Identification of Lactobacillus pobuzihii from tungtap: A traditionally fermented fish food, and analysis of its bacteriocinogenic potential

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were selectively isolated from tungtap, a traditionally fermented fish food product. Five such bacteria with bacteriocinogenic potential were characterized by polyphasic taxonomic approach. The phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed their relatedness to Lactobacillus pobuzihii (≥99.4% similarity), while biochemical and physiological characteristics revealed significant differences among the isolates. Bacteriocinogenic activity assay against selected bacterial strains: Salmonella typhi MTCC 733, Bacillus cereus MTCC 430, Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 109, Escherichia coli MTCC 118 and Bacillus licheniformis MTCC 429 were performed with crude extracts using ethyl acetate as solvent, as well as by solvent and cell free supernatants. The growth inhibition zones were measured after incubation and compared with antibiotics like ampicillin, gentamicin, vancomycin, chloramphenicol and tetracycline. The culture extract of L. pobuzihii showed significant bacteriocinogenic activity against the tested strains.Key words: Fermented, tungtap, Lactobacillus pobuzihii, crude extracts, bacteriocinogenic activity

Assessment of genetic diversity in Isabgol (Plantago ovata Forsk.) using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers for developing crop improvement strategies

Isabgol (Plantago ovata F., family: Plantaginaceae) is one of the most important medicinal plants of South Asia. Two DNA based molecular marker techniques, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR), were used to study the genetic diversity among genotypes of Isabgol. A total of 38 polymorphic primers (22 random and 16 ISSR) were used. Amplification of genomic DNA of 24 genotypes, using RAPD analysis, yielded 208 fragments, of which 98 (47.12%) were polymorphic. The 16 ISSR primers produced 124 bands across 24 genotypes, of which 24 (19.35%) were polymorphic. RAPD markers appeared more informative than ISSR in determining the genetic diversity. The similarity coefficient ranged from 0.77 to 0.97, 0.81 to 1.00 and 0.84 to 0.98 with RAPD, ISSR and combined dendrogram, respectively. This indicates very low level of genetic diversity among genotypes. A poor mantel correlation (r = 0.28) was found between both sets of genetic similarity data, suggesting that both sets of markers revealed unrelated estimates of genetic relationships. Therefore, the RAPD and ISSR markers show two genetic grouping of studied Isabgol genotypes. The genotypes RI-168, RI-167, RI-137, PB-62, RI-153, RI-148 and Gumary were spotted as genetically diverse in both sets of markers and could be efficiently utilized in crop improvement programmes.Keywords: Plantago ovata, molecular marker, RAPD, ISSR, genetic diversity, medicinal plantAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(23), pp. 3622-363

A RARE CASE SCENARIO- ASSOCIATION OF POSTEROLATERAL OSTEOCHONDRAL INJURY WITH PCL AVULSION, ACL TEAR AND LATERAL MENISCUS INJURY

Association of posterolateral osteochondral (OCD) injury with multi- ligamentous knee injury (MLKI) can be a devastating injury which often results in long-term knee instability, loss of function and early osteoarthritis. For such patients, paucity of literature persists on management of such injury for better outcome. This case critically demonstrates an attempt to manage the patient with such rare scenario with the best options for early recovery

A nationally representative study on socio-demographic and geographic correlates, and trends in tobacco use in Nepal

© 2019, The Author(s). Tobacco control still poses an immense challenge for the government of Nepal. Updated knowledge on the current pattern of tobacco use and its associated factors will be helpful for policy makers to curb the tobacco epidemic. This study fills this gap by, (i) exploring demographic, socio-economic and geographic correlates of current tobacco use using a nationally representative sample of 15–49-year adults from Nepal Demographic Health survey 2016, and (ii) examining the prevalence and trends of both smoking and non-smoking forms of tobacco use in a nationally representative sample of 15–49-year adults drawn from three consecutive Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) between 2006 and 2016.Among males, the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use was higher than that of smoking (40.1% and 27.4% respectively), whereas among females smoking was more common than smokeless tobacco use (prevalence of 5.5% and 3.8% respectively). Both smoking and smokeless tobacco use were associated with older age and lower level of education. Among males, those living in urban areas were more likely to consume any form of tobacco. Residents of terai/plains were more likely to use smokeless tobacco. The concentration curves on cumulative proportion of tobacco use ranked by wealth quintiles showed tobacco use to be highest among the lowest socio-economic groups in both males and females in all three survey years. We found a decreasing trend of tobacco smoking and an increasing trend of smokeless tobacco use over the 10-year period. However, the consumption of both forms of tobacco increased in young males during the same period. Proper monitoring of adherence to directives of the anti-tobacco law should be ensured to curb the increasing burden of tobacco use among young males, and a similar effort is needed to sustain the decline in tobacco uses among other population groups in Nepal

A long noncoding RNA signature for ulcerative colitis identifies IFNG-AS1 as an enhancer of inflammation

High-throughput technologies revealed new categories of genes, including the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), involved in the pathogenesis of human disease; however, the role of lncRNAs in the ulcerative colitis (UC) has not been evaluated. Gene expression profiling was used to develop lncRNA signatures in UC samples. Jurkat T cells were activated by PMA/ionomycin subsequently interferon- (IFNG) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- protein levels were assessed by ELISA. Anti-sense molecules were designed to block IFNG-AS1 expression. A unique set of lncRNAs was differentially expressed between UC and control samples. Of these, IFNG-AS1 was among the highest statistically significant lncRNAs (fold change: 5.27, P value: 7.07E-06). Bioinformatic analysis showed that IFNG-AS1 was associated with the IBD susceptibility loci SNP rs7134599 and its genomic location is adjacent to the inflammatory cytokine IFNG. In mouse models of colitis, active colitis samples had increased colonic expression of this lncRNA. Utilizing the Jurkat T cell model, we found IFNG-AS1 to positively regulate IFNG expression. Novel lncRNA signatures differentiate UC patients with active disease, patients in remission, and control subjects. A subset of these lncRNAs was found to be associated with the clinically validated IBD susceptibility loci. IFNG-AS1 was one of these differentially expressed lncRNAs in UC patients and found to regulate the key inflammatory cytokine, IFNG, in CD4 T cells. Taking these findings together, our study revealed novel lncRNA signatures deregulated in UC and identified IFNG-AS1 as a novel regulator of IFNG inflammatory responses, suggesting the potential importance of noncoding RNA mechanisms on regulation of inflammatory bowel disease-related inflammatory responses

Correlation between CD4 counts of HIV patients and enteric protozoan in different seasons – An experience of a tertiary care hospital in Varanasi (India)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protozoan infections are the most serious among all the superimposed infections in HIV patients and claim a number of lives every year. The line of treatment being different for diverse parasites necessitates a definitive diagnosis of the etiological agents to avoid empirical treatment. Thus, the present study has been aimed to elucidate the associations between diarrhoea and CD4 counts and to study the effect of HAART along with management of diarrhoea in HIV positive patients. This study is the first of its kind in this area where an attempt was made to correlate seasonal variation and intestinal protozoan infestations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study period was from January 2006 to October 2007 wherein stool samples were collected from 366 HIV positive patients with diarrhea attending the ART centre, inpatient department and ICTC of S.S. hospital, I.M.S., B.H.U., Varanasi. Simultaneously, CD4 counts were recorded to assess the status of HIV infection vis-à-vis parasitic infection. The identification of pathogens was done on the basis of direct microscopy and different staining techniques.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 366 patients, 112 had acute and 254 had chronic diarrhea. The percentages of intestinal protozoa detected were 78.5% in acute and 50.7% in chronic cases respectively. Immune restoration was observed in 36.6% patients after treatment on the basis of clinical observation and CD4 counts. In 39.8% of HIV positive cases <it>Cryptosporidium </it>spp. was detected followed by <it>Microsporidia </it>spp. (26.7%). The highest incidence of intestinal infection was in the rainy season. However, infection with <it>Cyclospora </it>spp. was at its peak in the summer. Patients with chronic diarrhea had lower CD4 cell counts. The maximum parasitic isolation was in the patients whose CD4 cell counts were below 200 cells/μl.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There was an inverse relation between the CD4 counts and duration of diarrhea. <it>Cryptosporidium </it>spp. was isolated maximum among all the parasites in the HIV patients. The highest incidence of infection was seen in the rainy season.</p