Poly (γ) glutamic acid: a unique microbial biopolymer with diverse commercial applicability

Microbial biopolymers have emerged as promising solutions for environmental pollution-related human health issues. Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA), a natural anionic polymeric compound, is composed of highly viscous homo-polyamide of D and L-glutamic acid units. The extracellular water solubility of PGA biopolymer facilitates its complete biodegradation and makes it safe for humans. The unique properties have enabled its applications in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, water treatment, foods, and other domains. It is applied as a thickener, taste-masking agent, stabilizer, texture modifier, moisturizer, bitterness-reducing agent, probiotics cryoprotectant, and protein crystallization agent in food industries. γ-PGA is employed as a biological adhesive, drug carrier, and non-viral vector for safe gene delivery in tissue engineering, pharmaceuticals, and medicine. It is also used as a moisturizer to improve the quality of hair care and skincare cosmetic products. In agriculture, it serves as an ideal stabilizer, environment-friendly fertilizer synergist, plant-growth promoter, metal biosorbent in soil washing, and animal feed additive to reduce body fat and enhance egg-shell strength

Neuroendocrine tumor of the appendix inside an incarcerated Amyand’s hernia

AbstractAmyand’s hernia is a rare type of hernia where the vermiform appendix is within an inguinal hernia sac. Tumors of the appendix are quite uncommon. The coincidence of an Amyand’s hernia with neuroendocrine tumor of the appendix, as in our case, is even more rarely reported.We report the case of an 81-year-old male who presented with an incarcerated right inguinal hernia. After resuscitation, the clinical diagnosis was confirmed by computed tomography. It showed an incarcerated right inguinal hernia which contained the distal ileum, cecum, thickened appendix, as well as a small amount of fluid. Subsequently, the patient was prepared for emergency surgery. During the operation, the hernia sac was found and opened. The appendix was swollen. Therefore, appendectomy was performed. The inguinal defect was repaired using the Modified Bassini Technique. The patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery and surprisingly the histopathology of the appendix revealed a 1.5cm well-differentiated low grade neuroendocrine tumor (carcinoid) of the appendix tip.An incidental finding of neuroendocrine tumor of the appendix in a patient with s hernia is extremely rare. A high index of suspicion is the key to diagnose such a coincidence in order to safely and optimally treat such a condition

Efficacy of Rectal Misoprostol versus Oxytocin on Reducing Blood Loss during Cesarean Section: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

Introduction: Blood loss is an inevitable complication and a major contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality at cesarean deliveries. Several trials have investigated the of using Misoprostol to prevent hemorrhage-related complications in women undergoing cesarean section. Objective: We aimed to detect a potential preference regarding the efficacy and safety of rectal Misoprostol over Oxytocin as a uterotonic agent. Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, and other databases for the relevant trials from inception to September 2022. We included randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that compared rectal Misoprostol versus Oxytocin to control bleeding in women undergoing cesarean delivery. Our primary outcomes were the intra- and postoperative blood loss, and hemoglobin drop after delivery. Secondary outcomes included need for blood transfusion, need for additional uterotonics, difference in operative time, as well as safety outcomes such as the incidence of shivering, pyrexia, nausea, and vomiting. Results: Our search strategy revealed 1007 unique records, of them we retrieved full texts of 19 articles to check their adherence to our eligibility criteria. Nine RCTs with 1490 participants were included. We found a significant reduction in postoperative blood loss (MD: -27.9 mL; 95% CI: -53.8, -2.1, p = 0.03), and Hb drop after delivery (MD: 0.11 mg/dl, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.19, p = 0.003). There is no significant difference regarding intraoperative blood loss, operative time, need for blood transfusion, or need for additional uterotonics. We could not find a significant difference between the 2 groups regarding safety outcomes except for a higher shivering incidence in Misoprostol group (RR: 2.99; 95% CI: 1.69, 5.29, p = 0.002). Conclusion: We found a significant reduction in postoperative blood loss with a potential favorable safety profile in women who administrated rectal Misoprostol compared to Oxytocin administration. Our findings recommend and prefer rectal Misoprostol as a cheaper and effective uterotonic agent over Oxytocin which is expensive and require adequate cold chain for transportation and storage

Caenibacterium thermophilum is a later synonym of Schlegelella thermodepolymerans

Recently, two strains of Schlegelella thermodepolymerans Elbanna et al. 2003 and an independently isolated bacterium, Caenibacterium thermophilum Manaia et al. 2003, were described in parallel as gen. nov., sp. nov. Analysis of the 16S rRNA genes revealed similarity between C. thermophilum and the two strains of S. thermodepolymerans of 99?8 and 99?6%, respectively. DNA–DNA hybridization experiments revealed mean DNA reassociation levels of 97–98% among C. thermophilum and the two strains of S. thermodepolymerans, thereby confirming the close relationship and indicating that C. thermophilum is a later synonym of S. thermodepolymerans.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Multidrug-resistant Hospital-acquired Staphylococcus aureus in Medina, Saudi Arabia

Hospital acquired-Staphylococcus aureus (HA-Staphylococcus aureus), particularly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are an important source of nosocomial infections with high morbidity and mortality rates. Few reports showed that infections due to HA-Staphylococcus aureus in Saudi Arabia is increasing, particularly infections attributed to HA-MRSA. The study aimed to explore the prevalence and clinical characteristics of HA-Staphylococcus aureus for the first time in Medina, Saudi Arabia. A total of 1262 clinical samples of hospitalized patients were examined for the presence of Staphylococcus aureus through selective culturing on mannitol salt agar. Vitek Compact System and conventional methods were followed to confirm the isolates. Vitek Compact System tested the antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates whereas the standard PCR was employed to detect the genes encoding antimicrobial resistance (mecA and vanA) and virulence factors (tst, et, and LukS-PV). The overall HA-Staphylococcus aureus prevalence was low (6.58%, n = 1262) of which 84.34% (n = 83) were MRSA. Approximately, 57 samples of the 70 MRSA (81.5%) exhibited a multidrug-resistance (MDR) pattern. All the 83 HA-Staphylococcus aureus isolates were negative for the genes encoding toxic shock syndrome toxin, exfoliative toxin, and Panton-Valentine leukocidin. The study was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic under partial lockdown, restricted hospitalization, and increased disinfection and infection control measures. Therefore, the low prevalence of HA-Staphylococcus aureus should be carefully interpreted and further multicenter investigations could reveal its true incidence in the city. The high prevalence of MDR HA-MRSA is alarming as it highlights inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions to counter staphylococcal infections. HA-Staphylococcus aureus investigated in this study might lack certain virulence factors. However, their MDR traits and invasive nature could worsen the situation if not properly handled

Functional Low-fat Set Yogurt Enhanced with Microbial Exo-polysaccharides-mediated Anticancer Activity

Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are novel functional additives for low-fat yogurt. Pharmaceutical, medical, and food industries are using more LAB-based EPSs. In this study, Leuconostoc spp. was used to produce ninth bacterial EPSs in a modified molasses medium. Production of EPSs was concentration-dependent on all stains and the highest yield was obtained from the S3 strain (55.23 g/l), followed by S6 (49.95 g/l), S8 (45.68 g/l), and S7 (44.23), respectively. HPLC and FTIR analysis showed that all purified EPSs from Leuconostoc citreum (S3) and Leuconstoc holzaapfelii (S8) were related to exopolysaccharide glucan. Anticancer activity of all EPSs samples (EPSs1-9) against Caco-2 cells and normal MCR-5 cells were investigated using MTT assay. The results revealed that Caco-2 cells were more sensitive than the normal MCR-5 cells. The highest anticancer activity against Caco-2 cancer cells was recorded for EPS8 (IC50 = 22.94 µg/ml, SI=3.73), followed by EPS3 (IC50 = 36.15 µg/ml, SI=8.72), EPS1 (IC50 = 50.01 µg/ml, SI=3.73), and EPS4 (IC50 = 94.90 µg/ml, SI=3.26), respectively. The lowest cytotoxicity was recorded for EPS5 (IC50 = 130.5 µg/ml). The most active EPSs (EPS3 and EPS8) were used as fat replacements and stabilizers in low-fat set yogurt at non-toxic concentrations (0.4, 0.8, and 1.2%). EPS3 and EPS8 improved the low-fat yogurt’s organoleptic and rheological properties. EPS8 had the highest water holding capacity (77.26%), viscosity (3660 CP), and lowest syneresis (22.95%) and whey off (0.6 ml). Low-fat set yogurt enhanced with EPS3 and EPS8 recorded the highest sensory evaluation values with overall acceptability, especially EPS3b, EPS3c, EPS8c, and EPS8b; the total score point of 97.50, 97.43, 96.51, and 96.36, respectively in fresh age compared to control yogurt (92.64). In conclusion, Leuconostoc EPSs, especially EPS8, can be explored for anti-cancer effects on Caco-2 colorectal cancer cells. It could also improve the rheological and organoleptic qualities of low-fat set yogurt

Imaging diagnosis and staging of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a comprehensive review

Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has continued to have a poor prognosis for the last few decades in spite of recent advances in different imaging modalities mainly due to difficulty in early diagnosis and aggressive biological behavior. Early PDAC can be missed on CT due to similar attenuation relative to the normal pancreas, small size, or hidden location in the uncinate process. Tumor resectability and its contingency on the vascular invasion most commonly assessed with multi-phasic thin-slice CT is a continuously changing concept, particularly in the era of frequent neoadjuvant therapy. Coexistent celiac artery stenosis may affect the surgical plan in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy. In this review, we discuss the challenges related to the imaging of PDAC. These include radiological and clinical subtleties of the tumor, evolving imaging criteria for tumor resectability, preoperative diagnosis of accompanying celiac artery stenosis, and post-neoadjuvant therapy imaging. For each category, the key imaging features and potential pitfalls on cross-sectional imaging will be discussed. Also, we will describe the imaging discriminators of potential mimickers of PDAC