Comparative genomics of Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis unravels the gene sharing, virulence factors and SNP diversity among the standard, vaccine and field strains.

Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis are the primary etiological agents of brucellosis in large and small ruminants, respectively. There are limited comparative genomic studies involving Brucella strains that explore the relatedness among both species. In this study, we involved strains (n=44) representing standard, vaccine and Indian field origin for pangenome, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and phylogenetic analysis. Both species shared a common gene pool representing 2884 genes out of a total 3244 genes. SNP-based phylogenetic analysis indicated higher SNP diversity among B. melitensis (3824) strains in comparison to B. abortus (540) strains, and a clear demarcation was identified between standard/vaccine and field strains. The analysis for virulence genes revealed that virB3, virB7, ricA, virB5, ipx5, wbkC, wbkB, and acpXL genes were highly conserved in most of the Brucella strains. Interestingly, virB10 gene was found to have high variability among the B. abortus strains. The cgMLST analysis revealed distinct sequence types for the standard/vaccine and field strains. B. abortus strains from north-eastern India fall within similar sequence type differing from other strains. In conclusion, the analysis revealed a highly shared core genome among two Brucella species. SNP analysis revealed B. melitensis strains exhibit high diversity as compared to B. abortus strains. Strains with absence or high polymorphism of virulence genes can be exploited for the development of novel vaccine candidates effective against both B. abortus and B. melitensis.

Sampled-data controller scheme for multi-agent systems and its Application to circuit network.

The objective of this study is to investigate the synchronization criteria under the sampled-data control method for multi-agent systems (MASs) with state quantization and time-varying delay. Currently, a looped Lyapunov-Krasovskii Functional (LKF) has been developed, which integrates information from the sampling interval to ensure that the leader system synchronizes with the follower system, resulting in a specific condition in the form of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). The LMIs can be easily solved using the LMI Control toolbox in Matlab. Finally, the proposed approach's feasibility and effectiveness are demonstrated through numerical simulations and comparative results.

Rice yield and quality in response to daytime and nighttime temperature increase - A meta-analysis perspective.

Increased heat stress during cropping season poses significant challenges to rice production, yet the complex stoichiometry between rice grain yield, quality and high daytime, nighttime temperature remains with gaps in current knowledge. We conducted a meta-analysis using a combined dataset of 1105 experiments for daytime temperature and 841 experiments for nighttime temperature from published literature to investigate the effects of high daytime temperature (HDT) and high nighttime temperatures (HNT) on rice yield and its various components (such as panicle number, spikelet number per panicle, seed set rate, grain weight) and grain quality traits (such as milling yield, chalkiness, amylose and protein contents). We established relationships between rice yield, its components, grain quality and the HDT/HNT, and studied phenotypic plasticity of the traits in response to HDT and HNT. Results showed that HNT had a more detrimental impact on rice yield and quality when compared with the HDT. The optimum daytime and nighttime temperatures for best rice yield were approximately 28 °C and 22 °C, respectively. Grain yield showed a decline by 7% and 6% for each 1 °C increase in HNT and HDT, respectively, when exceeded the optimum temperatures. Seed set rate (i.e., percent fertility) was the most sensitive trait to HDT and HNT and accounted for most of the yield losses. Both the HDT and HNT affected grain quality by increasing chalkiness and decreasing head rice percentage, which may affect marketability of the rice produced. Additionally, HNT was found to significantly impact nutritional quality (e.g., protein content) of rice grains. Our findings fill current knowledge gaps on estimations of rice yield losses and possible economic consequences under high temperatures and suggest that impacts on rice quality should also be considered for selection and breeding of high-temperature tolerant rice varieties in response to HDT and HNT.

An Unguided, Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention (TreadWill) in a Lower Middle-Income Country: Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Globally, most individuals who are susceptible to depression do not receive adequate or timely treatment. Unguided computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (cCBT) has the potential to bridge this treatment gap. However, the real-world effectiveness of unguided cCBT interventions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), remains inconclusive. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to report the design and development of a new unguided cCBT-based multicomponent intervention, TreadWill, and its pragmatic evaluation. TreadWill was designed to be fully automated, engaging, easy to use, and accessible to LMICs. METHODS: To evaluate the effectiveness of TreadWill and the engagement level, we performed a double-blind, fully remote, and randomized controlled trial with 598 participants in India and analyzed the data using a completer's analysis. RESULTS: The users who completed at least half of the modules in TreadWill showed significant reduction in depression-related (P=.04) and anxiety-related (P=.02) symptoms compared with the waitlist control. Compared with a plain-text version with the same therapeutic content, the full-featured version of TreadWill showed significantly higher engagement (P=.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a new resource and evidence for the use of unguided cCBT as a scalable intervention in LMICs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03445598; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03445598.

Classification of COVID-19 from tuberculosis and pneumonia using deep learning techniques.

Deep learning provides the healthcare industry with the ability to analyse data at exceptional speeds without compromising on accuracy. These techniques are applicable to healthcare domain for accurate and timely prediction. Convolutional neural network is a class of deep learning methods which has become dominant in various computer vision tasks and is attracting interest across a variety of domains, including radiology. Lung diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), bacterial and viral pneumonias, and COVID-19 are not predicted accurately due to availability of very few samples for either of the lung diseases. The disease could be easily diagnosed using X-ray or CT scan images. But the number of images available for each of the disease is not as equally as other resulting in imbalance nature of input data. Conventional supervised machine learning methods do not achieve higher accuracy when trained using a lesser amount of COVID-19 data samples. Image data augmentation is a technique that can be used to artificially expand the size of a training dataset by creating modified versions of images in the dataset. Data augmentation helped reduce overfitting when training a deep neural network. The SMOTE (Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique) algorithm is used for the purpose of balancing the classes. The novelty in this research work is to apply combined data augmentation and class balance techniques before classification of tuberculosis, pneumonia, and COVID-19. The classification accuracy obtained with the proposed multi-level classification after training the model is recorded as 97.4% for TB and pneumonia and 88% for bacterial, viral, and COVID-19 classifications. The proposed multi-level classification method produced is ~8 to ~10% improvement in classification accuracy when compared with the existing methods in this area of research. The results reveal the fact that the proposed system is scalable to growing medical data and classifies lung diseases and its sub-types in less time with higher accuracy.

Mosquito Olfactory Response Ensemble enables pattern discovery by curating a behavioral and electrophysiological response database.

Many experimental studies have examined behavioral and electrophysiological responses of mosquitoes to odors. However, the differences across studies in data collection, processing, and reporting make it difficult to perform large-scale analyses combining data from multiple studies. Here we extract and standardize data for 12 mosquito species, along with Drosophila melanogaster for comparison, from over 170 studies and curate the Mosquito Olfactory Response Ensemble (MORE), publicly available at https://neuralsystems.github.io/MORE. We demonstrate the ability of MORE in generating biological insights by finding patterns across studies. Our analyses reveal that ORs are tuned to specific ranges of several physicochemical properties of odorants; the empty-neuron recording technique for measuring OR responses is more sensitive than the Xenopus oocyte technique; there are systematic differences in the behavioral preferences reported by different types of assays; and odorants tend to become less attractive or more aversive at higher concentrations.

Aqueous humor cytokines and cellular profiles in pediatric ocular granulomas caused by theTrematode Fluke Procerovum sp.

BACKGROUND: Children from coastal areas of South India develop granulomatous eye disease after swimming in their village ponds, the causative organism being trematode Procerovum. AIM: To understand the pathogenesis by analyzing the cellular profile, cytokines, and chemokines of aqueous fluid. METHODS: This was a prospective study over 1 year on pediatric patients with ocular granuloma caused by a Trematode Fluke Procerovum sp. Granuloma was aspirated along with 100 µl volume of aqueous humor. Immunohistochemical analysis of granuloma was performed. Bio-Plex Pro™ Human Cytokine 17-plex Assay (M5000031YV) was used to measure cytokine and chemokines. RESULTS: The immunohistochemistry revealed predominantly eosinophils, followed by macrophages (CD68+) and T - lymphocytes (CD4+). Both T-helper (Th) 1 and 2 mediated cytokines and chemokine levels were significantly high. As the disease duration increased, direct Th1 response reduced and was replaced by IL-12 and IL-17 mediated secondary Th1 response. CONCLUSION: Procerovum associated granulomatous disease is immunologically characterized by Th1 and Th2 cell-mediated responses. A balance between both arms maintains the eyes between granulomatous inflammation and healing by fibrosis.

Fate of enteric viruses during leafy greens (romaine lettuce) production using treated municipal wastewater and AP205 bacteriophage as a surrogate.

Water reuse programs are being explored to close the gap between supply and demand for irrigation in agriculture. However, these sources could contain hazardous microbial contaminants, and pose risks to public health. This study aimed to grow and irrigate romaine lettuce with inoculated wastewater effluent to track AP205 bacteriophage prevalence through cultivation and post-harvest storage. AP205 is a bacteriophage and was used as a surrogate for enteric viruses. Low and high dosages (mean ± standard deviation) of AP205 at 4.8 ± 0.4 log PFU/mL and 6.6 ± 0.2 log PFU/mL; respectively, were prepared to examine viral load influence on contamination levels. Foliage, leachate, and soil contamination levels were directly related to AP205 concentrations in the effluent. AP205 concentrations increased throughout cultivation for foliage and leachate, suggesting bacteriophage accumulation. During post-harvest storage (14 day at 4 °C), there was a significant decrease in AP205 concentration on the foliage. Results show that wastewater effluents usage for leafy greens cultivation can pose risks to humans and additional steps are required to safely apply wastewater effluents to soils and crops.

Bluetongue in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis with emphasis on diagnosis and seroprevalence.

Bluetongue (BT) is an infectious viral disease which affects a wide range of ruminants and was first reported in India in 1964. In view of the absence of comprehensive information on the BT status in India, this study presents the seroprevalence on BT in farm animals of India based-on a systematic review and meta-analysis. A systematic review was conducted to identify the published articles (2001-2018) reporting the seroprevalence of BT in sheep, goats, cattle, buffalo, camels, and Mithun (Bos frontalis) from India. From 409 research articles, 71 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and meta-analysis for proportions was carried out targeting the eligible studies. From these, 144 strata level data were extracted with a sample size of 14048 sheep, 14696 goats, 5218 cattle, 2653 buffaloes, 2062 camels, and 222 Mithun. Overall, the analyses showed that the BT seroprevalence of 43% (95% CI: 38-49%) in goats, 39% (95% CI: 33-46%) in sheep, 38% (95% CI: 25-45%) in cattle, 34% (95% CI: 20-51%) in buffaloes, 16% (95% CI: 10-22%) in camels, and 66% (95% CI: 17-95%) in Mithun. Furthermore, the meta-regression analysis suggested that serological tests, geographical region, and sample size were the prime moderators. Meta-analytic study indicates the BT seropositivity in 25.35 million sheep (95% CI: 21.5-29.9), 58 million goats (95% CI: 51.3-66.2), 66.8 million cattle (95% CI: 47.7-86), 37.0 million buffaloes (95% CI: 21.7-55.4), 0.06 million camels (95% CI: 0.04-0.09), and 0.19 million Mithun (95% CI: 0.05-0.28). The findings highlight the variation of BT seropositivity in different geographical regions of India.

Morphological and Chemical Alterations of Root Surface after Er:YAG laser, Nd:YAG Laser Irradiation: A Scanning Electron Microscopic and Infrared Spectroscopy Study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Nd:YAG and Er:YAG lasers in removing the smear layer and to study the morphological and chemical alterations of the root surface using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-five extracted upper incisor teeth were collected and 110 specimens of size 3 mm × 4 mm × 1 mm were prepared. For SEM evaluation, these samples were divided into six groups: A, B, and C. Group A comprised five samples that served as control. Groups B and C were further divided into five subgroups and each subgroup comprised five samples. All the specimens within the subgroups of B and C irradiated with 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 mJ of Er:YAG laser and 211.66, 423.33, 635, 846.66, and 1058.33 J/cm2 of Nd:YAG laser, respectively. The morphological changes of the laser-treated sites were observed qualitatively using an arbitrary scale under SEM. The data obtained were statistically analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) multiple range test by Turkey's honestly significant difference and Mann-Whitney U test. In chemical structural changes, Group D comprised five samples that served as nonirradiated control and Groups E and F were irradiated with the same aforementioned parameter and evaluated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS: Er:YAG laser at 100 mJ effectively removed smear layer without any crater formation. The Nd:YAG laser removed the smear layer at the energy density of 211.66 J/cm2 and 423.33J/cm2. The energy density of 1058.33 J/cm2 showed visible charring and deep crater with increased area of melted and resolidified minerals in SEM. In the chemical changes, IR spectroscopy graph showed the reduction in peak intensity beyond 846.66 J/cm2 of and new absorption band was noticed (2010cm-1 and 2017cm-1) at samples treated with 846.66 and 1058.33 J/cm2 of Nd:YAG laser. CONCLUSION: Er:YAG laser at lower energy density effectively removed smear layer without production of toxic substance as compared with Nd:YAG laser. Thus, Er:YAG laser can be used as an effective root biomodification agent.

Synthesized bioadsorbent from fish scale for chromium (III) removal.

Presence of heavy metal in industrial wastewater is hazardous to the surrounding environment. Biosorption of heavy metal is an effective technology for the treatment of industrial wastewater. This research work has been carried out on removal of chromium (III) metal ions by employing waste fish scales as bioadsorbent. A batch adsorption process was carried out with different adsorbent dosage, solution pH and contact time. The results show the highest 99.7518 % chromium (III) metal ions at bioadsorbent dosage 0.8 g, pH of the solution 5 and contact time 90 min, initial concentration 150 mg/l chromium ion. The adsorption isotherms data fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm model with R2 = 0.9998, qmax = 18.3486 mg/g, and RL = 0.00007325. As well as pseudo-first and second kinetics model was also analyzed for the description of adsorption and found to be well fitted (R2 = 1) for adsorption kinetics. The surface properties activated fish scales and chromium loaded fish scale were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermal analysis and agree with outcomes.

Cross-sectional study on rotavirus A (RVA) infection and assessment of risk factors in pre- and post-weaning piglets in India.

Rotavirus A (RVA) infections are known to retard the piglets' growth and minimize the profit to the pig farming community. Between August 2014 and July 2017, in a cross-sectional study, we surveyed 13 organized pig farms located in the eight states of India representing northern, north-eastern and southern regions, to identify the risk factors associated with RVA infection in pre- and post-weaning piglets. Faecal samples (n = 411) comprising of non-diarrhoeic (n = 320) and diarrhoeic (n = 91) were collected and screened for RVA infection using VP6 gene-based RT-PCR. RVA positivity of 52.5% (168/320) in non-diarrhoeic and 59.3% (54/91) in diarrhoeic piglets was noticed. Further, 53.3% (120/225) and 54.8% (102/186) of the samples from pre- and post-weaned samples were positive for RVA, respectively. To note, no statistically significant association was noticed between RVA infection, health and weaning status. Additionally, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted to identify the risk factors for RVA infections in piglets. The analysis revealed that good ventilation (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.15-0.39), use of deep well water (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.13-0.43) and feeding of commercial feed (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.18-0.41) were associated with reduced risk of RVA infection compared with poor ventilation, use of shallow well water and feeding of own milled feed, respectively. Contrarily, mixed farms (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.26-3.37), use of heater or cooler (OR 5.9, 95% CI 3.74-9.30), sheds in different elevation (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.20-5.01) and weekly and occasional use of disinfectant for surface cleaning (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.12-2.96) were associated with higher RVA infection. Mitigating the risk factors might help in better health management of piglets and increase the economic return to pig farming community in the country.

Indian guidelines on imaging of the small intestine in Crohn's disease: A joint Indian Society of Gastroenterology and Indian Radiology and Imaging Association consensus statement.

The Indian Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) Task Force on Inflammatory Bowel Disease and the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA) developed combined ISG-IRIA evidence-based best-practice guidelines for imaging of the small intestine in patients suspected to have or having Crohn's disease. The 29 consensus statements, developed through a modified Delphi process, are intended to serve as reference for teaching, clinical practice, and research.

Investigations on the enhanced dye degradation activity of heterogeneous BiFeO3-GdFeO3 nanocomposite photocatalyst.

Perovskite types of nanocomposites of BiFeO3-GdFeO3 (BFO-GFO) has been synthesized using sol-gel route for the first time. The nanocomposite powders were characterized by powder X-Ray diffraction (PXRD) to confirm the existence of mixed crystallographic phases. EDX analysis on nanocomposites estimates the composition of individual element present in BFO-GFO matrix. The induced strain upon loading GdFeO3(GFO) in BiFeO3 (BFO) matrix has been computed with the aid of Williamson -Hall (W-H) plot. Surface morphologies of nanocomposite powders has been studied using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) images. The observed changes in the band gap energies of nanocomposite powders due to the inclusion of GFO has been ascertained from the tauc plots. PL emission of BFO upon loading GFO found to have detected in the IR region due to defect level transition. Finally, the methylene blue dye (MB) degradation characteristics of BFO, GFO and the nanocomposite powders of BFO-GFO have also been studied. The overall results obtained has been discussed in detail.

A non-beta-lactam antibiotic inhibitor for enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O104:H4.

The overuse of antibiotics has caused an increased prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria. Bacterial resistance in E. coli is regulated via production of ß-lactam-hydrolyzing ß-lactamases enzymes. Escherichia coli O104: H4 is a multi-drug resistant strain known to resist ß-lactam as well as several other antibiotics. Here, we report a molecular dynamic simulation-combined docking approach to identify, screen, and verify active pharmacophores against enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). Experimental studies revealed a boronic acid cyclic monomer (BACM), a non-ß-lactam compound, to inhibit the growth of E. coli O104: H4. In vitro Kirby Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility testing coupled interaction analysis suggests BACM inhibits E. coli O104:H4 growth by not only inhibiting the ß-lactamase pathway but also via direct inhibition of the penicillin-binding protein. These results suggest that BACM could be used as a lead compound to develop potent drugs targeting beta-lactam resistant Gram-negative bacterial strains. KEY MESSAGES: • An in silico approach was reported to identify pharmacophores against E. coli O104: H4. • In vitro studies revealed a non-ß-lactam compound to inhibit the growth of E. coli O104: H4. • This non-ß-lactam compound could be used as a lead compound for targeting beta-lactam strains.

Risk factor analysis, antimicrobial resistance and pathotyping of Escherichia coli associated with pre- and post-weaning piglet diarrhoea in organised farms, India.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2014 to 2017 in 13 organised pig farms located in eight states of India (Northern, North-Eastern and Southern regions) to identify the risk factors, pathotype and antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli associated with pre- and post-weaning piglet diarrhoea. The data collected through questionnaire survey were used to identify the risk factors by univariable analysis, in which weaning status, season, altitude, ventilation in the shed, use of heater/cooler for temperature control in the sheds, feed type, water source, and use of disinfectant, were the potential risk factors. In logistic regression model, weaning and source of water were the significant risk factors. The piglet diarrhoea prevalence was almost similar across the regions. Of the 909 faecal samples collected (North - 310, North-East - 194 and South - 405) for isolation of E. coli, pathotyping and antibiotic screening, 531 E. coli were isolated in MacConkey agar added with cefotaxime, where 345 isolates were extended spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL) producers and were positive for blaCTX-M-1 (n = 147), bla TEM (n = 151), qnrA (n = 98), qnrB (n = 116), qnrS (n = 53), tetA (n = 46), tetB (n = 48) and sul1 (n = 54) genes. Multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index revealed that 14 (2.64%) isolates had MAR index of 1. On the virulence screening of E. coli, 174 isolates harboured alone or combination of Stx1, Stx2, eaeA, hlyA genes. The isolates from diarrhoeic and post-weaning samples harboured higher number of virulence genes than non-diarrhoeic and pre-weaning. Alleviating the risk factors might reduce the piglet diarrhoea cases. The presence of multidrug-resistant and ESBL-producing pathogenic E. coli in piglets appears a public health concern.

Feature Selection and Parameters Optimization of Support Vector Machines Based on Hybrid Glowworm Swarm Optimization for Classification of Diabetic Retinopathy.

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) has been a leading cause of blindness in case of human beings falling between the ages of 20 and 74 years. This will have a major influence on both the patient and the society as it can normally influence the humans in their gainful years. An early DR detection is quite challenging as it may not be detected by humans. There are several techniques and algorithms that have been established for detecting the DR. These techniques have been facing problems to achieve effective sensitivity, accuracy, and specificity. In order to overcome all these problems, the work has proposed one more such effective algorithm for image processing in order to increase the efficiency and also identify easily the DR diseases. A major challenge in the task is the automatic detection of the microaneurysms. In this work, the Support Vector Machine (SVM) parameters optimized with Glowworm Swarm Optimization (GSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used to classify the DR. Because the SVM parameter C and γ to control the performance of the classifier. For this work, the SVMs get fused with the hybrid GSO-GA along with the feature chromosomes that are generated that will thereby direct the GA search to a straight line of the error of optimal generalization in their super parameter space. This GSO algorithm will not have memory and the glow worms will not retain any information in memory. The results of the experiment prove that this method had achieved a better performance.

Immunohistochemical Analysis of the Role Connective Tissue Growth Factor in Drug-induced Gingival Overgrowth in Response to Phenytoin, Cyclosporine, and Nifedipine.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate for the presence of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in drug (phenytoin, cyclosporine, and nifedipine)-induced gingival overgrowth (DIGO) and to compare it with healthy controls in the absence of overgrowth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-five patients were chosen for the study and segregated into study (25) and control groups (10). The study group consisted of phenytoin-induced (10), cyclosporine-induced (10), and nifedipine-induced (5) gingival overgrowth. After completing necessary medical evaluations, biopsy was done. The tissue samples were fixed in 10% formalin and then immunohistochemically evaluated for the presence of CTGF. The statistical analysis of the values was done using statistical package SPSS PC+ (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 4.01). RESULTS: The outcome of immunohistochemistry shows that DIGO samples express more CTGF than control group and phenytoin expresses more CTGF followed by nifedipine and cyclosporine. CONCLUSION: The study shows that there is an increase in the levels of CTGF in patients with DIGO in comparison to the control group without any gingival overgrowth. In the study, we compared the levels of CTGF in DIGO induced by three most commonly used drugs phenytoin, cyclosporine, and nifedipine. By comparing the levels of CTGF, we find that cyclosporine induces the production of least amount of CTGF. Therefore, it might be a more viable drug choice with reduced side effects.

Ocular Spot Fluorometer Equipped With a Lock-In Amplifier for Measurement of Aqueous Flare.

PURPOSE: To evaluate a custom-made ocular fluorometer for detection of intensity of light scatter (ILS) from the anterior chamber (A/C) as an objective measure of aqueous flare. METHODS: The fluorometer, equipped with a lock-in amplifier, was employed in the scatter mode to detect ILS from A/C. Measurements were performed with two illumination slit widths of 0.5 and 0.25 mm. The axial resolution at these slit widths were 80 and 200 µm, respectively. Healthy and pseudophakic eyes, with grade 0 Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) score, were employed as control subjects. ILS was also recorded in a cohort of patients who had undergone phacoemulsification and showed grades 1+ or 2+ on postoperative days 1 and 4. RESULTS: The inter- and intraobserver variabilities in the measurement of ILS were not significant. In cataract patients, ILS was significantly higher on postoperative day 1 relative to healthy eyes. By day 4, ILS decreased significantly and was only marginally different from ILS in quiet pseudophakic eyes or healthy eyes. Eyes with higher SUN scores showed proportionately increased ILS. The receiver-operator characteristic analysis indicated no advantage in using the smaller slit width in discriminating ILS at different SUN scores although it provided higher axial resolution. CONCLUSIONS: The lock-in-based spot fluorometer is reliable for measurement of ILS with high precision and accuracy.The measured ILS correlates linearly with SUN scores and can be used to provide a higher granularity for recording aqueous flare. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: The instrument can be used in the clinical management of uveitis and drug development toward uveitis.

Nutrient loading impacts on culturable E. coli and other heterotrophic bacteria fate in simulated stream mesocosms.

Understanding fecal indicator bacteria persistence in aquatic environments is important when making management decisions to improve instream water quality. Routinely, bacteria fate and transport models that rely on published kinetic decay constants are used to inform such decision making but may not adequately represent instream conditions. The objective of this work was to evaluate bacterial responses to applied nutrient amendments and provide additional information regarding bacterial response to applied changes that can be incorporated into future modeling efforts. Re-created stream mesocosms were established in laboratory-based, repurposed algae raceways filled with water and sediment from a small, 3rd order Southeast Texas stream. Mesocosm treatments consisted of low (10x) or high (50x) nutrient doses above ambient water concentrations operated at low (0.032 m/s) or high (0.141 m/s) flow rates. Escherichia coli and heterotrophic bacterial concentrations were quantified in water and sediment over 22 days. No significant differences in kinetic constants were observed among E. coli in water or sediment, and only E. coli in sediment showed any growth response. Heterotrophic plate counts revealed a pronounced growth response in water and sediment within 24 h of nutrient addition but did not differ significantly from control mesocosms. Significant kinetic constant differences between E. coli and heterotrophic bacteria in water were identified (p < 0.01) but did not differ significantly in sediment (p > 0.48). Results indicate that nutrient addition does affect microbial numbers instream, but competition from heterotrophic bacteria may prevent an E. coli growth response.