Sarcina ventriculi associated gastritis: Mimicking lymphoma on endoscopy.

Sarcina Ventriculi is a gram-positive anaerobic coccus rarely reported in patients with delayed gastric emptying, emphysematous gastritis, gastric ulcers, and perforation. So far, less than 30 cases of sarcina isolated from the stomach have been reported. Herein, we describe a case of a 66-year-old male with a history of persistent epigastric pain and regurgitation. The upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy revealed gastric erythema, edema, ulceration, and food bezoar. A gastric biopsy was done to rule out lymphoma. On histopathological examination, sarcina Ventriculi was identified. This organism is likely to get underreported as it may not be that obvious on routinely stained biopsies. Given its association with life-threatening illness such as emphysematous gastritis and perforation, awareness of this organism is important. It's presence in gastric biopsies must be mentioned in the report and should prompt the clinicians to investigate further for functional causes of delayed gastric emptying and gastric outlet obstruction like occult malignancy.

Early detection of stripe rust infection in wheat using light-induced fluorescence spectroscopy.

In the current study, the application of fluorescence spectroscopy along with the advanced statistical technique and confocal microscopy was investigated for the early detection of stripe rust infection in wheat grown under field conditions. The indigenously developed Fluorosensor fitted with LED, emitting monochromatic light was used that covered comparatively larger leaf area for recording fluorescence data thus presenting more reliable current status of the leaf. The examined leaf samples covered the entire range of stripe rust disease infection from no visible symptoms to the complete disease prevalence. The molecular changes were also assessed in the leaves as the disease progresses. The emission spectra mainly produce two fluorescence emission classes, namely the blue-green fluorescence (400-600 nm range) and chlorophyll fluorescence (650-800 nm range). The chlorophyll fluorescence region showed lower chlorophyll bands both at 685 and 735 nm in the asymptomatic (early diseased) and symptomatic (diseased) leaf samples than the healthy ones as a result of partial deactivation of PSII reaction centers. The 735 nm chlorophyll fluorescence band was either slight or completely absent in the leaf samples with lower to higher disease incidence and thus differentiate between the healthy and the infected leaf samples. The Hydroxycinnamic acids (caffeic and sinapic acids) showed decreasing trend, whereas the ferulic acid increased with the rise in disease infection. Peak broadening/shifting has been observed in case of ferulic acid and carotenes/carotenoids, with the increase in the disease intensity. While using the LEDs (365 nm), the peak broadening and the decline in the chlorophyll fluorescence bands could be used for the early prediction of stripe rust disease in wheat crop. The PLSR statistical techniques discriminated well between the healthy and the diseased samples, thus showed promise in early disease detection. Confocal microscopy confirmed the early prevalence of stripe rust disease infection in a susceptible variety at a stage when the disease is not detectable visually. It is inferred that fluorescence emission spectroscopy along with the chemometrics aided in the effective and timely diagnosis of plant diseases and the detected signatures provide the basis for remote sensing.

Survival of buffalo bull spermatozoa: effect on structure and function due to alpha-lipoic acid and cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrin.

Sperm survival depending upon integral membranes and function is imperative for fertilization. This study was designed to augment survival of buffalo spermatozoa using alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) and cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrin (CLC) during cryopreservation. Semen was frozen using 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 mmol L-1 ALA (experiment 1) and ALA or CLC separately or together (experiment 2). Semen was assessed for post-thaw motility, plasma membrane integrity (PMI), intact acrosome and plasma membrane (IACR-IPM) and DNA integrity at 0, 1.5, 3 and 4.5 hr of incubation. In experiment 1, use of 0.5 mmol L-1 ALA enhanced the sperm cryosurvival and post-thaw longevity than other groups up to 4.5 hr of incubation, and this concentration of ALA was used in second experiment with CLC. The results revealed higher (p < .05) sperm survival function and time of sperm attributes due to use of ALA than CLC and control. However, the sperm quality did not improve (p > .05) when ALA was combined with CLC. In conclusion, survival of buffalo bull spermatozoa during freeze-thawing and post-thaw incubation can be enhanced more with ALA than CLC or control, followed by CLC than control. However, there is no synergistic effect on survival of buffalo bull spermatozoa due to ALA and CLC.

Regeneration of Centella asiatica plants from non-embryogenic cell lines and evaluation of antibacterial and antifungal properties of regenerated calli and plants.

BACKGROUND: The threatened plant Centella asiatica L. is traditionallyused for a number of remedies. In vitro plant propagation and enhanced metabolite production of active metabolites through biotechnological approaches has gained attention in recent years. RESULTS: Present study reveals that 6-benzyladenine (BA) either alone or in combination with 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) supplemented in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium at different concentrations produced good quality callus from leaf explants of C. asiatica. The calli produced on different plant growth regulators at different concentrations were mostly embryogenic and green. Highest shoot regeneration efficiency; 10 shoots per callus explant, from non-embryogenic callus was observed on 4.42 µM BA with 5.37 µM NAA. Best rooting response was observed at 5.37 and 10.74 µM NAA with 20 average number of roots per explant. Calli and regenerated plants extracts inhibited bacterial growth with mean zone of inhibition 9-13 mm diameter when tested against six bacterial strains using agar well diffusion method. Agar tube dilution method for antifungal assay showed 3.2-76% growth inhibition of Mucor species, Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium moliniformes. CONCLUSIONS: The present investigation reveals that non-embryogenic callus can be turned into embryos and plantlets if cultured on appropriate medium. Furthermore, callus from leaf explant of C. asiatica can be a good source for production of antimicrobial compounds through bioreactor.

Antibacterial activity of some selected medicinal plants of Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Screening of the ethnobotenical plants is a pre-requisite to evaluate their therapeutic potential and it can lead to the isolation of new bioactive compounds. METHODS: The crude extracts and fractions of six medicinal important plants (Arisaema flavum, Debregeasia salicifolia, Carissa opaca, Pistacia integerrima, Aesculus indica, and Toona ciliata) were tested against three Gram positive and two Gram negative ATCC bacterial species using the agar well diffusion method. RESULTS: The crude extract of P. integerrima and A. indica were active against all tested bacterial strains (12-23 mm zone of inhibition). Other four plant's crude extracts (Arisaema flavum, Debregeasia salicifolia, Carissa opaca, and Toona ciliata) were active against different bacterial strains. The crude extracts showed varying level of bactericidal activity. The aqueous fractions of A. indica and P. integerrima crude extract showed maximum activity (19.66 and 16 mm, respectively) against B. subtilis, while the chloroform fractions of T. ciliata and D. salicifolia presented good antibacterial activities (13-17 mm zone of inhibition) against all the bacterial cultures tested. CONCLUSION: The methanol fraction of Pistacia integerrima, chloroform fractions of Debregeasia salicifolia &Toona ciliata and aqueous fraction of Aesculus indica are suitable candidates for the development of novel antibacterial compounds.

Metabolic interaction between ApoE genotype and onset age in Alzheimer's disease: implications for brain reserve.

BACKGROUND: Clinically apparent Alzheimer's disease (AD) is thought to result when brain tissue damage exceeds a critical threshold of "brain reserve", a process possibly accelerated by the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) E4 allele. The interaction between onset age and ApoE genotype was investigated to assess whether early disease onset (<65 years) in patients carrying the E4 allele is associated with greater cerebral metabolic (regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose utilisation, rCMRgl) reduction. METHODS: AD patients, divided into early (EOAD; 27 patients) and late onset (LOAD; 65 patients) groups, both groups balanced as to the number of E4 carriers (E4+) and non-carriers (E4-), and matched controls (NC; 35 cases) underwent (18)F-FDG PET ([(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography) scanning. SPM'99 software was used to compare AD patients to NC and to perform a two way ANOVA with onset age and ApoE genotype as grouping factors. Results were considered significant at p<0.001, uncorrected. RESULTS: AD patients demonstrated rCMRgl reductions compared to NC, with rCMRgl lower in association cortex and relatively higher in limbic areas in EOAD compared to LOAD subjects. rCMRgl was lower in the anterior cingulate and frontal cortex for E4+ compared to E4- subjects. A significant onset age by ApoE interaction was detected in the hippocampi and basal frontal cortex, with EOAD E4+ subjects having the greatest rCMRgl reduction. CONCLUSIONS: The interactive effects of early onset age, possibly reflecting lower brain reserve, and ApoE E4 allele, possibly leading to greater tissue damage, lead to reduced tolerance to the pathophysiological effects of AD in key brain regions.

Brain metabolic differences between sporadic and familial Alzheimer's disease.

This FDG-PET study with SPM99 compared 46 patients with sporadic Alzheimer disease (SAD) to 40 patients with familial AD (FAD) and to 35 matched controls. AD groups had equivalent metabolic (METglu) reductions in several cortical and limbic areas with respect to the controls. Patients with FAD showed decreased METglu in the posterior cingulate, parahippocampal, and occipital cortex as compared to the patients with SAD (p < 0.001). Genetic factors lead to phenotypic differences in AD.