes door jambs, window frames and air circulation vents. Once all of these have been sealed sufficiently, an air purifier and regulator, or a specialized negative pressure machine, can be brought in. This machine will not only clean the air within the room, but will lower the overall air pressure of the room. Purified air will be pumped out of the room as it is cleaned, which will maintain the negative pressure even if workers need to move in and out of the room.

How It Works

The low pressure of a negative pressure room is an effective way of keeping the air inside the room from entering the outside environment. If a door is opened after low pressure has been established, air will flow from the high pressure area outside the room into the low pressure room, attempting to equalize the pressure. This natural diffusion from high to low pressure ensures that the air within the room will stay in the room, along with any dangerous particles that it carries. After the large inrush of air, the negative pressure machine being used will run, pumping the extra air back out of the room as it is cleaned, re-establishing the low pressure required to maintain the isolation of the room.

Possible Uses

There are many areas in which a negative pressure room is useful. In a medical setting, negative pressure rooms are used to isolate patients infected with a contagious, airborne disease, such as COVID-19. Outside of a hospital or clinic, negative pressure rooms are extremely useful in protecting workers and other individuals from harmful particles. In a building overridden with a dangerous material such as asbestos or mold, creating a negative pressure in the area containing the hazardous particles will protect those working in other areas of the building. The damaging airborne particles will be contained within one space. Any time a door or window is opened, air will always flow into the room to balance the pressure, confining the danger to the negative pressure room. Everywhere outside the room will be protected from the health hazard, as long as the low pressure is maintained.

Negative pressure rooms are an exceptionally effective and relatively simple way of containing hazardous airborne particles in one space. With the use of negative pressure machines, lower pressure can be maintained whenever the space is completely enclosed. This is an important part of the remediation of contaminated areas and ensures the safety of everyone outside the room for as long as necessary.

The interesting SARS-CoV-2 omicron mutant strain evades immunity mediated by antibodies from vaccination or infection with early mutants due to the accumulation of a large number of spike mutations. Recently, in a research report titled “Structural basis of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron immune evasion and receptor engagement” published in Science, scientists from institutions such as the University of Washington have determined the precise structural changes on the spike protein of the Omicron mutant strain through research, and the researchers’ observations may help explain how the virus evades antibodies against previous mutants and can still remain highly infectious.

Researcher David Veesler said the findings in this study provide a blueprint that may help researchers design new strategies, whether vaccines or treatments, to deal with the potential emergence of mutant strains of Omicron and other coronaviruses. The Omicron mutant strain was first discovered in South Africa in November 2021, and its infection and transmission worldwide are currently expanding. In addition to being highly infectious, the mutant can also evade antibodies against other mutant strains at an early stage, which may lead to breakthrough infections in individuals who have been vaccinated or have been previously infected.

The infectivity of the Omicron mutant strain is thought to be at least partially due to a large number of mutations in the amino acid sequence on the viral spike protein, which can be used to lock and enter the cells it infects, and the spike protein of the Omicron mutant strain has 37 mutations, which makes it different from the first SARS-CoV-2 isolates in 2020. Previous researchers Veesler and colleagues found that antibodies produced by the six most commonly used vaccines and all but one of the monoclonal antibodies currently used to treat infections had the ability to reduce or abolish Omicron mutant strains.

However, many mutations in the mutant strain can affect the structure of the region responsible for adsorbing and entering the spike protein of the host cell, which is called the receptor-binding domain. Many researchers predict that the change in the structure of the receptor-binding domain may damage the ability of the mutant strain to enter the cellular target, which is the protein called angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2). However, in this study, researchers Veesler and colleagues found that this change actually increases the ability of the receptor-binding domain to bind to ACE2 by 2.4-fold.

In order to understand why Omicron mutant strains accumulate so many mutations when retaining effective interaction with the host receptor ACE2, the researchers used cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography to unveil the 3-D organization of the spike protein of Omicron mutant strains, which may achieve a resolution of about 3 Å. At this resolution, the researchers may dissect the shape of the single amino acid and basic components that make up the spike protein. In addition, the researchers revealed how the structural changes of the spike protein affect the ability of antibodies that effectively protect against previous strains to bind to Omicron mutant strains. Using this technology, the researchers reveal how mutations change the way proteins interact with antibodies, which reduces the ability of almost all monoclonal antibodies against the mutant strain, and at the same time, the ability of spike receptor-binding domains to bind to ACE2 is also enhanced, and the resulting overall effect allows the receptor-binding domains to have the potential to evade targeted antibodies and bind more tightly to ACE2.

The researchers say the viruses have incredible plasticity, can change a lot, and still maintain all the functions needed for their infection and replication, and can ensure that the Omicron mutant strain is not the last mutant strain seen by scientists. In the future, researchers aim to study and identify other regions on spike proteins that may not be changed without causing the protein to lose its function, and due to the importance, these regions tend to remain conserved even if other parts of the protein are mutated.

Therefore, this conserved region of the viral protein is likely to remain unchanged in the presence of new mutant strains, and these regions may become ideal targets for novel vaccines and therapeutic means, and these vaccines or therapeutic strategies may not only be effective against new mutant strains, but also remain effective against new sarbecoviruses. In summary, the results of this study suggest that the researchers provide a blueprint that may help understand that a significant decrease in the binding level of other therapeutic monoclonal antibodies can lead to a weakening of neutralizing activity; the remodeling of the interaction between the receptor-binding domain of Omicron mutant strains and human ACE2 may help explain the results of the enhanced affinity of host receptors relative to ancestral viruses.