4 research outputs found
Insight into the gut microbiology of wild-caught Mangrove Red Snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Forsskal, 1775)
Documenting bacteria present in healthy individuals forms the first step in understanding the effects of microbial
manipulation in aquaculture systems. Among the commensal microflora, gut microbiota has attracted extensive
attention owing to their role in host metabolism and health maintenance. Basic knowledge on normal gut microbes
within a particular host species is thus essential to determine how successfully these microbes can be
manipulated and engineered for sustainable aquaculture systems. In spite of the good aquaculture potential of
Mangrove red snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus, the information on microbial communities associated with the
gut of this fish, and their contribution towards digestive efficiency and disease resistance is scarce. Therefore, an
attempt was made to elucidate the abundance and diversity of cultivable gut microbes of wild caught L. argentimaculatus
along with their digestive exoenzyme profiles and prohibitory effect against fish pathogens.
Results on abundance showed similar gut bacterial loads as that of other marine fish imposing the less contribution
of microflora to the volume of gut materials in fish. Eleven distinct bacterial species including two
proposed novel vibrios were identified. An incidental observation of Morganella morganii throughout samples is
an alarming signal, emphasizing the need for immediate de-gutting to avoid histamine intoxication. Abundance
of digestive enzyme producers and excellent enzymatic potential of some isolates suggested the contribution of
digestive enzymes may supplement to the symbiosis between gut flora and host and the information is of interest
to aquaculture nutritionists/commercial industries. Interestingly, some isolates demonstrated estimable co-aggregation
with aquatic pathogens, indicating their involvement in disease resistance and the results correlated
well with gut microbial diversity. These findings highlight the significant role of gut microbes towards nutritional
physiology and disease resistance of this aquaculture candidate in natural ecosystem. The culturable
microbiota profiles of wild fish generated in the study can be applied for measuring the quality of husbandry
routines in aquaculture facility of this marine fish. Overall, the present study fetches insights on the gut microbiome
of healthy L. argentimaculatus which forms a platform for follow-up studies. The study may also help in
the development of “functional” fish feeds for L. argentimaculatus. The investigation also demonstrated some
potential digestive enzyme-producing isolates having probiotic applications in commercial aquaculture
Evaluation of serum mineral micronutrients (Zn, Cu, Fe, Mg) and their correlation with clinical parameters (gingival index, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment loss) in chronic periodontitis patients
Background: Nutrition especially micro-mineral nutrients plays a major role in the etiology of chronic periodontitis. Serum levels of micro-mineral nutrients can be used as markers for the incidence of periodontitis and may also be used as indicators for dietary supplementation.
Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to estimate the serum levels of Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mg of chronic periodontitis patients and normal healthy controls., to measure the clinical parameters (gingival index, probing pocket depth [PPD], and clinical attachment loss) in chronic periodontitis patients and normal healthy controls., to compare the levels of serum Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mg levels of chronic periodontitis patients and healthy controls and to correlate the levels of serum micronutrients with clinical parameters (gingival index, PPD, and clinical attachment loss) in chronic periodontitis patients and healthy controls.
Materials and Methods: A total of 110 subjects, 55 subjects with chronic periodontitis and 55 healthy control subjects in the age group 35–65 years were selected for the study. Serum micronutrient levels of Cu, Fe, Zn, Mg, and the clinical parameters were measured.
Results: Serum concentrations of Cu and Fe showed statistically significant increase and serum Zn and Mg showed a significant decrease in peridontitis patients as compared to normal healthy controls. Copper and Fe showed a significant positive correlation and Zn and Mg showed a significant negative correlation with clinical parameters (gingival index, PPD, and clinical attachment loss).
Conclusion: The present study supports and extends the view that the assessment of serum mineral micronutrient can serve as possible biomarkers or indicators for an inflammatory condition like chronic periodontitis
Not Available
Not AvailableDocumenting bacteria present in healthy individuals forms the first step in understanding the effects of microbial
manipulation in aquaculture systems. Among the commensal microflora, gut microbiota has attracted extensive
attention owing to their role in host metabolism and health maintenance. Basic knowledge on normal gut microbes
within a particular host species is thus essential to determine how successfully these microbes can be
manipulated and engineered for sustainable aquaculture systems. In spite of the good aquaculture potential of
Mangrove red snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus, the information on microbial communities associated with the
gut of this fish, and their contribution towards digestive efficiency and disease resistance is scarce. Therefore, an
attempt was made to elucidate the abundance and diversity of cultivable gut microbes of wild caught L. argentimaculatus
along with their digestive exoenzyme profiles and prohibitory effect against fish pathogens.
Results on abundance showed similar gut bacterial loads as that of other marine fish imposing the less contribution
of microflora to the volume of gut materials in fish. Eleven distinct bacterial species including two
proposed novel vibrios were identified. An incidental observation of Morganella morganii throughout samples is
an alarming signal, emphasizing the need for immediate de-gutting to avoid histamine intoxication. Abundance
of digestive enzyme producers and excellent enzymatic potential of some isolates suggested the contribution of
digestive enzymes may supplement to the symbiosis between gut flora and host and the information is of interest
to aquaculture nutritionists/commercial industries. Interestingly, some isolates demonstrated estimable co-aggregation
with aquatic pathogens, indicating their involvement in disease resistance and the results correlated
well with gut microbial diversity. These findings highlight the significant role of gut microbes towards nutritional
physiology and disease resistance of this aquaculture candidate in natural ecosystem. The culturable
microbiota profiles of wild fish generated in the study can be applied for measuring the quality of husbandry
routines in aquaculture facility of this marine fish. Overall, the present study fetches insights on the gut microbiome
of healthy L. argentimaculatus which forms a platform for follow-up studies. The study may also help in
the development of “functional” fish feeds for L. argentimaculatus. The investigation also demonstrated some
potential digestive enzyme-producing isolates having probiotic applications in commercial aquaculture.Not Availabl
Plasma CXCL8 and MCP-1 as surrogate plasma biomarkers of latent tuberculosis infection among household contacts-A cross-sectional study
Early detection of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is critical to TB elimination in the current WHO vision of End Tuberculosis Strategy. The study investigates whether detecting plasma cytokines could aid in diagnosing LTBI across household contacts (HHCs) positive for IGRA, HHCs negative for IGRA, and healthy controls. The plasma cytokines were measured using a commercial Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine 17-plex assay. Increased plasma CXCL8 and decreased MCP-1, TNF-a, and IFN-? were associated with LTBI. Regression analysis showed that a combination of CXCL8 and MCP-1 increased the risk of LTBI among HHCs to 14-fold. Our study suggests that CXCL-8 and MCP-1 could serve as the surrogate biomarkers of LTBI, particularly in resource-limited settings. Further laboratory investigations are warranted before extrapolating CXCL8 and MCP-1 for their usefulness as surrogate biomarkers of LTBI in resource-limited settings