Cirrhosis of liver is a risk factor for gallstone disease

Background: Gallstones are common clinical finding in general population. Mean prevalence rate in Indian population is 4-5%. The prevalence of gallstones is found to be high in cirrhotic patients compared to the general population in some western studies. Cause of this increased prevalence however is not known. Aim of the study was to evaluate prevalence of the gall stones in the cirrhotic patients, assess risk factors in cirrhotic patients and clinical presentation.Methods: This is the cross sectional observational study, included cirrhotic patients (compensated or decompensated). Risk factors for gallstone formation (age, gender and diabetes mellitus), characteristics of liver cirrhosis (etiology, Child Turcotte Pugh class, hypersplenism and varices) and clinical presentation were assessed in all cirrhotic patients with gallstones.Results: 336 patients with liver cirrhosis are included in this study; 201 (59.80%) male and 135 (40.2%) female. Mean age of the patients is 44.95±13.1 years. Overall prevalence of gall stones was 12.8% (43/336). Out of 43 patients, 23 (53.5%) are male and 20 (46.5%) are female. As child status progresses from A to B to C, prevalence of gall stone increases, with 60.46% (26/43) of gall stones occurring in the patients with CTP class C. Only 8 (18.6%) patients had gallstone related symptoms while rests were asymptomatic. 5 (11.6%) had concurrent CBD stones. Cholecystectomy was possible in only 2 patients with symptomatic gallstones.Conclusions: The prevalence of gall stones in cirrhotic is higher than general population which increases with the severity of liver cirrhosis. Most cirrhotic patients are asymptomatic for gallstones

Fermentation, Isolation, Structure, and antidiabetic activity of NFAT-133 produced by Streptomyces strain PM0324667

Type-2 diabetes is mediated by defects in either insulin secretion or insulin action. In an effort to identify extracts that may stimulate glucose uptake, similar to insulin, a high throughput-screening assay for measuring glucose uptake in skeletal muscle cells was established. During the screening studies to discover novel antidiabetic compounds from microbial resources a Streptomyces strain PM0324667 (MTCC 5543, the Strain accession number at Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, India), an isolate from arid soil was identified which expressed a secondary metabolite that induced glucose uptake in L6 skeletal muscle cells. By employing bioactivity guided fractionation techniques, a tri-substituted simple aromatic compound with anti-diabetic potential was isolated. It was characterized based on MS and 2D NMR spectral data and identified as NFAT-133 which is a known immunosuppressive agent that inhibits NFAT-dependent transcription in vitro. Our investigations revealed the antidiabetic potential of NFAT-133. The compound induced glucose uptake in differentiated L6 myotubes with an EC50 of 6.3 ± 1.8 μM without activating the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ. Further, NFAT-133 was also efficacious in vivo in diabetic animals and reduced systemic glucose levels. Thus it is a potential lead compound which can be considered for development as a therapeutic for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. We have reported herewith the isolation of the producer microbe, fermentation, purification, in vitro, and in vivo antidiabetic activity of the compound

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

A prospective study to evaluate the utility of bronchoalveolar lavage by fiberoptic bronchoscopy in sputum smear negative patients with high suspicion of pulmonary tuberculosis

Aim: To evaluate the utility of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) by flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) in sputum smear negative patients with clinical and radiological characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Materials and Methods: This prospective study was carried out in 30 sputum smear negative patients of age group 20 to 70 years, who were highly suspicious for PTB by clinical and radiographic criteria. All patients were subjected to sputum culture, BAL stains and cultures, and cytopathology. Patients with moderate to massive pleural effusion, obvious accessible lymph node, history of antitubercular therapy (ATT), and contraindication to FOB were excluded. Results: Sputum culture for acid fast bacilli (AFB) was positive in four (12%) patients, BAL fluid was positive for Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain in nine (27%) patients, including four sputum culture patients, while BAL culture for AFB on Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium was positive in 18 (60%), including 9 BAL fluid ZN stain positive patients. Six (20%) patients had growth on pyogenic culture, while two (7%) patients had malignant cell on cytological examination of BAL fluid. Remaining four (13%) patients were empirically started on ATT. They had complete response to ATT at 2 months and were retrospectively diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). All the bacteriologically confirmed PTB patients were given ATT for 6 months and all patients had complete response. Conclusion: We concluded that FOB guided BAL is extremely useful for establishing diagnosis of PTB or other pulmonary diseases in sputum smear negative patients, who have high suspicion for PTB by clinical and radiographic criteria

Developmental variation in floral volatiles composition of a fragrant orchid <i>Zygopetalum maculatum</i> (Kunth) Garay

<p>Emitted scent volatile profile of an orchid species <i>Zygopetalum maculatum</i> was studied using dynamic headspace sampling technique with four different adsorbent matrices, namely Porapak Type Q polymer (mesh size: 80/100), Tenax (mesh size: 60/80), activated charcoal and graphite. In addition, developmental variations in scent emissions and endogenous volatile levels were also investigated. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed the presence of 21 volatile compounds in the headspace, which was predominantly enriched with benzenoid compounds. Among these benzenoids, <i>o</i>-diethylbenzene and <i>p</i>-diethylbenzene were the major compounds followed by benzyl acetate and methyl salicylate. Among the phenylpropanoid compounds, 2-phenylethyl acetate was the major volatile. However, as compared to benzenoids, the quantity was much lesser, indicating the inclination of phenylalanine flux towards benzenoid pathway. The outcome of this study has the implications in enhancing fragrance and vase life of orchids of the Sikkim Himalaya region and thus may further help to meet the growing market demand.</p

Extrusion-Spheronization of Talc using Microcrystalline Cellulose as a Pellet Aid: Part I

NoThe aims of the present work were to pelletize talc by extrusion-spheronization technique using microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) as a pelletization aid and to study its performance as a neutral substrate for coating. A 32 factorial design was used to study the effect of independent variables (X1, amount of talc, and X2, MCC) on pellet properties