An enhanced productivity of pink oyster mushroom with improved nutritional profile, characterization and attempt for commercial exploitation.

BACKGROUND: An attempt has been made to explore the nutritional profile of pink oyster mushrooms that have been grown in various agricultural residues, including sugarcane bagasse, rice straw, coconut coir and sawdust, along with other nutrient supplements such as defatted mustard and chickpea powder, for appropriate growth and fruiting body formation in a short span of time. The spawn production was experimented with five different grain varieties. The study became interesting when the observations differed slightly from the traditional practices, with the addition of defatted mustard supplements resulting in a positive correlation with respect to reducing the fruiting time, as well as improving yield and the nutritional profile of Pleurotus djamor. RESULTS: An elevated yield of 651.93 g kg-1 was recorded in the medium where the RS and DM were used in the ratio of 1:0.01 (rice straw +1% w/w defatted mustard) bag, whereas, in terms of protein content, a maximum yield of 32.57 ± 0.79 mg g-1 was observed when SB:DM was in the same ratio (sugarcane bagasse +1% w/w defatted mustard) bag. CONCLUSION: To confer the best outcomes from the screened substrates, a series of experiments were performed by varying the concentration of RS and SB, with 1% w/w DM. It is worth noting that the highest protein content of 32.76 ± 0.38 mg g-1 was obtained along with the total yield of 702.56 ± 2.9 g kg-1 of mushroom when the ratio of RS:SB was 0.7:0.3. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

CRISPR-Cas system: from diagnostic tool to potential antiviral treatment.

This mini review focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of virus diseases using Crisper-Cas technology. The present paper describes various strategies involved in diagnosing diseases using Crispr-Cas-based assays. Additionally, CRISPR-Cas systems offer great potential as new therapeutic tools for treating viral infections including HIV, Influenza, and SARS-CoV-2. There are several major challenges to be overcome before this technology can be applied routinely in clinical settings, such as finding a suitable delivery tool, toxicity, and immunogenicity, as well as off-target effects. This review also discusses ways to deal with the challenges associated with Crisper-Cas technology. KEY POINTS: • Crisper technology is being applied to diagnose infectious and non-infectious diseases. • A new generation of CRISPR-Cas-based assays has been developed which detect pathogens within minutes, providing rapid diagnosis of diseases. • Crispr-Cas tools can be used to combat viral infections, specifically HIV, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2.

Impact of maternal thyroid disease on neonatal thyroid status.

OBJECTIVES: Prevalence of Maternal and congenital hypothyroidism is on the rise. To present the thyroid stimulating hormone screening results in babies born to hypothyroid mothers and assess the burden, aetiology of hypothyroidism in these babies. METHODS: All antenatal mothers attending our hospital during the study period were enrolled into the study. Group I includes 249 term babies born to hypothyroid mothers and group II comprises 2154 newborns born to mothers who are euthyroid. Heel prick thyroid stimulating hormone was done for all newborns on day 3 for both groups. Confirmatory venous testing was done for all for babies in group I and screen positives belonging to group II. Evaluation and therapy done as per standard guidelines. RESULTS: Thyroid stimulating hormone values in the two groups are presented. There was significant correlation between peak maternal thyroid stimulating hormone and neonatal day 3 heel prick in group I (r=0.7, P<0.05). The prevalence of positive screening test in groups I and II was 3.8 and 1.03% (p<0.05) whereas corresponding values for confirmed disease was 4.3 and 0.6%, respectively (p<0.05). Aetiological evaluation revealed both transient hypothyroidism (33.3%) and permanent hypothyroidism (66.6%). CONCLUSION: 4.3% of babies born to hypothyroid mothers develop congenital hypothyroidism; aetiology being both transient and permanent. A venous test by 3 weeks is helpful in these babies to improve case identification.