Bacterial ‘Cell’ Phones: Do cell phones carry potential pathogens?

Cell phones are important companions for professionals especially health care workers (HCWs) for better communication in hospital. The present study compared the nature of the growth of potentially pathogenic bacterial flora on cell phones in hospital and community. 75% cell phones from both the categories grew at least one potentially pathogenic organism. Cell phones from HCWs grew significantly more potential pathogens like MRSA (20%), Acinetobacter species (5%), Pseudomonas species (2.5%) as compared to the non HCWs. 97.5% HCWs use their cell phone in the hospital, 57.5% never cleaned their cell phone and 20% admitted that they did not wash their hands before or after attending patients, although majority (77.5%) knows that cell phones can have harmful colonization and act as vector for nosocomial infections. It is recommended, therefore, that cell phones in the hospital should be regularly decontaminated. Moreover, utmost emphasis needs to be paid to hand washing practices among HCWs

Application and Effectiveness of Immunostimulants, Probiotics, and Prebiotics in Aquaculture: A Review

Immunostimulants, also called immunomodulators, adjuvants, or biological response modifiers, stimulate the immune system. They can be administered in the form of drugs or nutrients. Probiotics are organisms or substances that improve the intestinal microbial balance of a host animal. Prebiotics are indigestible components in a diet that are metabolized by specific microorganisms and prove helpful for the growth and health of the host. When provided as dietary supplements in feeds, even in small quantities, immunostimulants, probiotics, and prebiotics usually improve immunity, feed efficiency, and growth performance of crustaceans and fishes. The use of immunostimulants, probiotics, and prebiotics in aquaculture are presented in this review

HPLC QUANTIFICATION OF LACTOPEROXIDASE IN THERAPEUTIC DAIRY WASTE ENRICHED BY BUBBLESEPARATION

Objective: The objective of this study was to enrich therapeutic proteins and remove pollutants from dairy wastewater for establishing foam fractionation as a lucrative unit operation. Methods: Dairy wastewater collected from dairy industry was processed to fat-free dried protein waste mass diluted to 1-liter feed by distilled water in different concentrations and foam fractionated by sodium dodecyl sulphate (surfactant) to enriched proteins extract (foamate) in a foam fractionator. Foamate were analysed to quantify total proteins and lacto peroxidase respectively. The efficiency was evaluated by varying parameters like pH, initial waste and ionic concentrations, the waste-surfactant mass ratio of feed and flow rate of gas (N2) through feed solution by several experiments. Heat of desorption (λ) and mass transfer coefficient (K) were determined as indicators of adsorptive bubble separation to foam phase governed by Gibb’s equation of adsorption isotherm. Results: The process was optimized at pH 5.5, initial feed concentration 500μg/ml, waste–surfactant mass ratio (1.5:1), gas flow rate (350 ml/min) and ionic concentration 0.1 gram-mole of NaCL per litre of feed with enrichment factor (49.09), percent recovery (98.18%) observed in foamate. One natural preservative specifically lactoperoxidase was quantified by RP-HPLC analysis as 0.49% (w/w) of total proteins at optimal condition. Heat of desorption(λ), mass transfer coefficient(K)were determined 3140cal/mol and 12.68* 10-9 mol/cal/cm2/s respectively at pH 8.5, initial feed concentration 500μg/ml and gas flow rate 350 ml/min. Conclusion: The method may be a useful unit operation for recovery of biomolecules and removal of toxic pollutants from industrial wastewater for coming days

Critical behavior in the variation of GDR width at low temperature

We present the first experimental giant dipole resonance (GDR) width systematics, in the temperature region 0.8 $\sim$ 1.2 MeV for $^{201}$Tl, a near Pb nucleus, to investigate the evolution of the GDR width in shell effect & pairing dominated region. The extracted GDR widths are well below the predictions of shell effect corrected thermal shape fluctuation model (TSFM) and thermal pairing included phonon damping model. A similar behavior of the GDR width is also observed for $^{63}$Cu measured in the present work and $^{119}$Sb, measured earlier. This discrepancy is attributed to the GDR induced quadrupole moment leading to a critical point in the increase of the GDR width with temperature. We incorporate this novel idea in the phenomenological description based on the TSFM for a better understanding of the GDR width systematics for the entire range of mass, spin and temperature.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B, 7 pages, 4 figure

ANATOMICAL DISPOSITION OF CARPAL BONES OF GOLDEN RETRIEVER DOG BY X-RAY EXPOSURE

The present study was conducted to know the general disposition of bones in carpal region of experimental dogs by X-ray study with an objective that the findings will facilitate to have an in-depth knowledge about the proper positioning of the carpal bones for surgical management of fractures and different types of bone deformities in dogs. In the present study, the anatomical disposition and arrangement pattern of carpal bones playing a pivotal role in providing the structural conformity in the limbs of Golden Retriever dog has been thoroughly confirmed by Xray exposure

MFS transportome of the human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) is one of the two largest superfamilies of membrane transporters present ubiquitously in bacteria, archaea, and eukarya and includes members that function as uniporters, symporters or antiporters. We report here the complete transportome of MFS proteins of a human pathogenic yeast <it>Candida albicans</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Computational analysis of <it>C. albicans </it>genome enabled us to identify 95 potential MFS proteins which clustered into 17 families using Saier's Transport Commission (TC) system. Among these SP, DHA1, DHA2 and ACS represented major families consisting of 22, 22, 9 and 16 members, respectively. Family designations in <it>C. albicans </it>were validated by subjecting <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>genome to TC system. Based on the published available genomics/proteomics data, 87 of the putative MFS genes of <it>C. albicans </it>were found to express either at mRNA or protein levels. We checked the expression of the remaining 8 genes by using RT-PCR and observed that they are not expressed under basal growth conditions implying that either these 8 genes are expressed under specific growth conditions or they may be candidates for pseudogenes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The <it>in silico </it>characterisation of MFS transporters in <it>Candida albicans </it>genome revealed a large complement of MFS transporters with most of them showing expression. Considering the clinical relevance of <it>C. albicans </it>and role of MFS members in antifungal resistance and nutrient transport, this analysis would pave way for identifying their physiological relevance.</p

Pathology of Eupatorium adenophorum (Sticky snakeroot) toxicity in mice

The leaves of Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng were powdered and extracted with methanol.  An acute oral toxicity study was conducted in male Swiss albino mice and a LD50 of 3501 mg/kg was obtained during 14 days observation period. Twenty Swiss albino mice (male) randomly divided into four groups were administered orally with vehicle (5% tween 80), 1/20th (i.e. 175 mg/kg), 1/10th (i.e. 350 mg/kg) and 1/5th (i.e. 750 mg/kg) LD50 doses of methanolic leaf extract of E. adenophorum Spreng; respectively for a period of 30 days. The mice were sacrificed on day-31 and the liver dissected out freed from adherent tissue weighed to nearest milligram. The  liver histology, estimations of biochemical contents and enzyme activities were carried out. Treatment of the mice with methanolic extract of E. adenophorum at the dose level of 750 mg/kg (i.e. 1/5th LD50) elicited hepatotoxicity and the animals had yellow discoloration of liver, subcutaneous tissue and musculature indicating jaundice. Study on liver enzymes revealed marked increase in the activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), while significant increase in serum bilirubin level. Histopathological examination of the livers of the group IV animals had focal areas of necrosis and bile duct proliferation. Elevation in plasma bilirubin concomitant with alterations in enzyme profile and histopathological lesions are consistent with liver injury and cholestasi

Particle density fluctuations

Event-by-event fluctuations in the multiplicities of charged particles and photons at SPS energies are discussed. Fluctuations are studied by controlling the centrality of the reaction and rapidity acceptance of the detectors. Results are also presented on the event-by-event study of correlations between the multiplicity of charged particles and photons to search for DCC-like signals.Comment: Talk presented at Quark Matter 2002, Nantes, Franc