Cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (Cbnaat) for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis In HIV: Results from Madurai District, Tamilnadu.

Background: Compared to sputum smear microscopy, which has limited utility among People Living with HIV(PLHIV) CBNAAT is able to detect more TB cases regardless of HIV status. Limited studies exist to study this in rural population. Methods: The study objective was to assess the proportion of CBNAAT being positive for mycobacterium tuberculosis and there in rifamycin sensitivity among the HIV infected patients attending Tuberculosis clinic at a tertiary care hospital (receiving huge rural population), at Madurai, Tamilnadu. The Demographic, and CBNAAT results data of all HIV infected patients attending Pulmonology Out patient clinic at Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai during the period between January 2017 to June 2017 were collected and analysed. Results: Data on a total of 428 patients was obtained from the period of January 2017 to June 2017, who fit into the inclusion criteria. Out of this total, 64%(n=272) were males. Among the total 428 patients, 56 patients(13%) were detected positive for mycobacterium tuberculosis. Gastric juice and FOB did not yield any positive results for TB in all positive, among the M.TB detected patients, 55 were sensitive to Rifampicin and only one patient was reported as resistance to Rifampicin. Conclusion: Fairly good proportion of M.TB detection is possible, when we use CBNAAT for detecting TB in HIV infected, even when the patients have with limited duration of respiratory symptom

Irrigation Water Quality Assessment Using Water Quality Index and GIS Technique in Pondicherry Region, South India

The utility of groundwater, irrespective of its availability, is essential for mankind. The efficacy of the coastal aquifer’s groundwater quality for agriculture purpose in the Pondicherry region was gauged by their hydrochemistry. 44 groundwater samples were collected during 4 different seasons namely, pre-monsoon (PRM), southwest monsoon (SWM), northeast monsoon (NEM) and post-monsoon (POM). The samples were measured for physico-chemical parameters like pH, EC, TDS, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, HCO3, PO4, SO4 and NO3. The spatio temporal variations of EC indicates that the coastal groundwater were relatively saline except during PRM. The suitability of groundwater for irrigation is evaluated through various water quality parametrs such as Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH, Na%, sodium absorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and permeability index (PI). Na%, SAR, PI and EC values were spatially interporlated and integrated to determine the regions suitable for irrigation purpose. The study infers that the groundwater of the study area is suitable for irrigation except few samples’ locations along the western part, as they have attained an alarming stage and they are unsuitable for irrigation. Thus, proper management strategy for irrigation water source has to be developed and a preventive management practice to address this issue has to be implemented

Molecular evolution of single chain fragment variable (scFv) for diagnosis of lymphatic filariasis

Endemic countries with lymphatic filariasis are striving towards the Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) by 2020. Efficient and cost-effective diagnostic tools to assess active filarial infection are critical to eradicate lymphatic filariasis. Detection of circulating filarial antigens in sera is one of the precise methods to identify this infection. Monoclonal antibodies and single chain fragment variable (scFv) against Wuchereria bancrofti antigen SXP1 have been developed for antigen detection. Molecular cloning of scFv for recombinant expression has laid a platform for developing novel genetic constructs with enhanced reactivity. In this study, a simple procedure is developed to create diverse libraries of scFv based on a single DNA framework with all the requisites for an in vitro protein synthesis and ribosomal display. Error Prone-PCR was performed to incorporate random mutations and screened by ribosome display technique to isolate evolved scFv. Evolved scFv with six mutations showed tenfold increase in affinity compared to wild-type scFv for rWbSXP1. In silico studies showed that four mutations introduced unique molecular interactions between the evolved scFv and SXP1. Reactivity with asserted clinical samples of endemic normals (EN), microfilariaemic (MF), chronic pathology (CP) and non-endemic normals (NEN) showed significant augment (59.69%, p < 0.0001) in reactivity to MF samples with evolved scFv in comparison to wild-type scFv. Sensitivity of scFv was increased from 15.62 ng to 195 pg by evolved scFv in serum samples. This evolutionary method coupled with ribosome display has facilitated us to improve the reactivity of the ScFv without diminishing the specificity

Is Chemoprophylaxis for Child Contacts of Drug-Resistant TB Patients Beneficial? A Systematic Review

Background. Preventive therapy for child contacts of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients is poorly studied, and no consensus about the role and the rationale of chemoprophylaxis has been reached. Objective. To conduct systematic review with an aim to determine the effectiveness of TB preventive therapy in reducing the incidence of TB disease in pediatric contacts of MDR-TB patients. Methods. We conducted a literature search for randomized control trials, cohort studies, and case reports of chemoprophylaxis for pediatric contacts of MDR-TB patients in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Databases of Systematic Reviews, metaRegister of Controlled Trials, and other clinical registries through March 2017, using appropriate search strategy. In addition we searched abstracts from international conferences and references of published articles and reviews. Results. Of the 153 references assessed from various databases, seven studies were identified as relevant after adaption of eligibility criteria and assessed for systematic review. Of these, only two studies contributed data for the pooled meta-analysis. Conclusions. Though the available evidences suggest that the chemoprophylaxis for child contacts of MDR-TB patients is beneficial, data to support or reject preventive therapy is very limited. Further clinical research, in Tb endemic settings like India, needs to be performed to prove the beneficial effect of chemoprophylaxis for pediatric contacts of MDR-TB

Evaluation of Rapid Blood Sample Collection in the Detection of Circulating Filarial Antigens for Epidemiological Survey by rWbSXP-1 Capture Assay

<div><p>Background</p><p>Lymphatic filariasis is a neglected tropical disease leading to profound disfiguring causing socio economic burden in the tropics. Current diagnosis strategies available during field surveys and epidemics are based on traditional microscopic detections and a few antigen/antibody assays. We have compared different sampling methodologies and standardized the highly sensitive and reliable r<i>Wb</i>SXP-1 antigen detection assay to our new sampling methodology.</p><p>Methodology</p><p>Samples collected as serum, whole blood, whole blood on filter paper and whole blood on microscopic slides from patients belonging to various clinical groups of filariasis [endemic normal(EN), chronic pathology(CP), microfilaraemic(MF) and non-endemic normal(NEN)] were collected and standardized the r<i>Wb</i>SXP-1 antigen detection assay using monoclonal antibody raised against r<i>Wb</i>SXP-1 protein. The whole blood collected on microscopic slide based sampling method was employed in the field and the presence of circulating filarial antigen (CFA) was assessed using the r<i>Wb</i>SXP-1 assay.</p><p>Principal Findings</p><p>The sampling methods were compared and no significant difference was observed for the detection of CFA (MF, P = 0.304, EN, P = 0.675, CP, P = 0.5698, NEN, P = 0.4494). Further the optimized sampling method was utilized to collect the 1106 samples from Polur, Tiruvannamalai. The r<i>Wb</i>SXP-1 assay gave 98 antigen positive results whereas the microscopic method gave only 17.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Four sampling methodologies were analyzed and the new sampling methodology of whole blood collected on microscopic slide was found to be convenient for the detection of CFA using r<i>Wb</i>SXP-1 antigen detection assay. The 1106 samples from Polur were collected using the new method. The r<i>Wb</i>SXP-1 antigen assay perceived a 7.32% increased result which was read as false negatives on the conventional microscopic staining method. This new sampling methodology coupled with the r<i>Wb</i>SXP-1 antigen assay can be used in epidemiological surveys for lymphatic filariasis and the same sampling methodology can be expanded to other antigen based high affinity assays.</p></div

Augmenting the Photocatalytic Performance of Direct Z-Scheme Bi2O3/g-C3N4 Nanocomposite

Huge demands for photocatalytically efficient visible-light-induced catalysts have spurred widespread interest in building adaptable heterojunctions. Here, we used in situ thermal polymerization to synthesise the Z-scheme Bi2O3/g-C3N4 heterojunction. The optical, structural, chemical, compositional and photocatalytic behaviours of the samples were analysed through various analytical techniques and photocatalytic methylene blue (MB) dye degradation reaction. Among the various ratios of Bi2O3/g-C3N4 heterojunction composites, the 1:1 ratio showed improved visible-light-induced catalytic activity, which attained 91.2% degradation efficiency after 120 min of visible-light exposure. The dye degradation efficiency was calculated under various environmental conditions by varying the dye concentration, solution pH and catalyst dosage. A improved Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism was proposed in light of the results. A potential mechanism was suggested to explain the photocatalytic activity, and trapping experiments supported it. Last but not least, this strategy might be helpful to prepare the heterojunction photocatalyst for the degradation of organic pigments

Augmenting the Photocatalytic Performance of Direct Z-Scheme Bi₂O₃/g-C₃N₄ Nanocomposite

Huge demands for photocatalytically efficient visible-light-induced catalysts have spurred widespread interest in building adaptable heterojunctions. Here, we used in situ thermal polymerization to synthesise the Z-scheme Bi2O3/g-C3N4 heterojunction. The optical, structural, chemical, compositional and photocatalytic behaviours of the samples were analysed through various analytical techniques and photocatalytic methylene blue (MB) dye degradation reaction. Among the various ratios of Bi2O3/g-C3N4 heterojunction composites, the 1:1 ratio showed improved visible-light-induced catalytic activity, which attained 91.2% degradation efficiency after 120 min of visible-light exposure. The dye degradation efficiency was calculated under various environmental conditions by varying the dye concentration, solution pH and catalyst dosage. A improved Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism was proposed in light of the results. A potential mechanism was suggested to explain the photocatalytic activity, and trapping experiments supported it. Last but not least, this strategy might be helpful to prepare the heterojunction photocatalyst for the degradation of organic pigments