Embryotoxic effects of Ciprofloxacin in Chicken: A potential risk for antibiotic resistance

Background: Ciprofloxacin is considered as a relatively safe drug having broad spectrum antimicrobial activity in humans and animals including poultry, besides its reported cartilage damage in children and debated use in pregnancy.Methods: Current study is designed to highlight the embryotoxic effects of ciprofloxacin in chicken. In the study fertilized eggs were categorized in 5 groups incubated at standard parameters. On 4th day of incubation, group1 and 2 were injected with Ciprofloxacin (30 and 60 mg/egg respectively). Group 3 was pinched with needle only and group 4 was injected with sterilized saline solution. Group 5 was kept as a control, without any injection or pinching.Results: On the 18th day of incubation, the growth of embryos was monitored. Hemorrhages on neck and head areas were noticed in treated group treated with 60 mg/egg. Low body weight along with the defective beak and nail formation was noticed. No other clear external deformity was observed in any treated and normal groups. It can be inferred that embryotoxic effects of ciprofloxacin cannot be ignored. High or repeated doses can reduce the turnover number of successful hatching chicks and the consumption of antibiotics treated chicken can lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance in humans.Conclusion: It can be concluded that recommended dose limit is very important to avoid the harmful effect of antibiotics and chemicals. Embryotoxic effect of ciprofloxacin cannot be ignored. Use of antibiotic/s in poultry and live stocks should be carefully monitored and judged on medical basis; also its use for growth promotion should be discontinued.Keywords: Ciprofloxacin; Poultry; Antibiotic resistance; Embryotoxic effects; Antimicrobial activity 

Antibacterial activity of the venom of Heterometrus xanthopus

Heterometrus xanthopus (Scorpion) is one of the most venomous and ancient arthropods. Its venom contains anti-microbial peptides like hadrurin, scorpine, Pandinin 1, and Pandinin 2 that are able to effectively kill multidrug-resistant pathogens. The present study was conducted to evaluate the anti-bacterial activity of H. xanthopus venom. Six Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains were tested against 1/100, 1/10, and 1/1 fractions of distilled water diluted and crude venom. 1/100 and 1/10 dilutions were not successful in any of the six bacterial strains studied while the 1/1 dilution was effective on Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 with highest zone of inhibition were obtained on B. subtilis. Crude venom was effective against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 14506, B. subtilis, S. typhimurium, and P. aeruginosa. The most effective results were observed on B. subtilis

The Response of Pakistan to COVID-19 and Current Situation of Disease in the Country

Background: Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) was reported for the first time in China and then quickly spread to other countries. In Pakistan, the first case appeared in Sindh province on February 26, 2020, and within a few weeks, more than 100 cases were reported across the country. Currently, all provinces and territories of the country are affected and cases are growing faster every day. Pakistan is among those countries that have problems with health and diagnostic facilities due to poor economic conditions. Objectives: The present review aims to highlight the emergence, spread and control of the disease in Pakistan. Furthermore, it also highlights the response of Pakistan in the management of COVID-19 outbreak, and the country's contribution in the field of science and technology for the betterment of diagnostic and treatment capabilities against the disease. Methodology: Collection of data was done through national and international forums like Covid-WHO report and COVID-19 Health advisory platform by Ministry of National Health Services Regulation. Results: The important mean for prevention is the proper use of Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs). Quarantine and isolation centers help in limiting the spread of this deadly disease. Conclusion: It is concluded that no vaccine is available for the treatment of this emerging disease so far. The only prevention is to properly and strictly follow the SOPs guidelines

Response Surface Methodology for Optimization of Operational Parameters to Remove Ciprofloxacin from Contaminated Water in the Presence of a Bacterial Consortium

Ciprofloxacin (CFX) is a broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic that is widely used to treat bacterial infections in humans and other animals. However, its unwanted occurrence in any (eco)system can affect nontarget bacterial communities, which may also impair the performance of the natural or artificially established bioremediation system. The problem could be minimized by optimization of operational parameters via modeling of multifactorial tests. To this end, we used a Box–Behnken design in response surface methodology (RSM) to generate the experimental layout for testing the effect of the CFX biodegradation for four important parameters, that is, temperature (°C), pH, inoculum size (v/v %), and CFX concentration (mg L–1). For inoculation, a consortium of three bacterial strains, namely, Acenitobacter lwofii ACRH76, Bacillus pumilus C2A1, and Mesorihizobium sp. HN3 was used to degrade 26 mg L–1 of CFX. We found maximum degradation of CFX (98.97%; initial concentration of 25 mg L–1) at 2% inoculum size, 7 pH, and 35 °C of temperature in 16 days. However, minimum degradation of CFX (48%; initial concentration of 50 mg L–1) was found at pH 6, temperature 30 °C, and inoculum size 1%. Among different tested parameters, pH appears to be the main limiting factor for CFX degradation. Independent factors attributed 89.37% of variation toward CFX degradation as revealed by the value of the determination coefficient, that is, R2 = 0.8937. These results were used to formulate a mathematical model in which the computational data strongly correlated with the experimental results. This study showcases the importance of parameter optimization via RSM for any bioremediation studies particularly for antibiotics in an economical, harmless, and eco-friendly manner.The authors are thankful to Higher Education Commission (HEC) for the grant No TTSF-77.Scopu

Bi-allelic variants in OGDHL cause a neurodevelopmental spectrum disease featuring epilepsy, hearing loss, visual impairment, and ataxia

The 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase-like (OGDHL) protein is a rate-limiting enzyme in the Krebs cycle that plays a pivotal role in mitochondrial metabolism. OGDHL expression is restricted mainly to the brain in humans. Here, we report nine individuals from eight unrelated families carrying bi-allelic variants in OGDHL with a range of neurological and neurodevelopmental phenotypes including epilepsy, hearing loss, visual impairment, gait ataxia, microcephaly, and hypoplastic corpus callosum. The variants include three homozygous missense variants (p.Pro852Ala, p.Arg244Trp, and p.Arg299Gly), three compound heterozygous single-nucleotide variants (p.Arg673Gln/p.Val488Val, p.Phe734Ser/p.Ala327Val, and p.Trp220Cys/p.Asp491Val), one homozygous frameshift variant (p.Cys553Leufs∗16), and one homozygous stop-gain variant (p.Arg440Ter). To support the pathogenicity of the variants, we developed a novel CRISPR-Cas9-mediated tissue-specific knockout with cDNA rescue system for dOgdh, the Drosophila ortholog of human OGDHL. Pan-neuronal knockout of dOgdh led to developmental lethality as well as defects in Krebs cycle metabolism, which was fully rescued by expression of wild-type dOgdh. Studies using the Drosophila system indicate that p.Arg673Gln, p.Phe734Ser, and p.Arg299Gly are severe loss-of-function alleles, leading to developmental lethality, whereas p.Pro852Ala, p.Ala327Val, p.Trp220Cys, p.Asp491Val, and p.Arg244Trp are hypomorphic alleles, causing behavioral defects. Transcript analysis from fibroblasts obtained from the individual carrying the synonymous variant (c.1464T>C [p.Val488Val]) in family 2 showed that the synonymous variant affects splicing of exon 11 in OGDHL. Human neuronal cells with OGDHL knockout exhibited defects in mitochondrial respiration, indicating the essential role of OGDHL in mitochondrial metabolism in humans. Together, our data establish that the bi-allelic variants in OGDHL are pathogenic, leading to a Mendelian neurodevelopmental disease in humans

Biodegradation of Brown 706 Dye by Bacterial Strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Dyes are the most challenging pollutants for the aquatic environment that are not only toxic, but also interfering photosynthesis as light penetration into deep water is changed. A number of methods are used for the water reclamation, however, among them biological methods are preferably used due to their compatibility with nature. In the present research, 15 different bacterial strains were used to decolorize Brown 706 dye. Among the bacterial strains, Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed maximum decolorization activity; hence in the subsequent experiments Pseudomonas aeruginosa was used. First the decolorization activities were carried out under different physicochemical conditions to obtain the optimum decolorization benefits of the selected microorganism. The optimum conditions established were 37°C, pH of 7 and operation cycle time 72 h. In the subsequent experiment all optimum conditions were combined in a single experiment where 73.91% of decolorization efficiency was achieved. For the evaluation of metabolites formed after decolorization/degradation the aliquots containing bacteria were homogenized, filtered and then subjected to extraction. The extracted metabolites were then subjected to the silica gel column isolation. UV–Vis, FTIR, and NMR techniques were used to elucidate structures of the metabolites. Out of the collected metabolites only P-xylene was identified, which has been formed by cleavage of azo linkage by azo reductase enzyme of bacteria following the deamination and methylation of nitro substituted benzene ring

Clinical manifestations of active tuberculosis patients coinfected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2

Summary background: The coronavirus 2019 pandemic was caused by a new single-strand RNA virus that originated from Wuhan, China, and infected more than 190 countries. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) coinfection with tuberculosis posed a serious public health concern and complicated the prognosis and treatment of patients. Since both are respiratory diseases, the sign and symptoms may overlap and could have synergistic effects on the host that can increase mortality during coinfection. The present investigation reported the clinical characteristics of patients having coinfection of COVID-19 and tuberculosis (COVID-TB). Methods: We performed a retrospective investigation on COVID-19 infection in tuberculosis patients between the years 2020 and 2021. The SARS-CoV-2 was confirmed by PCR and the COVID-TB epidemiological and clinical findings were recorded on the day of admission and followed up for 25 days. Results: The mean age of the COVID-19 patients was 50 ± 15 years, 76.36% were male and 23.64% were female. Weight loss, sore throat, whooping cough, chest pain, and vomiting were common symptoms, and asthma, diabetes, arthritis, and hypertension were found as co-morbidities in COVID-TB. The D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and creatine kinase levels increased 14-fold, 12.5-fold, 11-fold, 10-fold, and 7-fold respectively during COVID-TB. The patients suffered from hyperferritinemia and lymphocytopenia which increased the likelihood of death. The levels of D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and creatinine kinase were positively correlated with patient age. The chest radiograph showed the infectious agents have consolidated opacity and peripheral dissemination in the lungs. Conclusion: Tuberculosis coinfection augmented the severity of COVID-19 and the likelihood of death, and high vigilance is recommended for respiratory pathogens in COVID-19

The Prevalence of Scabies in District Abbottabad of Pakistan

Scabies is a skin infection which is caused by pathogen Sarcoptes scabiei. It is a contagious disease which is transmitted from one to another person through direct contact but can also be transmitted due to sharing of things like towels, clothing etc. It was estimated that almost 300 million cases of scabies occur worldwide. It is characterized by itching, rash, sores and thick crusts on different body parts such as fingers, axilla, wrist, and genitalia etc. The burrow ink and handheld tests are mostly used to screen a large number of patients. The current study was conducted to analyze the 3 years trend of scabies epidemiology on Tehsil level in different health care units of District Abbottabad during January 2017 December 2019. During the study period total 44,569 cases were reported in District Abbottabad. Results have shown that Primary health care facilities have highest proportion of scabies (67.38%) and prevalence was highest during 2018 (37.90%). The Highest frequency (32%) of scabies occurred during summer with peak in July. Tehsil Abbottabad (67.21%) showed high prevalence as compared to Havelian (32.79%). Risk factors for scabies prevalence were might be higher humidity, physical overcrowding, illiteracy and low socioeconomic status. There is a positive association between number of cases of scabies, temperature and humidity because these factors provide suitable conditions for parasite growth and their survival in human body. The current findings may help the government in making infrastructure for the health-care system development in future

Microbial organic acids production, biosynthetic mechanism and applications -Mini review

2165-2174Organic acid constitute a significant portion of the fermentation market in the world, and microbial production is an important economic alternative to chemical synthesis for many of them. Thus, in order to address the growing market demands of organic acids with the passage of time, it needs to develop new strategies or discoveries for new or novel microbial strains for high level production of commercially important organic acid such as; gluconate, malate, and citrate. In present review, through cumulative analysis of the current microbial strains and their biosynthetic mechanisms for production of these acids, we present guidelines for future developments in this fast-moving field