Microsporidian (Glugea sp.) infection in the greasy grouper Epinephelus tauvina (Forsskal, 1775)

A case of microsporidian (Glugea sp.) infection in the greasy grouper, Epinephelus tauvina (Forsskal) was studied by light microscopy as well as histological examination. The parasite was located in the subcutaneous tissue and visceral organs, forming spherical blackish xenomas of about 1-2.5 mm in diameter surrounded by a layer of connective tissue. The observed characteristics of the parasite are in line with those of the other Glugea species; showing merogony in the outer zone of the cytoplasm of the host cell, sporogony in sporophorous vesicles, and mature ovoid spores 4-6.5 μm x 2-2.2 μm located in the central part of the blackish xenoma. These characteristics suggested that the microsporidian which was found to infect E. tauvina during the present investigation was Glugea sp

Success in hatchery development of seabass and its potential for commercial cage culture in India

Brackishwater fish farming is considered as one of the potential areas not only as a source for fish production but also ensures the food security, livelihood for coastal community, business opportunity for entrepreneurs and also can earn foreign exchange. Coastal aquaculture has grown tremendously in early 1990s with farming of single species, the tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon. However, the shrimp farming faced severe set back due to outbreak of viral diseases coupled with social and other environmental issues. To overcome these issues, it is important to introduce some of the remedial measures in order to revive the aquaculture industry to achieve the sustainable production and one such measure clearly visible is the diversification of brackishwater aquaculture with fish species. It is evident that crop rotation can also decrease the risk of disease outbreak in the pond system

Classification of Subjects as Slow or Rapid Inactivators of Isoniazid Oral Administration of a Slow-release. Preparation of Isoniazid and Determination of the Ratio of Acetyisoniazid to Isoniazid in Urine

A simple method for classifying subjects as slow or rapid inactivators of isoniazid has beenevaluated on large numbers of patients. The method consists of determining the ratio of acetylisoniazid to isoniazid in a 24-26 h. urine collection following the oral administration of a slow-release preparation of isoniazid 30 mg./kg. body-weight. In a group of 101 patients, there was 100 per cent agreement between the classification based on this method and that based on a standard method, consisting of estimation of the serum isoniazid concentration, 4½ h. after an intramuscular dose of ordinary isoniazid 3 mg./kg. body-weight. Subsequent studies in other patients have confirmed that the method is efficient, and demonstrated that the classification is highly reproducible

Serum protein profile in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

A detailed study of the alterations in the serum protein fractions following commencement of effective anti-tuberculosis treatment was undertaken in 511 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. The concentration of serum albumin was 20-30 per cent higher (P<0.001) and that of a1, a2 and g -globulins significantly lower at the end of treatment than on admission (P <0.01), the magnitude of decrease being 7-17 per cent for g -globulin, 19-30 per cent for a1- globulin and 35-38 per cent for a2- globulin. In all, 481 patients had a favourable response to treatment, 46 of whom had a bacteriological relapse within 18 months of stopping treatment. The likelihood of a relapse was found to be greater with higher a2 -globulin concentrations at the end of treatment, the proportions of patients who relapsed being 3, 9, 13 and 15 per cent with a2 -globulin concentrations of < 0.40, 0.40-0.59, 0.60-0.79 and > 0.80 g/dl (P=0.02)

A Modified Method for the Estimation of Acetylisoniazid in Urine

The method of Venkataraman et al. (1968) for the direct estimation of acetylisoniazid in urine has been modified to make it suitable for application to urine specimens containing sugar. The urine is first extracted with a mixture of chloroform and n-butanol, the organic phase re-extracted with dilute sulphuric acid, and the original method then applied to the acid extract. With the modified method, recoveries of acetylisoniazid were quantitative, both in the presence and the absence of glucose. Interference due to hydrazones and isonicotinyl glycine was substantially reduced by the modification, while that due to isoniazid remained the same. There was little or no interference from isonicotinic acid, with either the original or the modified method

Effect of Prednisolone and Rifampin on Isoniazid Metabolism in Slow and Rapid Inactivators of Isoniazid

The effect of prednisolone and rifampin, alone and in combination, on the biodisposition of isoniazid in slow and rapid inactivators of isoniazid was investigated. In one investigation, we made serial determinations of plasma isoniazid concentrations up to 8 h and of isoniazid and acetylisoniazid in excreted urine up to 8.5 h in patients receiving isoniazid alone on one occasion and isoniazid plus prednisolone or isoniazid plus rifampin on another. Prednisolone caused a significant decrease in the plasma isoniazid concentrations in both slow and rapid inactivators. It also enhanced the renal clearance of isoniazid in both slow and rapid inactivators and increased the rate of acetylation of isoniazid in slow inactivators only. Rifampin had no effect on the biodisposition of isoniazid in either slow or rapid inactivators. In a second investigation, one group of slow and rapid inactivators received isoniazid and rifampin, and a different group received prednisolone, in addition. Plasma isoniazid concentrations in slow inactivators receiving prednisolone were significantly lower than in those who received isoniazid and rifampin only. In rapid inactivators, plasma isoniazid concentrations were similar in the two groups of patients, suggesting that concomitant administration of rifampin had considerably modified the prednisolone effect on the biodisposition of isoniazid in these patients

Classification of children as slow or rapid acetylators based on concentrations of isoniazid in saliva folowing oral administration of body-weight and surface-area-related dosages of the drug

The acetylator phenotype of 180 children aged 3-11 years was determined on the basis of isoniazid concentrations in saliva collected at 5 hours after oral administration of body-weight and surfacearea- related &sages of the drug in a syrup form. isoniazid 25 mglkg was administered on one occasion and 75 mg/m2 surface-area on another, with an interval of 3 days between the occasions. A cross-over design was employed and the sequence was determined by random allocation. The distribution of the concentrations was bimodal with both procedures, indicating the presence of two groups namely, the slow and rapid acetylators. The criterion for a rapid acetylator was a concentration of 0.3 μg/ml or less by body-weight-related dosage and 0.4 μg/ml or less by that based on surface-area. Based on these criteria, 62 % of the children were classified as slow acetylators and 38% as rapid acetylators by body-weight, and 59 and 41 %, respectively by surface-area, and the findings were similar in children in the different age-groups. The agreement between the two procedures was 98%

Classification of Subjects as Slow or Rapid Inactivators of Isoniazid Based on the Ratio of Acetylisoniazid to Isoniazid in Urine Determined by a Simple Colorimetric Method

A method for classifying subjects as slow or rapid inactivators of isoniazid based on the ratio of acetylisoniazid to isoniazid in a 3-4 hour urine collection following an intramuscular dose of isoniazid 3 mg./kg. body-weight has been described. Isoniazid and acetylisoniazid have been estimated using methods requiring the use of only a photoelectric colorimeter. Of the 279 patients investigated, 169 (61 per cent) were classified as slow inactivators and 110 (39 per cent) as rapid inactivators. This classification is an excellent agreement (97 per cent) with that based on a standard spectrophotometric method

Broad and potent cross clade neutralizing antibodies with multiple specificities in the plasma of HIV-1 subtype C infected individuals.

Broadly Cross clade Neutralizing (BCN) antibodies are recognized as potential therapeutic tools and leads for the design of a vaccine that can protect human beings against various clades of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). In the present study, we screened plasma of 88 HIV-1 infected ART naïve individuals for their neutralization potential using a standard panel of 18 pseudoviruses belonging to different subtypes and different levels of neutralization. We identified 12 samples with good breadth of neutralization (neutralized &gt;90% of the viruses). Four of these samples neutralized even the difficult-to-neutralize tier-3 pseudoviruses with great potency (GMT &gt; 600). Analysis of neutralization specificities indicated that four samples had antibodies with multiple epitope binding specificities, viz. CD4-binding site (CD4BS), glycans in the V1/V2 and V3 regions and membrane proximal external region (MPER). Our findings indicate the strong possibility of identifying highly potent bNAbs with known or novel specificities from HIV-1 subtype C infected individuals from India that can be exploited as therapeutic tools or lead molecules for the identification of potential epitopes for design of a protective HIV-1 vaccine

Enhanced catalytic performance of MnxOy-Na2WO4/SiO2 for the oxidative coupling of methane using an ordered mesoporous silica support

The oxidative coupling of methane is a highly promising reaction for its direct conversion. Silica supported MnxOy–Na2WO4 is a suitable catalyst for this reaction. In this study, a variety of different SiO2 materials have been tested as supports. Surprisingly, the application of ordered mesoporous silicas, here exemplarily shown for SBA-15 as support materials, greatly enhances the catalytic performance. The CH4 conversion increased two fold and also the C2 selectivity is strongly increased