Emulsification and Hydrolysis of Oil by Syncephalastrum racemosum

A fungal strain, Syncephalastrum racemosum, was isolated from oil-leak contaminated soils from Kanpur, India. The strain was examined for potential to emulsify soybean oil using a 18 per cent oil supplement as carbon source in minimal salt medium. On 72 h growth of the fungus in oil and salt medium, the cellfree supernatant (CFS) showed presence of mono- and di-glycerides indicating degradation of oils to free fatty acids (FFAs). Increasing concentration of oil resulted in enhanced formation of FFAs. The degradation process was observed to be related to the emulsification activity in CFS which was observed to increase with time. The study reports the emulsification and hydrolytic activity of S. racemosum, an activity that can be exploited for increasing the accessibility and treatment of hazardous substance including hydrophobic explosives.Defence Science Journal, 2010, 60(3), pp.251-254, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.60.35

Plasma lipoprotein subfraction concentrations are associated with lipid metabolism and age-related macular degeneration

10.1194/jlr.M073684Journal of Lipid Research5891785-179

Conversion to aflibercept for diabetic macular edema unresponsive to ranibizumab or bevacizumab

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine if eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME) unresponsive to ranibizumab or bevacizumab would benefit from conversion to aflibercept. Methods: This study was conducted as a retrospective chart review of subjects with DME unresponsive to ranibizumab and/or bevacizumab and subsequently converted to aflibercept. Results: In total, 21 eyes from 19 subjects of mean age 62±15 years were included. The majority of subjects were male (63%). The median number of ranibizumab or bevacizumab injections before switching to aflibercept was six, and the median number of aflibercept injections after switching was three. Median follow-up was 5 months after the switch. Mean central foveal thickness (CFT) was 453.52±143.39 mm immediately prior to the switch. Morphologically, intraretinal cysts were present in all cases. Mean CFT after the first injection decreased significantly to 362.57±92.82 mm (Wilcoxon signed-rank test; P<0.001). At the end of follow-up, the mean CFT was 324.17±98.76 mm (P<0.001). Mean visual acuity was 0.42±0.23 logMAR just prior to the switch, 0.39±0.31 logMAR after one aflibercept injection, and 0.37±0.22 log-MAR at the end of follow-up. The final visual acuity was significantly better than visual acuity before the switch (P=0.04). Conclusion: Eyes with DME unresponsive to multiple ranibizumab/bevacizumab injections demonstrate anatomical and visual improvement on conversion to aflibercept

Human pharyngeal microbiota in age-related macular degeneration.

BACKGROUND: While the aetiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-a major blinding disease-remains unknown, the disease is strongly associated with variants in the complement factor H (CFH) gene. CFH variants also confer susceptibility to invasive infection with several bacterial colonizers of the nasopharyngeal mucosa. This shared susceptibility locus implicates complement deregulation as a common disease mechanism, and suggests the possibility that microbial interactions with host complement may trigger AMD. In this study, we address this possibility by testing the hypothesis that AMD is associated with specific microbial colonization of the human nasopharynx. RESULTS: High-throughput Illumina sequencing of the V3-V6 region of the microbial 16S ribosomal RNA gene was used to comprehensively and accurately describe the human pharyngeal microbiome, at genus level, in 245 AMD patients and 386 controls. Based on mean and differential microbial abundance analyses, we determined an overview of the pharyngeal microbiota, as well as candidate genera (Prevotella and Gemella) suggesting an association towards AMD health and disease conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Utilizing an extensive study population from Singapore, our results provided an accurate description of the pharyngeal microbiota profiles in AMD health and disease conditions. Through identification of candidate genera that are different between conditions, we provide preliminary evidence for the existence of microbial triggers for AMD. Ethical approval for this study was obtained through the Singapore Health Clinical Institutional Review Board, reference numbers R799/63/2010 and 2010/585/A

Study of lipid profile in hypertensive subjects

Aim : The present study was designed to investigate lipid profile in hypertensive subjects. Material and Method : The present study was carried out on 25 healthy controls and 25 hypertensive subjects of either sex and of varying age groups attending the Out Patient Department of Medicine, Dr. S.N. Medical College and Associated group of hospitals, Jodhpur. Results: The results obtained in this study showed that the results of TG ,Total cholesterol ,HDL-c ,VLDL-c ,LDL-c were highly significant in patients compared with control subjects .Conclusion: The present study indicates an increased TG ,Total cholesterol ,VLDL-c ,LDL-c and decreased HDL-c values in hypertensive subjects, which is due to many factors like obesity ,age etc

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN URBAN AREA OF JHANSI

The present study is an attempt to find out the nutritional status including anthropometric assessment. A cross -sectional study was conducted in primary section of two governments and Iwo convent schools of Jhansi city during the study period of march 1999 to feb2000.Selected school children (n=840) aged 5-11 years, 453 children from municipal school and 387 children from convent school comprised the study material. Following results were observed -out of total children surveyed, 52.98% were male and rests 4 7.02% were females. Hindu formed majority (70.90%) of children in both types of schools. Mean height and weight of boys and girls were higher than ICMR standards in both type of school. The mean mid arm circumference of all girls and boys from both type of schools had higher value than the ICMR standards but did not come up to WOLANSKI standard. Statistical analysis-percentage, mean, chi-square test