Application of nano-curcumin as a natural antimicrobial agent against Gram-positive pathogens

Gram-positive bacteria cause various diseases from the superficial skin to deep tissue infections. The capability of causing numerous diseases is due to the production of virulence factors which are tightly regulated by the virulence genes. Various Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria e.g. Staphylococcus, Mycobacterium, and Listeria are capable of causing lethal infections in humans and animals. Conventional antibiotics, targeted antibiotics, and combinatorial drugs are used as therapeutic agents against Gram-positive pathogens. Due to intricate virulence pathway bacteria readily adopt resistance to available drugs. Therefore, there is need to develop some alternative approaches to combat these infections. Various natural extracts are effective against pathogenic bacteria with or without the available drugs. Curcumin is a natural extract of Curcuma longas rhizome, known as turmeric. Curcumin shows various biological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. It also shows strong antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and few Gram-negative bacteria. Besides all these beneficial applications, major drawbacks of curcumin are poor aqueous solubility and less bioavailability. However, drug delivery approaches including nanoformulation are developed to increase its stability in vitro and in vivo settings. The present review article focused on the translation of potential applications of curcumin in various diseases specifically caused by Gram-positive pathogens. Various methods used for the formulations of curcumin nanoparticles, combinatorial strategies with curcumin nanoparticles and their application in the prevention of infections have been discussed. The present article also discusses the future aspects of curcumin-nanoparticles and its use as an alternative therapeutic approach against pathogens

Recombination-mediated remodelling of host-pathogen interactions during Staphylococcus aureus niche adaptation

Large-scale recombination events have led to the emergence of epidemic clones of several major bacterial pathogens. However, the functional impact of the recombination on clonal success is not understood. Here, we identified a novel widespread hybrid clone (ST71) of livestock-associated Staphylococcus aureus that evolved from an ancestor belonging to the major bovine lineage CC97, through multiple large-scale recombination events with other S. aureus lineages occupying the same ruminant niche. The recombination events, affecting a 329 kb region of the chromosome spanning the origin of replication, resulted in allele replacement and loss or gain of an array of genes influencing host–pathogen interactions. Of note, molecular functional analyses revealed that the ST71 hybrid clone has acquired multiple novel pathogenic traits associated with acquired and innate immune evasion and bovine extracellular matrix adherence. These findings provide a paradigm for the impact of large-scale recombination events on the rapid evolution of bacterial pathogens within defined ecological niches

Identification of several small main-effect QTLs and a large number of epistatic QTLs for drought tolerance related traits in groundnut (Arachishypogaea L.)

Cultivated groundnut or peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), an allotetraploid (2n = 4x = 40), is a self pollinated and widely grown crop in the semi-arid regions of the world. Improvement of drought tolerance is an important area of research for groundnut breeding programmes. Therefore, for the identification of candidate QTLs for drought tolerance, a comprehensive and refined genetic map containing 191 SSR loci based on a single mapping population (TAG 24 × ICGV 86031), segregating for drought and surrogate traits was developed. Genotyping data and phenotyping data collected for more than ten drought related traits in 2–3 seasons were analyzed in detail for identification of main effect QTLs (M-QTLs) and epistatic QTLs (E-QTLs) using QTL Cartographer, QTLNetwork and Genotype Matrix Mapping (GMM) programmes. A total of 105 M-QTLs with 3.48–33.36% phenotypic variation explained (PVE) were identified using QTL Cartographer, while only 65 M-QTLs with 1.3–15.01% PVE were identified using QTLNetwork. A total of 53 M-QTLs were such which were identified using both programmes. On the other hand, GMM identified 186 (8.54–44.72% PVE) and 63 (7.11–21.13% PVE), three and two loci interactions, whereas only 8 E-QTL interactions with 1.7–8.34% PVE were identified through QTLNetwork. Interestingly a number of co-localized QTLs controlling 2–9 traits were also identified. The identification of few major, many minor M-QTLs and QTL × QTL interactions during the present study confirmed the complex and quantitative nature of drought tolerance in groundnut. This study suggests deployment of modern approaches like marker-assisted recurrent selection or genomic selection instead of marker-assisted backcrossing approach for breeding for drought tolerance in groundnut

Система стеження за викраденими автомобілями на основі електронного блоку керування

Системи стеження за викраденими транспортними засобами стають все більш важливими в даний час, переважно у випадку викрадених автомобілів. Сьогодні крадіжка зі зломом є великою проблемою, а вилучення цих викрадених транспортних засобів – ще однією. Вирішити дану проблему протягом тривалого часу стає все важче, що пов'язано з відмінністю в номерних знаках автомобіля, руйнування і плутанина деяких частин викраденого. У світлі цих складнощів важко зупинити кожен транспортний засіб і визначити, який метод керування роботою потрібен, щоб зменшити зусилля та знайти викрадений транспортний засіб. Ми пропонуємо розробити фреймворк, який завантажуватиме номер викраденого транспортного засобу та виявлятиме шахрайські транспортні засоби за допомогою ECU на основі цифрового підпису, а також буде готовий надсилати координати шахрайського транспортного засобу до місцевого відділу. Для боротьби з крадіжками така техніка може стати потужним інструментом. Це різко знизить небезпеку викрадення автомобілів, заощадивши власникам автомобілів сотні доларів на страхуванні та інших збитках, а також допоможе правоохоронним органам. Інтерфейс доповнюється іншими мікроконтролерами та кількома модулями. Основна мета полягала в тому, щоб зробити цю технологію максимально простою, зберігаючи при цьому якомога нижчу вартість, не ставлячи під загрозу її надійність.Stolen vehicle tracking systems are becoming essential nowadays, mainly in the case of stolen automobiles. Vehicle burglary is a significant issue these days, and retrieving those stolen vehicles is another issue in addition. It has become increasingly difficult to solve this problem over a long period of time due to differences in car license plates, the destruction and confusion of some parts stolen. In light of these complexities, it is difficult to stop every vehicle and determine what method of managing work is required to reduce the effort and find the stolen vehicle. We propose to develop a framework that will upload the number of a stolen vehicle and be able to detect fraudulent vehicles with the assistance of the digital signature based ECU and will also be ready to send the coordinates of a fraudulent vehicle to the local department. To fight against theft, this technique can be a powerful tool. This will drastically reduce the danger of auto theft, saving car owners hundreds of dollars in insurance and other damages and will also help law enforcement. The interface is complemented with the help of other microcontrollers and a few modules. The key goal was to make this technology as simple as feasible, while keeping the cost as low as possible without compromising its reliability

Proteins identified in secretome of chronic phase infection.

<p>Proteins identified in secretome of chronic phase infection.</p

Demonstration of <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> in longitudinal bone sections of tissues surrounding implants infected with UAMS-1, <i>ebh</i> mutant or <i>sasF</i> mutant.

<p>Bars represent 10 μm in length. (A) Gram stain. Arrows indicate <i>S</i>. <i>aureus</i> cells. (B) Histopathology of infected tissues stained with H&E. Infiltration of inflammatory cells are indicated by arrows. (C) Immunohistochemistry of Ebh and SasF in biofilm matrix. Bone sections were stained with Hoechst dye (blue) for DNA, BODIPY-vancomycin (green) to reveal peptidoglycan, and anti-Ebh or anti-SasF along with secondary antibody conjugated to AlexaFluor-647 (red) to reveal Ebh or SasF. The images represent 2 to 6 fields of view for each mutant and control samples from duplicate experiments.</p