TLC-bioautography identification and GC-MS analysis of antimicrobial and antioxidant active compounds in Musa × paradisiaca L. fruit pulp essential oil.

INTRODUCTION: The absence of microbial growth and resistance to oxidative deterioration in fruits of Musa × paradisiaca L. (bananas) is an indication of the presence of antimicrobial and antioxidant metabolites. OBJECTIVE: In order to investigate the secondary metabolomic spectrum as well as the active antimicrobial and antioxidants present in essential oils (EOs) from fruits of different geographical areas of M. × paradisiaca, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) principal component data correlation analysis is complemented with antimicrobial assays and phytochemical and bioautographic antioxidant fingerprints with thin layer chromatography (TLC). METHODOLOGY: An EO was obtained by steam distillation and subjected to GC-MS and TLC for metabolomic profiling from fruit pulp. The antimicrobial potential was tested in both Escherichia coli as a gram negative and Bacillus subtilis as a gram positive microbe. Potential antioxidant metabolites were identified through TLC-bioautography and GC-MS analysis of active zones. RESULTS: A maximum of 0.56% v/w EO was isolated from fruit pulps of M. × paradisiaca. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against B. subtillis and E. coli were 0.25 and 0.35 µg/mL, respectively. Thus, 56 metabolites were identified through GC-MS. The major abundant antimicrobial metabolites found in EOs are α-thujene, γ-terpinene, α- and ß-pinene, sabinene, ß-myrcene, limonene, α-capaene, caryophyllene and (Z,E)-α farnesene. Aceteugenol, palmitic acid, stearic acid, palmitin, and stearin were identified as antioxidant metabolites. Principal component analysis of metabolite data reveals correlations and a clear separation based on metabolites obtained from various areas. CONCLUSION: The data generated using metabolic profiling and cluster analysis helped to identify antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds in M. × paradisiaca.

Inflammatory markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are the consequence of a persistent imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory immune mechanisms, leading to chronic inflammation. The objective of this study was to determine whether the high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and cytokines are elevated in RA patients and to investigate the relationship between these markers and disease activity in RA, measured by disease activity score 28 (DAS28). METHODS: We studied 110 RA patients according to American College of Rheumatology revised criteria for RA, and 55 controls matched by age and sex. Serum levels of hs-CRP and cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were estimated and correlated with the DAS28. Serum hs-CRP was assayed immunoturbidimetrically and cytokines were analysed by commercially available ELISA kit. RESULTS: We found that RA patients had significantly higher levels of serum hs-CRP (p<0.001), IL-6 (p<0.001), TNF-α (p<0.001), and IL-10 (p<0.01) as compared to healthy controls. hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α correlated positively (p<0.001) and IL-10 correlated negatively (p<0.01) with DAS28. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that RA patients have high levels of inflammatory markers, and these levels are correlated with the DAS28. These findings suggest a possible role of these markers in the pathogenesis of RA. Moreover, these biomarkers can be used as markers of disease activity in the diagnosis and treatment of RA.

Arsenic and cadmium are inhibitors of cyanobacterial dinitrogenase reductase (nifH1) gene.

The enzyme nitrogenase complex is a key component conferring nitrogen fixation in all known diazotrophs. This study for the first time examines the impact of As, Na, Cd, Cu and butachlor on component II (dinitrogenase reductase, nifH1) of nitrogenase from diazotrophic cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC7120 using in silico and wet lab approaches. The nifH1 of Anabaena is a glycine-rich stable protein having DNA-binding properties and shows close similarity with free living compared with symbiotic diazotrophs. Phylogenetic tree revealed an adverse effect of the selected stresses on close homologs across the diazotroph community. The protein interaction network demonstrated the presence of nirA, glnA, glnB, alr4255 and alr2485 proteins besides nif proteins, suggesting their involvement in nitrogen fixation along with nifH1. Homology modelling and docking under As, Na, Cd, Cu and butachlor revealed an interaction between stressors and nifH1 protein which was further validated by a transcript of the gene through quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Presence of binding sites for As, Na, Cd and Cu on oxyR promoter attested their adverse affects on nifH1. Maximum down-regulation of nifH1 in Cd and As followed by salt, copper and butachlor revealed that arsenic and cadmium were most potential inhibitors of nitrogenase of diazotrophic community, which might negatively affect crop yield.

A new arsenate reductase involved in arsenic detoxification in Anabaena sp. PCC7120.

In silico analysis followed by experimental validation leads us to propose that the predicted protein All0195 of Anabaena sp. PCC7120 showing enhanced expression under sodium arsenate (Na2HAsO4) stress belongs to the thioredoxin superfamily with structural similarity to bacterial arsenate reductase. The All0195 protein demonstrated C-X-TC-X-K, NTSG-X2-YR, and D-X2-L-X-KRP as functional motifs that show similarity to seven known bacterial arsenate reductase family protein homologs with Cys, Arg, and Pro as conserved residues. In view of physicochemical properties, such as aliphatic index, ratio of Glu + Lys to Gln + His, and secondary structure, it was evident that All0195 was also a thermostable protein. The predicted three-dimensional structure on molecular docking with arsenate oxyanion ([Formula: see text]) revealed its interaction with conserved Cys residue as also known for other bacterial arsenate reductase. In silico derived properties were experimentally attested by cloning and heterologous expression of all0195. Furthermore, this protein functionally complemented the arsenate reductase-deficient sodium arsenate-hypersensitive phenotype of Escherichia coli strainWC3110 (ΔarsC) and depicted arsenate reductase activity on purification. In view of the above properties, All0195 appears to be a new arsenate reductase involved in arsenic detoxification in Anabaena sp. PCC7120.

Growing Skull Fractures; Pathogenesis and Surgical Outcome.

BACKGROUND: We performed a retrospective study of 67 patients and their data for radiological investigations by serial Xrays, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, uniform surgical procedure of craniotomy. The results were analyzed to determine the natural course of the disease, anatomical changes at various intervals following trauma, and outcome of surgical procedure in terms of cranial reconstruction, seizures, and progress in neurological deficit. RESULTS: Among 67 patients, 34 (50.74%) were male and 33 (49.26%) were female patients. About 86.67% of patients sustained the injury before the age of 3 years. Development of seizures in 28 patients (41.80%) is the most common symptom. In our study, 43.28% of patients (29 cases) had a combination of Type I and II of growing skull fracture. The dural defects confirmed in all cases were nearly twice (average 1.42) as large as the bone defects. All patients under the age of 3 years with diastatic skull fracture should be closely followed up and should be examined 2-3 months later to look for evidence of a growing skull fracture. Linear fractures and burst fractures in an infant with a scalp swelling must be corrected early to prevent a growing skull fracture. CONCLUSION: Early management can avoid difficult surgical dissection and progressive neurological sequelae seen with delayed intervention. Surgical correction results in the prevention of brain shift and increase in meningocerebral cicatrices. Meticulous surgery and vigilant postoperative care reduce the morbidity and mortality. In our opinion, the autologous material is the best choice because of its tissue compatibility, convenience, inexpensiveness, and rare rate of infection.

Effectiveness of a training program about bio-medical waste management on the knowledge and practices of health-care professionals at a tertiary care teaching institute of North India.

BACKGROUND: Training of health-care providers about the various aspects of biomedical waste (BMW) management and handling (M and H) rules can improve the safe disposal of BMW and protect the patients and public from related hazards. OBJECTIVES: Our study objective was to evaluate the existing knowledge regarding BMW management rules among selected health-care professionals and to evaluate the impact of training program on BMW management on the knowledge and practices of health-care professionals. METHODOLOGY: The training program on BMW management rules was conducted in April 2018. A total of 250 participants were trained. A structured validated questionnaire was used. The data were analyzed, and the mean score of pre- and post-test was compared by the paired-t test. RESULTS: Majority of the participants were female (83%) aged 20-30 years (56%). The majority of the participants were married (74%) and were from urban areas (74%). The mean pretest and posttest score were 14.00 and 19.94 respectively (P < 0.000). CONCLUSION: The structured training on all aspects of BMW management led to statistically significant improvement in the knowledge among health-care professionals. RECOMMENDATIONS: Such training programs need to be regularly conducted.

Comparative evaluation of indigenous ELISAs for detection of anti-cysticercus IgG antibodies in serum from clinically and radiologically suspected cases of neurocysticercosis.

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is an important but neglected tropical infectious disease, which is recently recognized as a global problem due to its potentiality for human-to-human transmission beyond tropics. The laboratory diagnosis of NCC is considered useful to confirm clinical and radiological diagnosis. However there is a lack of indigenous diagnostic method particularly in the tropical developing countries. Present study aimed to develop and evaluate indigenously developed anti-cysticercus IgG-ELISAs for possible diagnosis of NCC among patients presenting with seizures. Three indigenous antibody detection assays were developed employing three different antigenic preparations from T. solium metacestode larvae (viz., TsM-CF, TsM-CW and TsM-PS). The overall test results showed varying levels of IgG titers in response to the three antigenic preparations as compared with the standard commercially procured antibody-ELISA. Total soluble protein extract of protoscoleces or TsM-PS-Ag employed in the indigenously developed IgG ELISA is recommended to be used as a routine screening test for a confirmatory diagnosis of NCC and other forms of cysticercosis in humans.

Biosorption of chromium(VI) from aqueous solutions by green algae Spirogyra species.

Biosorption of heavy metals is an effective technology for the treatment of industrial wastewaters. Results are presented showing the sorption of Cr(VI) from solutions by biomass of filamentous algae Spirogyra species. Batch experiments were conducted to determine the adsorption properties of the biomass and it was observed that the adsorption capacity of the biomass strongly depends on equilibrium pH. Equilibrium isotherms were also obtained and maximum removal of Cr(VI) was around 14.7 x 10(3) mg metal, kg of dry weight biomass at a pH of 2.0 in 120 min with 5 mg/l of initial concentration. The results indicated that the biomass of Spirogyra species is suitable for the development of efficient biosorbent for the removal and recovery of Cr(VI) from wastewater.

Development and characterization of mucoadhesive microspheres bearing salbutamol for nasal delivery.

Mucoadhesive drug delivery systems are those that provide intimate contact of the drug with the mucosa for an extended period of time. In our present work, mucoadhesive chitosan microspheres were prepared by emulsion solvent method. Formulations were characterized for various physicochemical attributes, shape, surface morphology, size, and size distribution, drug payload, swelling ability, and mucoadhesion. The effect of drug, citric acid, and permeation enhancer concentration on the physicochemical properties was studied. Crosslinked chitosan microspheres showed very good mucoadhesion, which was decreased on increasing the drug concentration and citric acid concentration, and slightly improved upon incorporation of permeation enhancer. The in vitro drug release and in vitro drug permeability through mucous membrane were performed, and slow release/permeation was noted with chitosan citrate complexed microspheres compared with noncomplexed chitosan microspheres. The in vivo performance of mucoadhesive microspheres formulations showed prolonged and controlled release of salbutamol as compared with oral administration of conventional dosage form.

Modulation of low-temperature-induced biochemical changes in bud and root band zones of sugar cane sets by potassium, zinc, and Ethrel for improving sprouting.

Low-temperature-induced biochemical changes in bud and root band zone of the sugar cane set suppress sprouting, which is responsible for drastic yield decline in ratoon crops. This study was undertaken to modulate these low-temperature-induced biochemical changes using potassium, zinc, and Ethrel to enhance the sprouting of buds at 5 and 10 degrees C. Potassium, zinc, and Ethrel led to 80, 50, and 40% improvement in bud sprouting at 5 degrees C, respectively. An increase in reducing sugars and a decrease in sucrose contents were recorded with treatment of potassium, zinc, and Ethrel. Acid invertase, adenosine triphosphatase, indoleacetic acid oxidase, and nitrate reductase in vivo activities were also enhanced. However, treatments led to a significant decline in indoleacetic acid, total phenols, and superoxide dismutase activity, which rendered the in situ toxicity buildup in sets at low temperatures.

Use of glutaraldehyde and benzalkonium chloride for minimizing post-harvest physio-chemical and microbial changes responsible for sucrose losses in sugar cane.

Sugar cane is sensitive to enormous sucrose losses induced by physio-chemical and microbial changes, the severity being increased during the time lag between harvest and crushing in the mills. Minimization of the sucrose losses in the field is essential for better sugar recovery and prevention of sucrose losses. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of glutaraldehyde and benzalkonium chloride for their effects on the microbial counts and physio-chemical changes responsible for sucrose losses. Glutaraldehyde and benzalkonium chloride (1000 + 250 ppm) reduced the losses in sucrose content to 7.1% as compared to the 30.8% loss in the control, thus improving the performance by 76.9%. The application of chemicals reduced the acid invertase activity (by 60%), lowered weight loss, titrable acidity, reducing sugars content, dextran, ethanol, and ethylene production and respiration rates. The application led to the reduction in the total bacterial, fungal, Leuconostoc, and yeast counts by 67.92, 51.3%, 26.08, and 51.2%, respectively.

Microdetermination of vanadium in water samples.

The proposed method incorporates preconcentration of vanadium in water samples by its coprecipitation on ferric hydroxide at pH 8.0-9.6 which is redissolved in sulphuric acid; this is followed by extraction with N-phenylbenzohydroxamic acid (PBHA). The precision and accuracy of the newly developed method was ascertained by analysing EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.A.) standard water samples.

Psychosis in relation to epilepsy - a clinical model of neuro - psychiatry.

Psychosis occurring in epileptics has always been an area of research interest, particularly, because of possible link of mental illness, organic lesions, convulsive process and behavioural abnormlity, all occuring together in the same subject. Vast amount of investigation on this subject has been done with a view to understand something more fundamental in 'Brain-Behaviour Connection'. Occurance of interictal phase of psychosis long after cessation of seizure has driven investigators to conclude the two being unrelated, which has brought important issues of brain pathology and behavioural abnormality into focus of research from dimensions of genetics, neuroendocrine and environmental influences. The aspects of behavioural neurology, behavioural genetics, genetics of epilepsy and 'shared common genetic diathesis for development of psychosis, possibly converge in the neuropsychiatric model of psychosis in relation to epilepsy'. E.E.G.- spiking and regional slow waves in inter - ictal phase are emerging as correlates determining behaviour. Status of prolactin - dopamine relationship and its correlation to neuro - cognition may be another pointer in guiding some of these complex issues. It is expected that current focus of research should be able to develop on the profile of 'psychotic brain' also. One of the major clinical issue is identifying epileptic subjects prone to develop psychosis with precision of nature and type, not only because such developments jeopardises and compromises the state of art treatment done for epilepsy, but also because of devastating deterioration in quality of life of patients and relatives, besides having pharmacoeconmic devaluations. Studies have revealed that more detailed work up in the beginning may possibly identify high risk groups based upon clinical phenomenlogy, E.E.G. topography, endocrine status, regional brain damage, etc.The presention attempts to focus some of the relevant clinical issues with reference to a particular comparative study of psychosis in epilepsy and functional psychosis (schizophrenia) to understand co-existence of divergent clinical conditions.