EVALUATION OF PHYTOCONSTITUENTS, AND ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF JUGLANS REGIA FROM KASHMIR REGION

Objectives: The main focus of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy (against oral pathogenic bacteria), free radical scavenging activity, and total phenolic and flavonoids content (TPC and TFC) of methanolic extract (ME) of J. regia obtained from Kashmir region. Methods: The plant part was collected and its ME was prepared. ME was subjected to antibacterial activity against oral bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The free radical scavenging activity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl- 1-picrylhydrazylhydrate (DPPH) assay. TPC and TFC were also determined using a standard curve equation of gallic acid and quercetin. A standard curve using different concentrations of gallic acid and quercetin was drawn from which the concentration of phenols in the test sample was calculated and expressed in mg/g. Results: The ME of J. regia was found effective against all the strains of microorganisms responsible for oral infection understudy. It was also observed that scavenging of DPPH increased with the increase in concentration for both standard ascorbic and methanolic bark extract of J. regia showing its antioxidant potential. The TPC and TFC of ME was found to be 43.35±0.079 and 17.28±0.125. Conclusions: The results obtained from the study clearly indicate that the walnut bark from Kashmir region can be a good candidate for employment as an antibacterial against oral pathogens. J. regia bark was found to be a good source of healthy compounds such as phenolic and flavonoids, suggesting that its bark could be useful to prevent diseases in which free radicals are present

Effect of long term application of organic and inorganic fertilizer on productivity and water use efficiency of pearl millet under rainfed condition

Not AvailableEffect of long term application of organic and inorganic fertilizer on productivity and water use efficiency of pearl millet under rainfed conditionNot Availabl

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Prevalence and determinants of obesity among school going adolescents: A systematic review

Adolescence is considered as critical period for the development of obesity. The frequency of childhood obesity has increased over the last 3 decades, and it has emerged as a public health concern in multiple places around the world. A number of factors interact in a complex way to cause obesity, which is still not fully understood. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to identify and assess the scientific literature on the prevalence of obesity, and behavioural, contextual and biological factors associated with obesity in adolescents. The search was carried out using PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Scopus considering articles published from the establishment of the databanks until December, 2022. Data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents, and articles on the determinants and factors affecting obesity were reviewed. The results obtained and the association observed among the factors studied will be helpful to support the planning, implementation and evaluation of preventive activities and interventions

Source of Previous Treatment for Re-Treatment TB Cases Registered under the National TB Control Programme, India, 2010

BACKGROUND: In 2009, nearly half (289,756) of global re-treatment TB notifications are from India; no nationally-representative data on the source of previous treatment was available to inform strategies for improvement of initial TB treatment outcome. OBJECTIVES: To assess the source of previous treatment for re-treatment TB patients registered under India's Revised National TB control Programme (RNTCP). METHODOLOGY: A nationally-representative cross sectional study was conducted in a sample of 36 randomly-selected districts. All consecutively registered retreatment TB patients during a defined 15-day period in these 36 districts were contacted and the information on the source of previous treatment sought. RESULTS: Data was collected from all 1712 retreatment TB patients registered in the identified districts during the study period. The data includes information on 595 'relapse' cases, 105 'failure' cases, 437 'treatment after default (TAD)' cases and 575 're-treatment others' cases. The source of most recent previous anti-tuberculosis therapy for 754 [44% (95% CI, 38.2%-49.9%)] of the re-treatment TB patients was from providers outside the TB control programme. A higher proportion of patients registered as TAD (64%) and 'retreatment others' (59%) were likely to be treated outside the National Programme, when compared to the proportion among 'relapse' (22%) or 'failure' (6%). Extrapolated to national registration, of the 292,972 re-treatment registrations in 2010, 128,907 patients would have been most recently treated outside the national programme. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of the re-treatment cases registered with the national programme were most recently treated outside the programme setting. Enhanced efforts towards extending treatment support and supervision to patients treated by private sector treatment providers are urgently required to improve the quality of treatment and reduce the numbers of patients with recurrent disease. In addition, reasons for the large number of recurrent TB cases from those already treated by the national programme require urgent detailed investigation

Small but crucial : the novel small heat shock protein Hsp21 mediates stress adaptation and virulence in Candida albicans

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Traditional use of medicinal plants among the tribal communities of Chhota Bhangal, Western Himalaya

The importance of medicinal plants in traditional healthcare practices, providing clues to new areas of research and in biodiversity conservation is now well recognized. However, information on the uses for plants for medicine is lacking from many interior areas of Himalaya. Keeping this in view the present study was initiated in a tribal dominated hinterland of western Himalaya. The study aimed to look into the diversity of plant resources that are used by local people for curing various ailments. Questionnaire surveys, participatory observations and field visits were planned to illicit information on the uses of various plants. It was found that 35 plant species are commonly used by local people for curing various diseases. In most of the cases (45%) under ground part of the plant was used. New medicinal uses of Ranunculus hirtellus and Anemone rupicola are reported from this area. Similarly, preparation of "sik" a traditional recipe served as a nutritious diet to pregnant women is also not documented elsewhere. Implication of developmental activities and changing socio-economic conditions on the traditional knowledge are also discussed

Expression, maturation and turnover of DrrS, an unusually stable, DosR regulated small RNA in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis depends on the ability to adjust to stresses encountered in a range of host environments, adjustments that require significant changes in gene expression. Small RNAs (sRNAs) play an important role as post-transcriptional regulators of prokaryotic gene expression, where they are associated with stress responses and, in the case of pathogens, adaptation to the host environment. In spite of this, the understanding of M. tuberculosis RNA biology remains limited. Here we have used a DosR-associated sRNA as an example to investigate multiple aspects of mycobacterial RNA biology that are likely to apply to other M. tuberculosis sRNAs and mRNAs. We have found that accumulation of this particular sRNA is slow but robust as cells enter stationary phase. Using reporter gene assays, we find that the sRNA core promoter is activated by DosR, and we have renamed the sRNA DrrS for DosR Regulated sRNA. Moreover, we show that DrrS is transcribed as a longer precursor, DrrS+, which is rapidly processed to the mature and highly stable DrrS. We characterise, for the first time in mycobacteria, an RNA structural determinant involved in this extraordinary stability and we show how the addition of a few nucleotides can lead to acute destabilisation. Finally, we show how this RNA element can enhance expression of a heterologous gene. Thus, the element, as well as its destabilising derivatives may be employed to post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression in mycobacteria in combination with different promoter variants. Moreover, our findings will facilitate further investigations into the severely understudied topic of mycobacterial RNA biology and into the role that regulatory RNA plays in M. tuberculosis pathogenesis