DNA Barcoding analysis of seafood accuracy in Washington, D.C. restaurants

Indexación: Scopus.In Washington D.C., recent legislation authorizes citizens to test if products are properly represented and, if they are not, to bring a lawsuit for the benefit of the general public. Recent studies revealing the widespread phenomenon of seafood substitution across the United States make it a fertile area for consumer protection testing. DNA barcoding provides an accurate and cost-effective way to perform these tests, especially when tissue alone is available making species identification based on morphology impossible. In this study, we sequenced the 5' barcoding region of the Cytochrome Oxidase I gene for 12 samples of vertebrate and invertebrate food items across six restaurants in Washington, D.C. and used multiple analytical methods to make identifications. These samples included several ambiguous menu listings, sequences with little genetic variation among closely related species and one sequence with no available reference sequence. Despite these challenges, we were able to make identifications for all samples and found that 33% were potentially mislabeled. While we found a high degree of mislabeling, the errors involved closely related species and we did not identify egregious substitutions as have been found in other cities. This study highlights the efficacy of DNA barcoding and robust analyses in identifying seafood items for consumer protection.https://peerj.com/articles/3234

COVID-19 and fear processing

The world faces a global crisis that encompasses health, financial, and psychological aspects as a result of the coronavirus disease. While the health crisis is significant, it is important to recognize that the human and social crises that have emerged are equally impactful. These crises have resulted in various negative outcomes, such as social rejection, economic disparity, unemployment, and mental distress. Fear is a significant psychological barrier that can impede recovery from any disease process, and thus, it plays a critical role in determining the mortality and morbidity of any given disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a pervasive fear of infection that has further exacerbated the situation. This study explored the mechanisms by which humans may have elicited conditional fear, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a specific case study. Our goal was to examine the process of fear in humans by exploring our knowledge of neuroanatomy and the systemic response regulated by the autonomic nervous system

Selective isolation and antimicrobial activity of rare actinomycetes from mangrove sediment of Karwar

The mangrove ecosystem is a largely unexplored source for actinomycetes. Various pretreatment procedures and selective media were applied to assess the optimal conditions for the isolation of rare actinomycetes from Mangrove sediment. Pretreatment of wet-heating for 15 min at 70oC and phenol treatment of soil suspension were the most effective methods for the isolation of those microorganisms. Hair hydrolysate vitamin agar (HHVA) was the most suitable medium for the recovery of rare actinomycetes. Fifty-three rare actinomycete strains were chosen using selective isolation approaches, then morphological and chemical properties of the isolates were determined. The isolates belonged to one of the following genus, Micromonospora, Microbispora, Actinoplanes, and Actinomadura. Later Micromonospora and Actinomadura were selected for antimicrobial activity. Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of ethyl acetate extract against Staphylococcus aureus were 1.20 mg/ml for Micromonospora species and 5mg/ml for Actinomadura species. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) of the ethyl acetate extracts were carried out in duplicate using Chloroform: methanol (4:1) as solvent system and Tetracycline as reference antibiotic. Under UV light they gave greenish yellow spots with Rf value 0.85 for the antimicrobial from Actinomadura species and 0.88 for that from Micromonospora species. In bioautography (using Staphylococcus auras as test organism) inhibition zones were obtained and they were associated with the yellowish green spots of the chromatogram as detected under UV light. This may indicate the same compounds were responsible for the antibacterial activity of those actinomycetes isolates. ÂÂ

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS GARLIC EXTRACT ON BETA-LACTAMASE PRODUCING ACINETOBACTER ISOLATES FROM SKIN AND SOFT TISSUE INFECTIONS

Objective: The present study evaluates the antibacterial effect of aqueous garlic extract (AGE) on beta-lactamase producing Acinetobacter strains isolated from skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs).Methods: A total of 41 non-duplicate strains of Acinetobacter isolated from SSTIs specimens were tested for their antibiotic susceptibility pattern by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Ceftazidime-resistant Acinetobacter strains were screened for beta-lactamase production by Phenotypic confirmatory disc diffusion test (PCDDT) and E-test. Antibacterial activity of AGE was examined by the disc diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AGE and Cefotaxime was determined by the agar dilution technique. The combined activity of AGE and Cefotaxime was evaluated by calculating the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index by the checkerboard method.Results: 21 Acinetobacter strains were confirmed to be beta-lactamase producers, out of which 6 were Metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) producers, 3 were Ambler Class C (AmpC) and 12 were multiple beta-lactamase producers. AGE exhibited significant antibacterial activity as the observed zones of inhibition ranged from 18 - 31 mm against the test strains. The MIC of AGE was in the range of 0.5% - 2% (2.5 mg/ml – 10 mg/ml) with a mean of 0.86% (4.28 mg/ml). 11 test strains showed synergism, 5 strains exhibited additive and indifferent effect, each. By HPLC analysis the concentration of allicin was found to be 0.20, expressed as percentage w/w.Conclusion: It can be stated that aqueous garlic extract might have therapeutic value against beta-lactamase producing Acinetobacter isolates from SSTIs

Lay Health Trainers Supporting Self-Management amongst Those with Low Heath Literacy and Diabetes: Lessons from a Mixed Methods Pilot, Feasibility Study

This article reports a mixed methods process evaluation of a pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial comparing a Lay Health Trainer (LHT) intervention and usual care for those with poorly controlled Type 2 Diabetes Melitus (T2DM). Set in a deprived area in the UK, this research explores patient and health care practitioner (HCP) views on whether a structured interview between a patient and a Lay Health Trainer (LHT), for the purpose of developing a tailored self-management plan for patients, is acceptable and likely to change health behaviours. In doing so, it considers the implications for a future, randomised controlled trial (RCT). Participants were patients, LHTs delivering the intervention, service managers, and practice nurses recruiting patients to the study. Patients were purposively sampled on their responses to a baseline survey, and semistructured interviews were conducted within an exploratory thematic analysis framework. Findings indicate that the intervention is acceptable to patients and HCPs. However, LHTs found it challenging to work with older patients with long-term and/or complex conditions. In order to address this, given an ageing population and concomitant increases in those with such health needs, LHT training should develop skills working with these populations. The design of any future RCT intervention should take account of this

Decentralized collaborative TTP free approach for privacy preservation in location based services

In recent trends, growth of location based services have been increased due to the large usage of cell phones, personal digital assistant and other devices like location based navigation, emergency services, location based social networking, location based advertisement, etc. Users are provided with important information based on location to the service provider that results the compromise with their personal information like user’s identity, location privacy etc. To achieve location privacy of the user, cryptographic technique is one of the best technique which gives assurance. Location based services are classified as Trusted Third Party (TTP) & without Trusted Third Party that uses cryptographic approaches. TTP free is one of the prominent approach in which it uses peer-to-peer model. In this approach, important users mutually connect with each other to form a network to work without the use of any person/server. There are many existing approaches in literature for privacy preserving location based services, but their solutions are at high cost or not supporting scalability.  In this paper, our aim is to propose an approach along with algorithms that will help the location based services (LBS) users to provide location privacy with minimum cost and improve scalability