Mechanistic Insight into the Enzymatic Reduction of Truncated Hemoglobin N of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: role of the CD loop and pre-A Motif in electron cycling

Background: The HbN of Mycobacterium tuberculosis carries a potent nitric-oxide dioxygenase activity despite lacking a reductase domain. Results: The NADH-ferredoxin reductase system acts as an efficient partner for the reduction of HbN. Conclusion: The interactions of HbN with the reductase are modulated by its CD loop and the Pre-A region. Significance: The present study provides new insights into the mechanism of electron transfer during nitric oxide detoxification by HbN.Fil: Singh, Sandeep. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Thakur, Naveen. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Oliveira, Ana. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Petruk, Ariel Alcides. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Hade, Mangesh Dattu. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Sethi, Deepti. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Bidon Chanal, Axel. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Marti, Marcelo Adrian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Datta, H.. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Parkesh, R.. Institute of Microbial Technology; IndiaFil: Estrin, Dario Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Luque, F. Javier. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Dikshit, Kanak L.. Institute of Microbial Technology; Indi

The role of the subtropical jet in deficient winter precipitation across the mid-Holocene Indus basin

The mid-Holocene (7-5 ka) was a period with an increased seasonal insolation cycle, resulting from decreased insolation during northern hemisphere winter. Here, a set of six CMIP5 models is used to show that the decreased insolation reduced the upper-tropospheric meridional temperature gradient, producing a weaker subtropical jet with less horizontal shear. These effects work to reduce the baroclinic and barotropic instability available for perturbations to grow, and in consequence, storm-tracking results show that there are fewer winter storms over India and Pakistan (known as western disturbances). These western disturbances are weaker, resulting in a reduction in winter precipitation of around 15% in the north Indus Basin. Combined with previous work showing greater northwestward extent of the Indian monsoon during the mid-Holocene, our GCM-derived results are consistent with the Indus Basin changing from a summer-growing season in the mid-Holocene to a winter-growing season in the present day

A two-year participatory intervention project with owners to reduce lameness and limb abnormalities in working horses in Jaipur, India

Participatory methods are increasingly used in international human development, but scientific evaluation of their efficacy versus a control group is rare. Working horses support families in impoverished communities. Lameness and limb abnormalities are highly prevalent in these animals and a cause for welfare concern. We aimed to stimulate and evaluate improvements in lameness and limb abnormalities in horses whose owners took part in a 2-year participatory intervention project to reduce lameness (PI) versus a control group (C) in Jaipur, India.In total, 439 owners of 862 horses participated in the study. PI group owners from 21 communities were encouraged to meet regularly to discuss management and work practices influencing lameness and poor welfare and to track their own progress in improving these. Lameness examinations (41 parameters) were conducted at the start of the study (Baseline), and after 1 year and 2 years. Results were compared with control horses from a further 21 communities outside the intervention. Of the 149 horses assessed on all three occasions, PI horses showed significantly (P<0.05) greater improvement than C horses in 20 parameters, most notably overall lameness score, measures of sole pain and range of movement on limb flexion. Control horses showed slight but significantly greater improvements in four parameters, including frog quality in fore and hindlimbs.This participatory intervention succeeded in improving lameness and some limb abnormalities in working horses, by encouraging changes in management and work practices which were feasible within owners’ socioeconomic and environmental constraints. Demonstration of the potentially sustainable improvements achieved here should encourage further development of participatory intervention approaches to benefit humans and animals in other contexts

Modulation of rat peripheral polymorphonuclear leukocyte response by nitric oxide and arginine

The effect of nitric oxide (NO) on the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (LCL) response of rat polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) was analyzed by using sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO donor, and L-arginine (L-arg), a NO precursor. A significant reduction in the LCL intensity was observed in presence of SNP (100 μmol/L) or L-arg (5 or 10 mmol/L) in arachidonic acid (AA) phorbol ester (PMA) and formyl- methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine stimulated PMNLs. However, opsonized zymosan-induced LCL was not attenuated significantly. Reduction in hydroxyl radical and superoxide generation was also observed in SNP- or L-arg-pretreated cells. D-Arg (10 mmol/L) pretreatment did not inhibit PMNLs' LCL response. Furthermore, methylene blue (5 μmol/L) and L-NG- mono methyl-L-arginine (100 or 300 μmol/L) significantly attenuated the LCL response, as induced by various agonists. Cyclic GMP did not alter the reactive oxygen species generation from rat PMNLs. In addition, AA-induced release of myeloperoxidase, a marker of azurophilic granules, was found to be enhanced in L-arg- (10 mmol/L) pretreated PMNLs. The results suggest that NO inhibits free radical generation from rat PMNLs

The efficacy and safety of clomiphene citrate and metformin on ovulation induction in patients suffering from anovulatory infertility

Background: Ovulation disorders are an important cause of infertility. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) comprises almost 90% cases of all ovulatory disorders. Clomiphene citrate helps to stimulate ovulation. Recently, use of metformin to treat PCOS due to its insulin sensitizing property is increasing. Hence, this study was undertaken to evaluate efficacy and safety of clomiphene citrate and its combination with metformin on ovulation induction and pregnancy outcome in the treatment of anovulatory infertility.Methods: This study was done in patients of primary infertility due to anovulatory cycles at Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad. Patients were treated with clomiphene citrate in incremental doses from 50 to 150 mg for a period of maximum 6 menstrual cycle. In patients of anovulatory infertility with PCOS, clomiphene citrate was given along with metformin. At every visit, abdominal and pelvic examination, the size of ovarian follicle, endometrial thickness by ultrasonography was recorded. Urine pregnancy test was done once the menstruation was overdue by 9 days. Adverse drug effects, if any were noted. If patient did not conceive, then whole treatment was repeated from the next menstrual cycle.Results: Out of 53 patients, five patients were lost to follow-up. The mean age of the enrolled patients in the study was 26.04±7.78. There were 20 patients (41.67%) with body mass index (BMI) <25 kg/m2 while 28 patients (58.33%) with BMI above 25 kg/m2. Among 21 patients who received clomiphene citrate alone in the study, 12 patients were ovulated (57.12%). Among 27 patients (PCOS) who received clomiphene with metformin, 18 patients were ovulated (66.74%). Pregnancy rate was 23.8% with clomiphene citrate alone while in PCOS patients, the pregnancy rate was 25.91%. Both clomiphene citrate and metformin were well tolerated in most of the patients.Conclusion: Ovulation rate was significantly higher compared to pregnancy rate. We could not find any benefit of adding metformin to the standard treatment with clomiphene citrate

Evaluation of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) Varieties and Standardization of Recipe for Nectar Preparation

The nectar prepared from guava variety L-49 had highest ascorbic acid, pH and non-reducing sugar. The recipe with 20 per cent pulp, 0.3 per cent acidity and 17°Brix (TSS) recorded highest organoleptic score. The acidity, TSS, total and reducing sugar of nectar showed an increasing trend during the progress of storage upto five months under ambient conditions. However, these chemical constituents did not change markedly until five months of storage as compared to fresh nectar at the time of preparation

Knowledge, attitude and practice about antimicrobial use and their resistance in health care professionals at civil hospital, Ahmedabad

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat which challenges the current treatment of infectious diseases. Rational prescribing can help to limit this. Therefore, a KAP-survey regarding antimicrobial use and their resistance was conducted among health care professionals at Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad (CHA).Methods: A validated questionnaire was given to participants and data was analysed using appropriate statistical tests. A total of 164 participants were interviewed from various medical specialties.Results: Fifty seven participants (34%) prescribed antimicrobial agents (AMAs) regularly. The most common conditions for prescribing AMAs were upper respiratory tract infections (64%) and other viral illnesses (34%). Most common antimicrobial agent prescribed was azithromycin (43%). Antimicrobials were most commonly prescribed empirically for treating emergency cases. The common sources of information were textbooks (80%) and internet (54%). Most participants agreed that antimicrobial resistance is a local as well as global problem. Common causes of AMR were cited to be incomplete treatment (83%) and excessive use of AMAs (60%). Majority (75%) of the participants agreed that antisepsis was the best way to decrease incidence of nosocomial infections. About 75% of the participants were aware about the existing hospital antimicrobial policy and prescribed AMAs accordingly.Conclusions: The study highlights the poor knowledge of the interns regarding use of AMAs, common causes of antimicrobial resistance and measures that can be adopted to reduce the resistance. Moreover, though the knowledge and attitude were good in post graduates and faculty members they were of the opinion that the unavailability of antibiogram and shortage of time make the practice poor. We opine that a comprehensive training regarding use of AMAs during internship can help in rational prescribing in future practitioners

Comparative study of Monascus sanguineus and Monascus purpureus for red pigment production under stress condition

Abstract Monascus sp. is known for pigment production. Monascus sp. synthesized pigment has been used as food colorants for quite a long time. According to literature, many strains have been isolated from Monascus, which are internationally acknowledged and there are many studies on Monascus purpureus, Monascus anka or other species. In the present study, Monascus strain was isolated and identified as Monascus sanguineus on the molecular basis. This strain was then compared with a reference strain Monascus purpureus MTCC 410 for red pigment production under stress condition. Both strains were treated with different stress conditions viz. different concentration of glycerol, NaCl, peptone and also with the spores treated at different temperatures. Both strains had shown increased pigmentation under stressed condition. Maximum pigment yield was observed with 0.5M glycerol concentration for both strains (Monascus sanguineus 33.4 color value units (CVU)/ml, Monascus purpureus 36.7 CVU/ ml). For salt stress, both strains produced maximum pigment with 3% NaCl concentration. At 12% NaCl concentration, both the strains showed very slow growth and almost no pigment yield. When spores were treated with different temperatures, Monascus sanguineus produced maximum pigment with spores treated at 90 o C, whereas Monascus purpureus lost viability at this range

Oral and pharyngeal cancer in South Asians and non-South Asians in relation to socioeconomic deprivation in South East England.

From UK Thames Cancer Registry data, after controlling for socioeconomic deprivation of area of residence, South Asian males showed a higher relative risk of oral (1.36; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.67), but not of pharyngeal cancer than non-South Asian males, whereas South Asian females had much higher risks of these cancers (3.67; 95% CI: 2.97, 4.53 and 2.06; 95% CI: 1.44, 2.93), respectively, than non-South Asians