Isolation and characterization of IgM from Bengal goat blood serum

ABSTRACT Isolation of IgM from Bengal goat blood serum was carried out by centrifugation of the collected serum to eliminate the blood corpuscles and purity of serum was affirmed by the absence of pellets. Purified serum was obtained by ammonium sulphate precipitation. The isolated IgM obtained through dialysis, was quantified through silica gel chromatography using phosphate buffer saline (PBS) as a solvent with varied pH and obtained different fractions (namely I, II, III, IV and V). Quantification of protein was carried out by Lowry method and the molecular weight was determined by SDS-PAGE with a standard marker. The presence of IgM was confirmed by Immunodiffusion and Immuno Dot Blot. The results of the experiment suggest that Fractions I, II and III contain more stressed protein which has some similarity with ovalbumin. The resulting colour intensity obtained on performing Immuno Dot Blot using IgM as primary antibody, demonstrates that Fraction II contains maximum concentration of stressed protein

Randomized Clinical Trial of High-Dose Rifampicin With or Without Levofloxacin Versus Standard of Care for Pediatric Tuberculous Meningitis: The TBM-KIDS Trial

Background. Pediatric tuberculous meningitis (TBM) commonly causes death or disability. In adults, high-dose rifampicin may reduce mortality. The role of fluoroquinolones remains unclear. There have been no antimicrobial treatment trials for pediatric TBM. Methods. TBM-KIDS was a phase 2 open-label randomized trial among children with TBM in India and Malawi. Participants received isoniazid and pyrazinamide plus: (i) high-dose rifampicin (30 mg/kg) and ethambutol (R30HZE, arm 1); (ii) high-dose rifampicin and levofloxacin (R30HZL, arm 2); or (iii) standard-dose rifampicin and ethambutol (R15HZE, arm 3) for 8 weeks, followed by 10 months of standard treatment. Functional and neurocognitive outcomes were measured longitudinally using Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) and Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). Results. Of 2487 children prescreened, 79 were screened and 37 enrolled. Median age was 72 months; 49%, 43%, and 8% had stage I, II, and III disease, respectively. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 58%, 55%, and 36% of children in arms 1, 2, and 3, with 1 death (arm 1) and 6 early treatment discontinuations (4 in arm 1, 1 each in arms 2 and 3). By week 8, all children recovered to MRS score of 0 or 1. Average MSEL scores were significantly better in arm 1 than arm 3 in fine motor, receptive language, and expressive language domains (P < .01). Conclusions. In a pediatric TBM trial, functional outcomes were excellent overall. The trend toward higher frequency of adverse events but better neurocognitive outcomes in children receiving high-dose rifampicin requires confirmation in a larger trial. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT02958709

Assessing Growth-Promoting Activity of Bacteria Isolated from Municipal Waste Compost on <i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> L.

Rapid urbanization and population growth are stressing the present agricultural systems and could threaten food security in the near future. Sustainable development in agriculture is a way out to such enormously growing food demand. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are considered pivotal to providing adequate nutrition and health to plants and maintaining soil microbial dynamics. In the present study, municipal solid waste composts (MSWC) were studied for the presence of PGPB and their growth-promoting characteristics such as ammonium production, siderophores production, phosphorus solubilization and potassium solubilization, IAA (indole acetic acid), and HCN production. Four promising isolates were chosen and identified through 16S rRNA sequencing as Bacillus sp. strain L5-1, Bacillus pumilus strain EE107-P5, Bacillus sp. strain LSRBMoFPIKRGCFTRI6 and Bacillus sp. strain LPOC3. The potential of isolates is validated using Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) and was found to improve its growth significantly. The findings indicated the presence of potential Bacillus strains in MSWCs, and these composts can be utilized as biofertilizers for urban agricultural practices. However, studies concerning their impact on other crops’ growth and health are still underdeveloped. Since MSWCs might carry hazardous metals or chemicals, their evaluation for the safe application on the crops should also be assessed

Assessment of Heavy Metal Distribution and Health Risk of Vegetable Crops Grown on Soils Amended with Municipal Solid Waste Compost for Sustainable Urban Agriculture

Rapid urbanization is one of the key factors that leads to defragmentation and the shrinking of agricultural land. It further leads to the generation of an ample amount of municipal waste. Several technologies have emerged in the past for its utilization, and in this regard, composting is one of the conventional approaches gaining popularity in modern agriculture. To overcome the possible criticality of intense urbanization, the concept of urban agriculture is taking shape. Municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) has been popularly explored for the soil amendments and nutritional requirements of crops. With this, the assessment of soil pollution (due to the heavy metals presently found in MSWC) is a required step for its safe application in agriculture. The present study aims at assessing the utilization of MSWC (in different ratios) to amend the soil and its impact on the growth and yield of brinjal (Solanum melongena), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus). The study also explored the uptake of heavy metals by plants and their risk to human consumption. The findings suggested that MSWC amendments upgraded the physio-chemical properties of soil, including organic matter (OM) and micronutrients, and increased the heavy metal concentrations in soil. Heavy metal analysis underlined the presence of several heavy metals both in soil and crops. Total metal concentration in soil increased with increased MSWC dosage. Concerning metal uptake by crop plants, 25% of MSWC was found to impart metal concentrations within permissible values in edible parts of crops. On the contrary, 50%, 75%, and 100% compost showed higher metal concentrations in the crops. A Health Risk Index (HRI) of less than 1 was found to be associated with soil amended with 25% MSWC. Our study implies that MSWC significantly improved the growth and yield of crops, and it can be considered an alternative to chemical fertilizer but only in a safer ratio (≤25%). However, further studies are required, especially on field conditions to validate the findings regarding metal accumulation