Vinay Sharma

Background Programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1)-blocking antibodies are approved to treat metastatic or locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) cases ineligible for curative surgery or radiation. Notwithstanding, some patients experience inadequate responses or severe immune-related adverse events (AEs), indicating the need for improved therapies. Cosibelimab is a high-affinity programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)-blocking antibody that activates innate and adaptive immunity by blocking PD-L1 interaction with PD-1 and B7-1 receptors. It is an unmodified immunoglobulin G1 subtype with a functional Fc domain capable of inducing antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity. Here, we present results of the pivotal study of patients with metastatic CSCC from an open-label, multicenter, multiregional, multicohort, phase 1 trial of cosibelimab. Methods In this trial, participants with metastatic CSCC received cosibelimab 800 mg intravenously every 2 weeks. Primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) by independent central review using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, V.1.1. Secondary endpoints included duration of response (DOR) and safety. Results Objective response was observed in 37 of 78 participants (47.4% (95% CI: 36.0% to 59.1%)), with median follow-up of 15.4 months (range: 0.4 to 40.5) as of data cut-off. Median DOR was not reached (range: 1.4+ to 34.1+ months), with response ongoing in 73.0% of participants. Common treatment-emergent AEs (≥15%) were fatigue (26.9%), rash (16.7%), and anemia (15.4%). Eighteen participants (23.1%) experienced immune-related AEs (grade 3: n=2 (2.6%); no grade 4/5). No treatment-related deaths were reported. Conclusions Cosibelimab demonstrated clinically meaningful ORR and DOR and was associated with a manageable safety profile. Trial registration number NCT03212404 .

The purpose of the current study is to examine the combined effect of identified antecedents of environmentally sustainable purchase behaviour such as, environmental awareness and knowledge, attitudes towards green purchasing, perceived consumer effectiveness and influence of peer groups. The study involves analysis of the 545 responses obtained from the structured survey conducted in the states of Western Uttar-Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the combined effect of the identified antecedents of green purchase behaviour. The analysis reveals that environmental awareness, perceived consumer effectiveness and peer group influence as highly significant predictors of green purchase intentions. Studies examining green purchase behaviour of Indian consumers are meagre, thus the present study tries to bridge this knowledge gap so that marketing and policy actors can design strategies and marketing programs to increase the adoption of green/environmentally sustainable products in India.

In this study, a wild (LPF-5) and a mutant (HN1) strain of A. niger were compared for lipase production. Several physical parameters (carbon source, nitrogen source, pH, temperature and incubation period) were optimized for maximization of lipase production. Lipase activity between wild type and mutant strain were compared. Among all carbon sources, mixture of glucose (1%, w/v) and olive oil (1%, v/v) exhibited maximum increase in the production of lipases by both the wild (94.91 ± 0.60 U mL-1 min-1) and mutant (118.23 ± 0.73 U mL-1 min-1) strain. Addition of glucose into the production medium (containing olive oil) increased the production of lipase up to 20% in case of both the strains. The production of lipase by both the strains was higher in the medium of pH 7.0 containing peptone (1%, w/v) as nitrogen source after 3 days of incubation at 28°C. The activity of lipase from HN1 strain in optimized medium was 40% higher (147.65 ± 1.14 U mL-1 min-1) than in un-optimized medium (105.19 ± 0.91 U mL-1 min-1), while it was 38% higher for LPF-5 strain in optimized medium. Therefore, the mutant strain (A. niger HN1) is prospective for the development of industrial biotechnology for production of extracellular lipase. Lipase enzyme was partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and 70% precipitate showed highest specific activity of 66.12 U mg-1 for mutant strain as compared to specific activity of 29.88 U mg-1 in crude lysate.   Key words: Wild strain, mutant strain, Aspergillus niger, lipase activity, specific activity, ammonium sulfate.