Organic acid production in vitro and plant growth promotion in maize under controlled environment by phosphate-solubilizing fluorescent Pseudomonas

BACKGROUND: Phosphorus deficiency is a major constraint to crop production due to rapid binding of the applied phosphorus into fixed forms not available to the plants. Microbial solubilization of inorganic phosphates has been attributed mainly to the production of organic acids. Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms enhance plant growth under conditions of poor phosphorus availability by solubilizing insoluble phosphates in the soil. This paper describes the production of organic acids during inorganic phosphate solubilization and influence on plant growth as a function of phosphate solubilization by fluorescent Pseudomonas. RESULTS: Nineteen phosphate-solubilizing fluorescent Pseudomonas strains of P. fluorescens, P. poae, P. trivialis, and Pseudomonas spp. produced gluconic acid, oxalic acid, 2-ketogluconic acid, lactic acid, succinic acid, formic acid, citric acid and malic acid in the culture filtrates during the solubilization of tricalcium phosphate, Mussoorie rock phosphate, Udaipur rock phosphate and North Carolina rock phosphate. The strains differed quantitatively and qualitatively in the production of organic acids during solubilization of phosphate substrates. Cluster analysis based on organic acid profiling revealed inter-species and intra-species variation in organic acids produced by Pseudomonas strains. The phosphate-solubilizing bacterial treatments P. trivialis BIHB 745, P. trivialis BIHB 747, Pseudomonas sp. BIHB 756 and P. poae BIHB 808 resulted in significantly higher or statistically at par growth and total N, P and K content over single super phosphate treatment in maize. These treatments also significantly affected pH, organic matter, and N, P, and K content of the soil. CONCLUSION: The results implied that organic acid production by Pseudomonas strains is independent of their genetic relatedness and each strain has its own ability of producing organic acids during the solubilization of inorganic phosphates. Significant difference in plant growth promotion by efficient phosphate-solubilizing Pseudomonas strains point at the need for selecting potential strains in plant growth promotion experiments in conjunction with various phosphate substrates for their targeted application as bioinoculants

To study the association between initial fetal crown-rump length and subsequent abortion in a viable first trimester pregnancy

Background: Ultrasonography is one of the most important and useful diagnostic tool in the field of modern medicine. In the 1st trimester fetal crown rump length correlates closely with gestational age and is often used as the gold standard for dates. It provides the most accurate estimate of gestational age and crown rump length at 6-10 weeks predicts the due date with an accuracy of ±3 days. The objective of the study is to study the association between initial fetal crown-rump length (CRL) and subsequent abortion in a viable first trimester pregnancy.Methods: Hospital based analytic type of observational study was conducted in a tertiary care maternity hospital. The recruited participants were young pregnant women at 6-10 weeks of viable gestation. Transvaginal ultrasonography was performed to determine pregnancy viability and measure the embryonic CRL.75 first trimester pregnancy cases with normal initial crown-rump-length and 75 first trimester pregnancy cases with deficit initial crown-rump-length were taken. The deviation of observed and expected CRL was calculated and expressed in standard deviations (SD) as Z- score. The primary outcome measure was the percentage of pregnancies with antecedent growth delay that aborted by the end of the first trimester.Results: In 150 women who met with the inclusion criteria, the pregnancy remained viable in 97 (64.66%) and 53 (35.34%) suffered abortion. At the first transvaginal ultrasound, the mean Z- score for CRL was significantly lower in pregnancies that subsequently aborted compared to pregnancies that remained viable (-0.613 vs 0.335 , respectively, P <0.001). Among 75 cases of normal CRL 65 (86.67%) remained viable and 10 (13.33%) aborted and in deficit CRL 32 (42.67%) cases remained viable and 43 (57.33%) aborted. Out of 53 pregnancies which aborted 43 (81.13%) had deficit CRL. Significant difference was present (P <0.001, significant).Conclusions: We infer that a deficit in initial fetal CRL in a viable first trimester pregnancy has a significant positive association with subsequent abortion. With increasing deviation of observed CRL from the expected CRL the risk of subsequent abortion increases

New Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Review on Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, and Global Scenario

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a β-CoV, and a seventh member of family Coronaviridae causing infection in humans, are the causative agent of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For the 1st time, the disease was reported as an outbreak on December 31, 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, when patients with the symptoms of pneumonia were admitted in hospitals. Soon, the disease became epidemic and spread in 25 provinces in China with a total of 571 cases up to January 24, 2020. At present, COVID-19 has spread across 216 countries. As of July 18, 2020, the World Health Organization confirmed 13,876,441 cases and 593,087 deaths globally, despite rigorous containment and quarantine efforts. The main symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever, and fatigue and other symptoms such as headache, hemoptysis, sputum production, dyspnea, and diarrhea and lymphopenia may also arise. The diagnosis of COVID-19 is by demonstrating ribonucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory secretions by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Treatment is supportive, and the role of antiviral agents is yet to be found. Preventive measures include regular and thorough cleaning of hands with soap and water for at least 20 s or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and social distancing. It is important to develop simple, fast, and accurate technologies for the detection and treatment of COVID-19 to control the spread of the disease

Trends in Otorhinolaryngology Practice during COVID 19

Covid 19 pandemic has taken the world like a storm, sweeping all countries across the globe. We are flooded with new revelations about the virus characteristics, morbidity and mortality statistics especially of the health care workers. More than six months have passed and we still have no definite treatment. These factors are affecting our medical practices in an unprecedented manner. This is a web based survey from 144 practicing otorhinolaryngologists to ascertain some of the aspects in which this pandemic has affected our practice. Majority are following protective protocols, not delaying tracheostomy or emergencies. They are avoiding aerosol generating procedures, endoscopies, prolonged surgeries, as well as oncosurgeries. Patients have decreased but covid phobia patients have increased. There is a lot of scope of improvement with regards to teleconsultations, training for donning and doffing of PP

Vermicomposting with microbial amendment: implications for bioremediation of industrial and agricultural waste

Improved agricultural practices and rapid industrialization have led to huge waste generation, and the management of this waste is becoming a global concern. The process of vermicomposting has emerged as a method of choice for converting waste into useful manure, with evidence of increase in crop productivity. During vermicomposting, the collective activities of decomposing microorganisms and earthworms lead to the humification of organic/inorganic waste, thereby generating the final product called vermicompost. Different types of industrial wastes such as waste from paper industries, tanneries, sugar mills, and pulp and textile industries have been effectively converted to vermicompost and successfully used to improve plant growth. The vermicompost thus formed was also demonstrated to increase the production of pharmaceutically important plant secondary metabolites such as withanolides and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Microbial amendment with different bacterial and fungal strains during vermicomposting further proves to be beneficial by increasing nitrogen content, decomposing organic waste, providing aeration, and stabilizing the vermicompost. These microorganisms after passing through the earthworm’s intestine increase in numbers in the vermicast, thus becoming enriched in vermicompost, which is particularly important for their use as biofertilizers. The precise role of different microbial pretreatments in improving the quality of vermicompost generated from industrial and agricultural waste is, however, not completely understood. To fill this gap in knowledge, the present article aims to review published literature to highlight the potential of microbial amendment during vermicomposting for bioremediation of industrial and agricultural waste. Microbial pre-composting followed by vermicomposting emerges as an ecofriendly and economical approach for managing agricultural and industrial waste

Not Available

Not AvailableFood safety problems may arise at any stage from food production to consumption: on the farm, at the processing facility, at the retailer, or in the hands of consumers. Food and farming are interdependent however the cyclic nature of numerous factors like soil, irrigation, insecticide, pesticide, weedicides, farm implements, transport vehicles, harvesting yard, storage, etc., determines the safety of food from farm to plate.Farmers need to be aware of microbiological hazards that food can cause. Just as farmers, processors are expected to implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) that are designed to prevent or minimize contamination.Periodically, these practices need to be revisited to allow for consideration of newly emerging food safety issues. Clean markets are primary insurance to food safety. The retailer must keep in mind the shelf life of the food products and ensure sale of the products within the safe time period.Lesser the time lag from harvest to consumer, better is the quality of produce. Another approach to ensure food safety is organic farming in which reliance on external inputs whether chemical or organic is reduced as much as possible.The ill-effects of the conventional farming system are felt in India in terms of the unsustainability of agricultural production, environmental degradation, health and sanitation problems, etc. and thus, organic agriculture is gaining momentum as an alternative method to the modern system.Not Availabl

Racemose neurocysticercosis

Racemose neurocysticercosis refers to the ‘aberrant proliferating cestode larvae” presenting as multiple, non-capsulated cystic membranes that bud exogenously giving a multilocular cystic appearance resembling a ‘bunch of grapes’. These are typically located in non-confining areas of brain such as cisterns and lack scolex, contrast-enhancement or edema. We describe a 12-year-old boy with acute-onset headache, vomiting, drowsiness and irrelevant speech, irritability, meningismus, brisk muscle-stretch-reflexes and Babinski’s sign. Magnetic resonance imaging brain revealed racemose neurocysticercosis. He received ventriculo-peritoneal shunt, oral corticosteroids and albendazole for 4 weeks. Racemose cysts in neurocysticercosis are a rare presentation in children. Treatment is difficult.Racemose neurocysticercosis refers to the ‘aberrant proliferating cestode larvae” presenting as multiple, non-capsulated cystic membranes that bud exogenously giving a multilocular cystic appearance resembling a ‘bunch of grapes’. These are typically located in non-confining areas of brain such as cisterns and lack scolex, contrast-enhancement or edema. We describe a 12-year-old boy with acute-onset headache, vomiting, drowsiness and irrelevant speech, irritability, meningismus, brisk muscle-stretch-reflexes and Babinski’s sign. Magnetic resonance imaging brain revealed racemose neurocysticercosis. He received ventriculo-peritoneal shunt, oral corticosteroids and albendazole for 4 weeks. Racemose cysts in neurocysticercosis are a rare presentation in children. Treatment is difficult. Keywords: Racemose, Neurocysticercosis, Intraventricular, Hydrocephalu

Stress-tolerant antagonistic plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria from Zea mays

Biological control of plant diseases is strongly emerging as an effective alternative to the use of chemical pesticides and fungicides. Stress tolerance is an important attribute in the selection of bacteria for the development of microbial inoculants. Fourteen salt-tolerant bacteria showing different morphological features isolated from the rhizosphere of maize were evaluated for different plant growth-promoting activities. All isolates showed auxin production ranging from 5 to 24 μg ⋅ ml–1 after 48 h incubation in tryptophan supplemented media. Phosphate solubilization ranged from 15 to 419 μg ⋅ ml–1. 1-aminocycloproprane- 1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase activity was shown by 6 isolates, ammonia production by 9 isolates, siderophore production by 8 isolates while HCN production by 4 isolates. Four bacterial isolates with all plant growth-promoting properties also showed strong antagonistic activities against Fusarium oxysporum, F. verticillioides, Curvularia lunata and Alternaria alternata and abiotic stress tolerance against salinity, temperature, pH and calcium salts. Two selected bacterial isolates significantly enhanced the growth of pea and maize test plants under greenhouse conditions. The bacterial isolate M1B2, which showed the highest growth promotion of test plants, was identified as Bacillus sp. based on phenotypic and 16S rDNA gene sequencing. The results indicated that Bacillus sp. M1B2 is a potential candidate for the development of microbial inoculants in stressful environments

Early stage adenocarcinoma of cervix with ovarian micrometastasis

Adenocarcinoma of cervix is a rare malignancy of cervix. It is an aggressive tumor with a high incidence of metastasis. Ovarian metastasis in early stage adenocarcinoma is rare. Metastasis is usually seen when there is some other coexisting finding. In premenopausal patient and low-risk category, ovarian metastasis is very rare. Early stage adenocarcinoma of cervix can rarely present with ovarian metastasis. Thus, radical surgery with oophorectomy is an aggressive but practical approach in these patients but may not warrant removal in all cases. Ovarian metastasis places these patients at a higher stage. The management of these cases is not standardized, and prognosis is generally good