Molecular characterization of STEC isolated from Ducks and its relation to ESBL production

The ESBL producing genes are responsible for bacterial resistance to number of antibiotics whereas Shiga toxin producing genes are responsible for bacterial virulence. The association between ESBL producing genes and Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) may pose bigger threat in the battle of antibiotic resistance. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in ducks reared in organized and unorganized sectors from different agro climatic zones of West Bengal, India and to study their relationship with extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production. Total 202 cloacal swab samples were collected from both indigenous ducks reared in backyards sector (110 samples) and Khaki Campbell Ducks reared in organized farm (92 samples). Initially the samples were screened for detection of E. coli on the basis of their cultural, morphological and biochemical properties followed by PCR confirmation for E. coli 16S rRNA. E. coli isolates were subjected to multiplex PCR to detect the presence of shiga toxin producing genes such as stx1, stx2, eaeA and ehxA. STEC isolates were screened phenotypically for production of ESBL and ACBL by double disk diffusion method and subsequently PCR detection for blaCTX-M, blaTEM, blaSHV and blaAmpC genes were performed. Serotyping of all the STEC was also done. Out of 202 samples total 109 were confirmed to be E. coli positive. Out of them total 27 (24.77 %) E. coli isolates were detected to be positive for STEC. Higher prevalence of STEC was observed in unorganized sector compared to the organized sector. Positive association (P < 0.05) was observed between STEC and ESBL production. This study indicates that the duck may play an important role in transmission of Siga-toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) as well as antibiotic resistance genes to human beings, other birds, animals and environment also

Coherent bremsstrahlung and GDR width from 252Cf cold fission

The energy spectrum of the high energy gamma-rays in coincidence with the prompt gamma rays has been measured for the spontaneous fission of 252Cf. The nucleus-nucleus coherent bremsstrahlung of the accelerating fission fragments is observed and the result has been substantiated with a theoretical calculation based on the coulomb acceleration model. The width of the giant dipole resonance (GDR) decay from the excited fission fragments has been extracted for the first time and compared with the thermal shape fluctuation model (TSFM) in the liquid drop formalism. The extracted GDR width is significantly smaller than the predictions of TSFM.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

2017 Legislative Assembly election results: experts react

Yesterday the results were announced for five legislative elections held in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. Mukulika Banerjee, Surajit Bhalla, Meghnad Desai and Maitreesh Ghatak, who were at LSE for the fourth LSE SU India Forum, gathered to discuss key trends and features emerging from the results

HIV Progression Depends on Codon and Amino Acid Usage Profile of Envelope Protein and Associated Host-Genetic Influence

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Two types of HIV have been characterized: HIV-1 and HIV-2. The present study investigated whether evolutionary selection pressure differs between rapid progressor (RP), slow progressor (SP), and long-term non-progressor (LTNP) of HIV-I infected individuals. An unexpected association between the evolutionary rate of substitution in envelope (env) gene and disease progression is observed. Our present study suggests that env genes of LTNP are subject to unusually strong functional constraint with respect to RP. We also observed that the three categories of env genes i.e., RP, SP, and LTNP, had their own characteristic pattern of amino acid usage and SP and LTNP sequences shared similar patterns of amino acid usage different from RP sequences and evolutionary rate significantly influenced the amino acid usage pattern of the three different types of env gene sequences. It was also noted that the evolutionary rate for the glycosylation sites of LTNP and SP sequences were even significantly less than the RP sequences. Comparative analysis on the influence of human host on the three categories of env genes are well correlated with the rates of disease progression suggesting the adaptive strategies of the viruses for successful residence and infection. Host associated selective constraints appeared most relaxed on the RP sequences and strongest in LTNP sequences. The present study clearly portrays how evolutionary selection pressure differs between three categories of env genes i.e., RP, SP, and LTNP. The env genes, coding for the env glycoproteins, experience severe selection constraints from the host due to their constant exposure to the host immune system. In this perspective it might be suggested that env gene evolution occurs mainly by negative selection with the occurrence of mutation that might not reach fixation in the viral population. This work also confers a deeper insight into the crucial effects of host factors that govern the overall progression of HIV infection

Concise review on clinical applications of conditioned medium derived from human umbilical cord-mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCS)

In recent years, mesenchymal stem cells have provoked much attentiveness in the field of regenerative medicine because of their differentiation potential and the capability to facilitate tissue repair via the emancipation of biologically active molecules. They have gained interest because of their distinctive curative properties. Mesenchymal stem cells are isolated from the Wharton\u2019s jelly part of umbilical cord possessing higher proliferation capacity, immunomodulatory activity, plasticity, as well as self-renewal capacity than the mesenchymal stem cells from various origins, and it is considered to be the best resource for allogeneic transplantation. The isolated umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells are cultured in the Dulbecco\u2019s Modified Eagle\u2019s Medium, and thereby it begins to release soluble factors into the medium during the period of culture which is termed as conditioned medium. This conditioned media has both differentiation capacity and therapeutic functions. Thus, it can be able to differentiate the cells into different lineages and the paracrine effect of these cells helps in replacement of the damaged cells. This medium may accord to optimization of diagnostic and prognostic systems as well as the generation of novel and targeted therapeutic perspectives