Outbreak report of investigation and control of an outbreak of Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-positive methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (PVL-MSSA) infection in neonates and mothers

Background In January 2011, there was an outbreak of Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-positive methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (PVL-MSSA) infection in a neonatal unit (NNU). We describe the investigation and control of an outbreak of PVL-MSSA infection in neonates. Setting: Neonatal unit in West London. Methods We performed descriptive and analytical (case-control study) epidemiological investigations. Microbiological investigations including screening of MSSA isolates by PCR for the presence of the luk-PV, mecA and mecC genes and comparison of isolate with Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Control measures were also introduced. Results Sixteen babies were infected/colonised with the outbreak strain. Of these, one baby developed blood stream infection, 12 developed skin pustules and four babies were colonised. Four mothers developed breast abscesses. Eighty-seven babies in the unit were screened and 16 were found to have same PVL-MSSA strain (spa type t005, belonging to MLST clonal complex 22). Multivariate analysis showed gestational age was significantly lower in cases compared to controls (mean gestational age: 31.7 weeks v 35.6 weeks; P = 0.006). Length of stay was significantly greater for cases, with a median of 25 days, compared to only 6 days for controls (P = 0.01). Most (88%) cases were born through caesarean section, compared to less than half of controls. (P = 0.002). No healthcare worker carriers and environmental source was identified. The outbreak was controlled by stopping new admissions to unit and reinforcing infection control precautions. The outbreak lasted for seven weeks. No further cases were reported in the following year. Conclusions Infection control teams have to be vigilant for rising prevalence of particular S. aureus clones in their local community as they may cause outbreaks in vulnerable populations in healthcare settings such as NNUs

Interference of phenol during quantification of a bacterial lipoprotein

Accurate protein estimation is an essential requirement for any biochemical investigation. The bacterial Braun liporotein (BLP) from E. coli (a Toll-2 receptor ligand) is purified via phenol extraction on the basis of selective extraction of the lipoprotein. The procedure leaves behind the major endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that acts through the related Toll-4 receptor. However, as low as 0.00001% of phenol carried over during lipoprotein isolation interferes in the Lowry’s method of protein estimation. A simple gel filtration on sephadex G-50 efficiently separates lipoproteins from phenol thereby avoiding inaccurate protein estimation of the lipoprotein content and making it suitable ligand for Toll-2 receptor.Keywords: Lipoproteins; Lipopolysaccharide (LPS); Lowry's method; Phenol interferenc

Implementation of High Speed Area Efficient Fixed Width Multiplier

The aim of project is to design a proposed truncated multiplier with less area utilization and low power comparing with previous multipliers. The proposed method finally reduces the number of full adders and half adders during the tree reduction. While using this proposed method experimentally, area can be saved. The output is in the form of LSB and MSB. Finally the LSB part is compressed by using operations such as deletion, reduction, truncation, rounding and final addition. In previous system, to reduce the truncation error by adding error compensation circuits. In this project truncation error is not more than 1 ulp (unit of least position). So there is no need of error compensation circuits, and the final output will be précised

IN VITRO CYTOTOXICITY AND FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING POTENTIAL OF ETHYL PYRUVATE DERIVED COPPER COMPLEXES OF THIOSEMICARBAZONE

Objective: The present study was aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity and antioxidant properties of copper complexes of thiosemicarbazone (TSC-Cu) using different in vitro models.Methods: In vitro MTT assay was carried out against the HL-60 cell line to check the cytotoxic potency of TSC-Cu. In vitro radical scavenging activity of TSC-Cu was evaluated by checking its role in scavenging DPPH, hydroxyl radical and lipid peroxidation.Results: Among the test molecules studied, TSC-Cu with choride side chain (TSC-Cu-Cl) showed dose and time dependent increased cytotoxic activity on HL-60 cell line compared to TSC-Cu with hydroxyl side chain (TSC-Cu-OH). Further, TSC-Cu-Cl exhibited promising radical scavenging activities against hydroxyl radical, 2,2-diphenyl, 2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), and also effectively inhibited lipid peroxidation.Conclusion: The results of the present investigation confirm that the TSC-Cu-Cl complex can be considered as a novel metal complex with potent anti-oxidant and cytotoxic ability.Â

Marine Fish Calendar. 8. Veraval

The coastline of Gujarat, spread around 1,660 km is well known for its bombay duck and pomfret fisheries. Veraval located in the Saurashtra region forms one of the major fish landing centres. The average annual landing is around 50,000 t, forming about 20% of the catch of the Gujarat State. The peak landing period is from October to January by the trawlers. In Veraval it is observed that due to poor handling and storage facilities about 40% of the catch goes as trash fish and is used for manure and fish meal purpose

INFLUENCE OF ALKALI CATALYSTS ON THE PRODUCTION AND QUALITY OF JATROPHA OIL METHYL ESTER: A REVIEW

World’s economy depends entirely on fossil fuels which are not only rapidly depleting but are also causing environmental degradation. Therefore, in order to replace fossil fuels partially, non-edible vegetable oils (Jatropha, Karanja, Mahua, Cottonseed, Neem, Linseed, Rice bran etc.) may be used for the production of Methyl ester. The yield of the Methyl ester mainly depends on the catalyst used in the transesterification reaction. The present study reports a review on the influence of alkali catalysts such as Potassium hydroxide (KOH), Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), Sodium amide (NaNH2), Magnesium zinc (Mg-Zn), Calcium oxide-Magnesium oxide (CaO-MgO) and Lemna Perpusilla Torrrey Ash on the production yield of Jatropha Methyl ester. This paper also discussed the influence of processing parameters, such as temperature, molar ratio, catalyst % wt., on the quantity and quality of the Jatropha Methyl ester. It was observed that, the KOH very effective than other catalysts and the yield of ester production is 99% at 60 oC, with a molar ratio 5:1 and 2% wt, as reported in published work. Based on the review, the present authors produced 95% yield of Jatropha Methyl ester using 1% wt. of KOH catalyst, with molar ratio of 9:1 and a reaction temperature of 60 oC. The fuel properties of different catalysts are also studied and it was observed that, the present sample is meeting the ASTM D 6751 specifications

OBSERVATIONS OF SEISMO-IONOSPHERIC PERTURBATIONS USING WAVELET ANALYSIS

Electromagnetic signals generated before and during the Earthquakes lie in a broad range of frequencies from MHz to Qasi DC frequencies (Darcy Karakelian et.,al 20001). These signals reach higher altitudes and perturb the background atmosphere by dumping their energy (V.V. Hegai et.,al 20062 , Tadahiko Ogawa et.,al 20123). These electromagnetic signals cause perturbations in the ion content of the ionosphere. The study of these perturbations is important to understand their evolution mechanisms.  The ionospheric variability is measured in terms of ionospheric Total Electron content (TEC). The complex time varying and non-linear characteristics of Seismo-ionospheric perturbations are different from other disturbances ( Li-ming He et.,al, 20114). The earthquake which occurred in Indonesian region on 1st Sepember 2013 with a magnitude M>6 is considered for the present study. The time frequency analysis of narrow transition regions of these signals are analyzed using Wavelets ( Gwal A.K., et., al 2025, Michael E. Contadakis et.,al 20126) . Analysis of the non-stationary data using wavelets provides time localized alternatives and complex wavelets are useful in accurate detection and recognition of transient signals.  The results show that these perturbations are observed three days before the Earthquake and are increasing in nature. The observed periodicities on the Earthquake day may represent that there is possible transfer of momentum and energy from lower atmosphere to upper atmosphere

Marine Fish Calendar. 2. Visakhapatnam

Gear wise landing details of the fish species in the important families (e.g. Clupeidae,Scombridae, Sciaenidae, etc.), groups (e.g. sardines,mackerel, croakers, etc.) in the Vishakapatnam landing centre during 1981-1986 was provided in the article

Low Temperature Transport and Specific Heat Studies of Nd_{1-x}Pb_{x}MnO_{3} Single Crystals

Electrical transport and specific heat properties of Nd_{1-x}Pb_{x}MnO_{3} single crystals for 0.15 < x 0.5 have been studied in low temperature regime. The resistivity in the ferromagnetic insulating (FMI) phase for x < 0.3 has an activated character. The dependence of the activation gap Delta on doping x has been determined and the critical concentration for the zero-temperature metal-insulator transition was determined as x_{c} ~ 0.33. For a metallic sample with x=0.42, a conventional electron-electron (e-e) scattering term proportional T^{2} is found in the low-temperature electrical resistivity, although the Kadowaki-Woods ratio is found to be much larger for this manganite than for a normal metal. For a metallic sample with x=0.5, a resistivity minimum is observed for x= 0.5. The effect is attributed to weak localization and can be described by a negative T^{1/2} weak-localization contribution to resistivity for a disordered three-dimensional electron system. The specific heat data have been fitted to contributions from free electrons (gamma), spin excitations (beta_{3/2}), lattice and a Schottky-like anomaly related to the rare-earth magnetism of the Nd ions. The value of gamma is larger than for normal metals, which is ascribed to magnetic ordering effects involving Nd. Also, the Schottky-like anomaly appears broadened and weakened suggesting inhomogeneous molecular fields at the Nd-sites.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Investigating the burden of antibiotic resistance in ethnic minority groups in high-income countries: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is an urgent problem globally, with overuse and misuse of antibiotics being one of the main drivers of antibiotic-resistant infections. There is increasing evidence that the burden of community-acquired infections such as urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections (both susceptible and resistant) may differ by ethnicity, although the reasons behind this relationship are not well defined. It has been demonstrated that socioeconomic status and ethnicity are often highly correlated with each other; however, it is not yet known whether accounting for deprivation completely explains any discrepancy seen in infection risk. There have currently been no systematic reviews summarising the evidence for the relationship between ethnicity and antibiotic resistance or prescribing. METHODS: This protocol will outline how we will conduct this systematic literature review and meta-analysis investigating whether there is an association between patient ethnicity and (1) risk of antibiotic-resistant infections or (2) levels of antibiotic prescribing in high-income countries. We will search PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, Scopus and CINAHL using MESH terms where applicable. Two reviewers will conduct title/abstract screening, data extraction and quality assessment independently. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist will be used for cohort and case-control studies, and the Cochrane collaboration's risk of bias tool will be used for randomised control trials, if they are included. Meta-analyses will be performed by calculating the minority ethnic group to majority ethnic group odds ratios or risk ratios for each study and presenting an overall pooled odds ratio for the two outcomes. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessments, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach will be used to assess the overall quality of the body of evidence. DISCUSSION: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we will aim to collate the available evidence of whether there is a difference in rates of AMR and/or antibiotic prescribing in minority vs. majority ethnic groups in high-income countries. Additionally, this review will highlight areas where more research needs to be conducted and may provide insight into what may cause differences in this relationship, should they be seen. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO ( CRD42016051533 )