Antibacterial activity of Artemisia nilagirica leaf extracts against clinical and phytopathogenic bacteria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The six organic solvent extracts of <it>Artemisia nilagirica </it>were screened for the potential antimicrobial activity against phytopathogens and clinically important standard reference bacterial strains.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The agar disk diffusion method was used to study the antibacterial activity of <it>A. nilagirica </it>extracts against 15 bacterial strains. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the plant extracts were tested using two fold agar dilution method at concentrations ranging from 32 to 512 μg/ml. The phytochemical screening of extracts was carried out for major phytochemical derivatives in <it>A. nilagirica</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All the extracts showed inhibitory activity for gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria except for <it>Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis </it>and <it>Staphylococcus aureus</it>. The hexane extract was found to be effective against all phytopathogens with low MIC of 32 μg/ml and the methanol extract exhibited a higher inhibition activity against <it>Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, Salmonella typhi</it>, <it>Enterobacter aerogenes</it>, <it>Proteus vulgaris</it>, <it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa </it>(32 μg/ml), <it>Bacillus subtilis </it>(64 μg/ml) and <it>Shigella flaxneri </it>(128 μg/ml). The phytochemical screening of extracts answered for the major derivative of alkaloids, amino acids, flavonoids, phenol, quinines, tannins and terpenoids.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>All the extracts showed antibacterial activity against the tested strains. Of all, methanol and hexane extracts showed high inhibition against clinical and phytopathogens, respectively. The results also indicate the presence of major phytochemical derivatives in the <it>A. nilagirica </it>extracts. Hence, the isolation and purification of therapeutic potential compounds from <it>A. nilagirica </it>could be used as an effective source against bacterial diseases in human and plants.</p

Desmophyllum dianthus (Esper, 1794) in the scleractinian phylogeny and its intraspecific diversity

© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 7 (2012): e50215, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050215.The cosmopolitan solitary deep-water scleractinian coral Desmophyllum dianthus (Esper, 1794) was selected as a representative model species of the polyphyletic Caryophylliidae family to (1) examine phylogenetic relationships with respect to the principal Scleractinia taxa, (2) check population structure, (3) test the widespread connectivity hypothesis and (4) assess the utility of different nuclear and mitochondrial markers currently in use. To carry out these goals, DNA sequence data from nuclear (ITS and 28S) and mitochondrial (16S and COI) markers were analyzed for several coral species and for Mediterranean populations of D. dianthus. Three phylogenetic methodologies (ML, MP and BI), based on data from the four molecular markers, all supported D. dianthus as clearly belonging to the “robust” clade, in which the species Lophelia pertusa and D. dianthus not only grouped together, but also shared haplotypes for some DNA markers. Molecular results also showed shared haplotypes among D. dianthus populations distributed in regions separated by several thousands of kilometers and by clear geographic barriers. These results could reflect limited molecular and morphological taxonomic resolution rather than real widespread connectivity. Additional studies are needed in order to find molecular markers and morphological features able to disentangle the complex phylogenetic relationship in the Order Scleractinia and to differentiate isolated populations, thus avoiding the homoplasy found in some morphological characters that are still considered in the literature.This study was funded by CTM2009-00496 and CGL2011-23306 projects of the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” (Spain). Research at sea was partly supported by the European Commission F. P.VI Project HERMES Contract No. GOCE-CT-2005-511234-1) and the EU F.P. VII Project HERMIONE(contract number no. 226354)

Rehabgesture: An Alternative Tool For Measuring Human Movement

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Systems for range of motion (ROM) measurement such as OptoTrak, Motion Capture, Motion Analysis, Vicon, and Visual 3D are so expensive that they become impracticable in public health systems and even in private rehabilitation clinics. Telerehabilitation is a branch within telemedicine intended to offer ways to increase motor and/or cognitive stimuli, aimed at faster and more effective recovery of given disabilities, and to measure kinematic data such as the improvement in ROM. Materials and Methods: In the development of the RehabGesture tool, we used the gesture recognition sensor Kinect (R) (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) and the concepts of Natural User Interface and Open Natural Interaction. Results: RehabGesture can measure and record the ROM during rehabilitation sessions while the user interacts with the virtual reality environment. The software allows the measurement of the ROM (in the coronal plane) from 0 degrees extension to 145 degrees flexion of the elbow joint, as well as from 0 degrees adduction to 180 degrees abduction of the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint, leaving the standing position. The proposed tool has application in the fields of training and physical evaluation of professional and amateur athletes in clubs and gyms and may have application in rehabilitation and physiotherapy clinics for patients with compromised motor abilities. Conclusions: RehabGesture represents a low-cost solution to measure the movement of the upper limbs, as well as to stimulate the process of teaching and learning in disciplines related to the study of human movement, such as kinesiology.22584589Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel SuperiorCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Avian infectious bronchitis virus in Brazil: a highly complex virus meets a highly susceptible host population

Infectious bronchitis (IB) is a highly aggressive disease for poultry in terms of symptoms and economic losses, and the control of this disease is difficult if flocks are not protected against type-specific challenges by the Avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). This article summarizes data presented by the author at the Workshop on Infectious Bronchitis 2009 on IB and IBV, including future developments on the field

Cytomegalovirus frequency in neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis determined by serology, histology, immunohistochemistry and PCR

AIM: To determine cytomegalovirus (CMV) frequency in neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis by serology, histological revision (searching for cytomegalic cells), immunohistochemistry, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and to verify the relationships among these methods

Cyclops lesions detected by MRI are frequent findings after ACL surgical reconstruction but do not impact clinical outcome over 2&nbsp;years.

ObjectivesTo assess the impact of cyclops lesions with MRI in patients treated for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears on clinical outcome.MethodsIn 113 patients (age 29.8 ± 10.5y; 55 females; BMI 24.8 ± 3.7&nbsp;kg/m2) with complete ACL tear, 3&nbsp;T-MRI scans were obtained before, 6-months, 1-year (n = 75) and 2-years (n = 33) after ACL reconstruction. Presence and volume of cyclops lesions were assessed. Clinical outcomes were measured using the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and differences between time points (∆KOOS) were calculated. Changes of KOOS subscales were compared between patients with and without cyclops lesion. KOOS was also correlated with lesion volume.ResultsCyclops lesions were found in 25% (28/113), 27% (20/75) and 33% (11/33) of patients after 6-months, 1- and 2-years, respectively. The lesion volume did not change significantly (P &gt; 0.05) between time points, measuring 0.65 ± 0.59, 0.81 ± 0.70 and 0.72.9 ± 0.96&nbsp;cm3, respectively. Clinical outcomes based on KOOS subscales were not significantly different in patients with cyclops lesions compared to those without cyclops lesions (each comparison P &gt; 0.05), and no significant associations of clinical outcomes with lesion volume were found (P &gt; 0.05).ConclusionsNeither presence nor size of cyclops lesions within the first 2-years after ACL surgery were associated with inferior clinical outcome.Key points• Cyclops lesions had a prevalence of 25% in patients after ACL reconstruction. • Subjects with cyclops lesions did not have an inferior clinical outcome. • Cyclops lesions developed within the first 6&nbsp;months after surgery. • The size of cyclops lesions did not significantly change over a period of 2&nbsp;years