81 research outputs found
Analysis of Training Functions in a Biometric System
One of the commonly used Biometric methods is Face Classifica tion . Face images a re obtained from FEI face database. In this paper, different Training F unctio ns of Neural Network a re studied . In this research, a face recognition sy stem i s suggested based on feedforward backpro pagation neural network Neural Network (BPNN) model. Each model i s constructed separately with one input layer, 3 hidden layers and one output layer). Four ANN training algorithms (TRAINLM, TRAINBFG, TRAINGDX, and TRAINRP ) a re used to train each model se parately. Performances using each of the training algorithms were evaluated based on mean square error an d the best training algorithm i s found for the face recognition
Assessment of minimum inhibitory concentration to vancomycin, tigecycline, linezolid, daptomycin, ceftaroline and mupirocin against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates by antibiotic gradient strips
Background: Staphylococcus aureus infections are one of the most common and serious hospital-acquired infections seen in developing countries. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important human pathogen and normally colonized in body parts including skin, nose, perineum and throat. MRSA is resistant not only to all ╬▓-lactam groups but also other antibiotics including aminoglycosides, tetracycline and macrolides. In the present study the efficacy of agents used in the management of MRSA infections was determined by antibiotic gradient testing.
Methods: A total of 60 clinical isolates of MRSA strains were collected from various diagnostic labs in central Kerala. Clinical isolates were reconfirmed as MRSA by gram staining, yellow-coloured colonies on mannitol salt Agar (MSA). Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done by disc diffusion method as recommended by CLSI guidelines. S. aureus isolates resistant to cefoxitin (30 ┬╡g) was identified as MRSA. Antibiotic gradient testing was performed to determine the MIC of vancomycin, tigecycline, linezolid, daptomycin, ceftaroline and mupirocin against MRSA isolates.
Results: All the 60 MRSA isolates tested were sensitive to vancomycin, tigecycline, linezolid, daptomycin, ceftaroline and mupirocin (100%) and none of the MRSA isolates show resistance.┬а
Conclusions: Results of present study indicates that these agents may be used alongside vancomycin in management of infection caused by MRSA
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 тАЬfunctionalтАЭ fish feeds for L. argentimaculatus. The investigation also demonstrated some
potential digestive enzyme-producing isolates having probiotic applications in commercial aquaculture
Farm evaluation of formulated diets on the growth and body composition of Etroplus suratensis reared in cages in low-saline coastal ponds
A 90-day on-farm feeding experiment was carried out in the installed
cages in brackishwater ponds to evaluate the efficiency of three
formulated diets on the growth performance and body composition of
Etroplus suratensis. Two diets DI and DII were in-house formulations
based on optimum macronutrient requirements (protein and fat)
derived from an indoor nutritional evaluation of E. suratensis, and diet
three DIII was a commercially available pellet meant for pearl spot
fish. A sum of 900 fishes were randomly distributed with an average
weight of 18.2┬▒0.02g into three different treatment groups each in
triplicate, and each replicate had 100 fishes stocked in cages with
dimensions 2├Ч2├Ч1.5 m. At the end of the feeding trial, the fish were
weighed to assess growth parameters in terms of % gain in weight,
feed conversion ratio (FCR), and specific growth rate (SGR). The diet
(DI) displayed significantly (p<0.05) higher % weight gain, and SGR
than (DII) and (DIII). The FCR of diet (DI) was significantly (p<0.05)
lower than diets (DII) and (DIII). Diet (DI) showed better growth when
compared with other feeds. The study emphasized the need for
species-specific diets for application at the farm level for an effective
return on investment
Development of a novel multiplex-PCR technology for simultaneous detection of five major aquaculture pathogens
Early and precise pathogen identification and corresponding disease management are primary concerns in aquaculture. Here, we attempted at diagnostic methods that can simultaneously identify multiple pathogens, where many samples, several pathogens, and concurrent infections are to be handled. Hence, a multiplex PCR assay targeting five major aquaculture pathogens, viz. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio anguillarum, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio harveyi was developed for the first time. The primers targeting toxR of V. parahaemolyticus, amiB of V. anguillarum, col o
Effect of hot water treatments on physiological and biochemical changes in mango cv. Banganapalli during storage at ambient temperature
Mango fruits majorly suffers from anthracnose and fruit fly infestations during storage, transportation and marketing. Hot water treatments (HWTs) at specific levels have shown to control the incidence of these important threats. Application of HWT not only act as a quarantine measure, but also maintains the quality and enhance the marketability of fruits, even at room temperature (RT), leading to its vast applicability in local / international markets. In this study, post harvest application of HWTs (48┬░C for 60 min and 55┬░C for 10 min) in mango cv. Banganapalli recorded reduced ethylene production rate, physiological loss in weight, improved sugar content, ascorbic acid, total carotenoids, phenolics and antioxidants compared to control. Combination of HWTs (48┬░C for 60 min followed by 55┬░C for 10 min) resulted in degradation of some quality parameters compared to individual HWT and control
Hemolymph of healthy Doclea rissoni Leach, 1815: A pool for Vibrionaceae?
As diseases have a great impact on the population dynamics,
evolution and immune biology of affected organisms, it is
important to understand the modes and mechanisms of interaction
among the lower animals and their microbial symbionts in nature
function together for survival. To achieve this, it is important to
understand the community structure of the native flora of these
animals. Spider crabs are well known for their tolerance to various
pollutants. Nevertheless, the microbiology of their circulatory
systems and their role in disease transmission are unknown.
Therefore, the bacteria associated with the hemolymph of a spider
crab, Doclea rissoni in its natural ecosystem was characterized.
Nine healthy crabs were collected from the coastal areas of Kochi,
and their hemolymphs were collected. Enumeration of viable
bacteria using various media revealed a similar count in all the
media (7-10├Ч102 CFU/ml). Characterization of representative
isolates by conventional microbiological methods and 16S rRNA
gene sequencing was followed. Despite using three different
media, all isolates belonged to a single family Vibrionaceae. There
were two genera as Vibrio (86.67%) and Photobacterium (13.33%).
Among Vibrio, five species belonging to three different clades were
isolated, of which two could not be assigned to any known
species. These were classified as novel species (belonging to
Harveyi clade and, Brasiliensis clade) and their description is
underway. The order of relative abundance
was V. alginolyticus>Novel Vibrio-II>P. damselae>V. furnissii /
V. parahaemolyticus / Novel Vibrio-I. Of these, V. alginolyticus, P.
damselae and V. furnissii are implicated in occasional disease
outbreaks in humans and animals, posing an increased risk to
human economic activity, notably aquaculture practices. Therefore,
further investigations are required to find the basis for the
mutualistic relationship of vibrios in different crabs
Antimicrobial resistance and virulence characteristics of Vibrio vulnificus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio harveyi from natural disease outbreaks of marine/estuarine fishes
Vibrio vulnificus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio harveyi are the causative agents of the most severe diseases of marine and brackish aquaculture systems. These are also associated with serious ailments in humans. The present paper unravels the virulence features/genes and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) phenotypes/genes of these Vibrio spp. isolated from natural disease outbreaks of marine/estuarine fishes of India for the first time. Results on virulence features showed that V. vulnificus infected fish can pose public health risk. While, it has been found clinically that V. parahaemolyticus without tdh and trh genes are pathogenic to fish, even though they are reported to be, not associated with human diseases. It was significant to note that virulence features of V. harveyi were induced at increased salinity. Analysis based on the percentage prevalence of susceptible isolates and variation coefficient of zone diameters categorized 17 antibiotics in terms of their efficiency against each fish pathogenic species. Multiple antibiotic resistance index (MARi) of the isolates ranged between 0.058 and 0.47. Results on MARi and percentage of multidrug resistance strains indicated that >50% of the isolates were from low antibiotic usage area. The study generated tetH sequence from V. parahaemolyticus for the first time, and the sequence revealed high identity to that of clinical strains. Presence of tetB/ tetH gene was identified as the predictor for the resistance against the first generation tetracycline, the most commonly used antibiotic against Vibrio spp. in aquaculture practices. The data on associations between AMR features predicted certain cross-resistance between antimicrobials within Vibrio spp. Altogether, the paper serves as the baseline for epizootic tracking of public health significant vibrios from diseased fishes, to devise practical guidelines for antibiotic use and to formulate efficient control measures against three Vibrio spp. in aquaculture, targeting final applications in the implementation of national green and healthy aquaculture practices
Glimpse towards cultivable hemolymph microbiota of marine crabs: Untapped resource for aquatic probiotics/antibacterial agents
Bacterial diseases have turned out to be the primary constraint in sustainable aquaculture production, where,
probiotics can play an important role to prevent or control fish and shellfish diseases. As the autochthonous
preparations would be more effective than commercial products, continued search for novel antibacterial strains
native to aquatic environment are warranted against aquatic pathogens. Further, knowledge on abundance,
composition and role of hemolymph microbes is also essential to predict the health status and disease diagnosis.
Hence, in present study, 4 commercially significant marine crabs that are important for aquaculture were used to
unravel the implication and significance of cultivable hemolymph microbes. Bacterial abundance was found to
be individual- and species-dependent; and statistically significant interaction was present between growth media
and abundance. Gram negative isolates represented 84% of hemolymph microbes. Vibrio was the principal
genera in all species; each carrying a specific hemolymph microbiota (both in terms of abundance and diversity).
The present study forms the first report of genera viz., Enterovibrio, Pantoea, Kluyvera and Enterobacter in crustacean
hemolymph. Interestingly, new Vibrio species were also found. Further, the study forms the first observation
on inhibitory activity of marine crab hemolymph microbes against aquatic pathogens. Overall, the
results highlight marine crab hemolymph microbiota as a promising moreover, an untapped resource for probiotics/
antimicrobial agents to combat aquatic pathogens. Concurrently, the present study fetches a platform for
the prediction of health and disease diagnosis of 4 potentially important aquaculture crab species
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