Impact of soil fertility characteristics on artificial fertility gradient approach developed using sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in Alfisols

In the advent of precision agriculture, applying fertilizer based on soil testing is a crucial tool to prescribe nutrient levels for crops, to increase nutrient use efficiency and production. A field experiment was conducted in a farmer's field in the Dindigul district, Southern agro-climatic zone of Tamil Nadu to ascertain the effect of artificial soil fertility gradient method on soil fertility, green fodder production of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) (var. CO 30) and nutrient absorption. A fertility gradient technique has been investigated to produce fertilizer recommendations for location-specific in red soils (Alfisols, Typic Rhodustalf).  The experimental field was separated into three equal strips: strip I, II, and III, which received applications of the three graded levels of ertilizer N0P0K0, N1P1K1, and N2P2K2, respectively. Urea, single super phosphate, and muriate of potash fertilizers, respectively, were used to apply NPK. As a gradient crop, S. bicolor  was raised. The N1 level was set based on the general fertilizer recommendation of feed sorghum, while the P1 and K1 values were set based on the soil’s ability to fix 100 kg ha-1 of phosphorus and 100 kg ha-1 of potassium, respectively. Plant samples were taken at harvest time, and their NPK content and nutrient uptake were determined. With addition of graded doses of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer in Strip I, II & III increased the soil's available N, P & K status substantially in the order of Strip I<II<III and minimize the heterogeneity in the soil population , management strategies employed, and prevailing climate conditions to induce fertility variations in the same field. The outcomes showed that sorghum crop yields for fodder (Strip III – 25.01 t ha-1) and NPK uptake were significantly impacted by the application of graded amounts of NPK fertilizers

Genetic transformation of pigeonpea with rice chitinase gene

With a long-term plan to develop transgenic pigeonpea with resistance to fungal disease, the transfer of a rice chitinase gene to pigeonpea[Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] is reported here. The rice chitinase gene harboured in the plasmid pCAMBIA 1302:RChit was delivered via the Agrobacterium-mediated method to the cotyledonary node explants followed by subsequent regeneration of complete plants on selection media containing hygromycin. Putative transformed pigeonpea plants were recovered with stringent selection pressure and confirmed using molecular techniques. Stable integration and expression of the chitinase gene has been confirmed in the T0 and T1 transgenics through molecular analysis

Global diversity and antimicrobial resistance of typhoid fever pathogens : insights from a meta-analysis of 13,000 Salmonella Typhi genomes

DATA AVAILABILITY : All data analysed during this study are publicly accessible. Raw Illumina sequence reads have been submitted to the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA), and individual sequence accession numbers are listed in Supplementary file 2. The full set of n=13,000 genome assemblies generated for this study are available for download from FigShare: https://doi.org/10.26180/21431883. All assemblies of suitable quality (n=12,849) are included as public data in the online platform Pathogenwatch (https://pathogen.watch). The data are organised into collections, which each comprise a neighbour-joining phylogeny annotated with metadata, genotype, AMR determinants, and a linked map. Each contributing study has its own collection, browsable at https://pathogen.watch/collections/all?organismId= 90370. In addition, we have provided three large collections, each representing roughly a third of the total dataset presented in this study: Typhi 4.3.1.1 (https://pathogen.watch/collection/ 2b7mp173dd57-clade-4311), Typhi lineage 4 (excluding 4.3.1.1) (https://pathogen.watch/collection/ wgn6bp1c8bh6-clade-4-excluding-4311), and Typhi lineages 0-3 (https://pathogen.watch/collection/ 9o4bpn0418n3-clades-0-1-2-and-3). In addition, users can browse the full set of Typhi genomes in Pathogenwatch and select subsets of interest (e.g. by country, genotype, and/or resistance) to generate a collection including neighbour-joining tree for interactive exploration.SUPPLEMENTARY FILES : Available at https://elifesciences.org/articles/85867/figures#content. SUPPLEMENTARY FILE 1. Details of local ethical approvals provided for studies that were unpublished at the time of contributing data to this consortium project. Most data are now published, and the citations for the original studies are provided here. National surveillance programs in Chile (Maes et al., 2022), Colombia (Guevara et al., 2021), France, New Zealand, and Nigeria (Ikhimiukor et al., 2022b) were exempt from local ethical approvals as these countries allow sharing of non-identifiable pathogen sequence data for surveillance purposes. The US CDC Internal Review Board confirmed their approval was not required for use in this project (#NCEZID-ARLT- 10/ 20/21-fa687). SUPPLEMENTARY FILE 2. Line list of 13,000 genomes included in the study. SUPPLEMENTARY FILE 3. Source information recorded for genomes included in the study. ^Indicates cases included in the definition of ‘assumed acute illness’. SUPPLEMENTARY FILE 4. Summary of genomes by country. SUPPLEMENTARY FILE 5. Genotype frequencies per region (N, %, 95% confidence interval; annual and aggregated, 2010–2020). SUPPLEMENTARY FILE 6. Genotype frequencies per country (N, %, 95% confidence interval; annual and aggregated, 2010–2020). SUPPLEMENTARY FILE 7. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) frequencies per region (N, %, 95% confidence interval; aggregated 2010–2020). SUPPLEMENTARY FILE 8. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) frequencies per country (N, %, 95% confidence interval; annual and aggregated, 2010–2020). SUPPLEMENTARY FILE 9. Laboratory code master list. Three letter laboratory codes assigned by the consortium.BACKGROUND : The Global Typhoid Genomics Consortium was established to bring together the typhoid research community to aggregate and analyse Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (Typhi) genomic data to inform public health action. This analysis, which marks 22 years since the publication of the first Typhi genome, represents the largest Typhi genome sequence collection to date (n=13,000). METHODS : This is a meta-analysis of global genotype and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants extracted from previously sequenced genome data and analysed using consistent methods implemented in open analysis platforms GenoTyphi and Pathogenwatch. RESULTS : Compared with previous global snapshots, the data highlight that genotype 4.3.1 (H58) has not spread beyond Asia and Eastern/Southern Africa; in other regions, distinct genotypes dominate and have independently evolved AMR. Data gaps remain in many parts of the world, and we show the potential of travel-associated sequences to provide informal ‘sentinel’ surveillance for such locations. The data indicate that ciprofloxacin non-susceptibility (>1 resistance determinant) is widespread across geographies and genotypes, with high-level ciprofloxacin resistance (≥3 determinants) reaching 20% prevalence in South Asia. Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid has become dominant in Pakistan (70% in 2020) but has not yet become established elsewhere. Ceftriaxone resistance has emerged in eight non-XDR genotypes, including a ciprofloxacin-resistant lineage (4.3.1.2.1) in India. Azithromycin resistance mutations were detected at low prevalence in South Asia, including in two common ciprofloxacin-resistant genotypes. CONCLUSIONS : The consortium’s aim is to encourage continued data sharing and collaboration to monitor the emergence and global spread of AMR Typhi, and to inform decision-making around the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) and other prevention and control strategies.Fellowships from the European Union (funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 845681), the Wellcome Trust (SB, Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship), and the National Health and Medical Research Council.https://elifesciences.org/am2024Medical MicrobiologySDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein

Treatment of vegetable oil mill effluent using crab shell chitosan as adsorbent

In this study, a naturally available crab shell chitosan of low molecular weight (20 kDa) has been used as adsorbent to evaluate the pollution load in vegetable oil mill effluent. A series of batch experiment was conducted by varying chitosan dosage (100–400 mg), pH (2–9), stirring time (15–90) min and agitation speed (25–150 rpm) to study their effects on adsorption and flocculation processes. The parameters considered for adsorption study are chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, electrical conductivity and turbidity. The maximum reduction in chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, electrical conductivity and turbidity is 74, 70, 56 and 92 % , respectively. The observed experimental result showed that crab shell chitosan could able to reduce significantly the chemical oxygen demand, turbidity, electrical conductivity and suspended matter. The optimum conditions were estimated as 400 mg/l chitosan, pH 4 and 45 min of mixing time with mixing speed of 50 rpm. Chitosan showed very good pollution removal efficiency and can be used for the effective treatment of vegetable oil mill effluent

Autologous emulsified fat injection for rejuvenation of scars: A prospective observational study

Background: The skin rejuvenation potential of the autologous emulsified nanofat was studied by Tonnard et al. in 2013. This property is due to the viable adipose-derived stem cells present in the nanofat; although, there are no viable adipocytes. The aim of this study was to determine the aesthetic outcome of autologous emulsified nanofat injection in scars using a standardised and validated Patient Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and photographs. Materials and Methods: A total of 34 patients with scars of varied aetiologies were included in the study as per inclusion criteria. Pre-operative scoring of the scars with the POSAS scale was done, and photographs were taken. Fat aspiration was done from the lower abdominal wall using syringe liposuction under tumescent anaesthesia. The lipoaspirate was mechanically emulsified, filtered and injected intralesionally into the scar using 26G needle and insulin syringe. Post-operative scar reassessment was done at 3 months with the POSAS scale score and photographs. The improvement in scar characteristics and symptoms were tested statistically using a paired t-test. Pre-operative and post-operative photographic comparison was also done. Results: Out of the 34 patients included in the study, male:female ratio was 22:12. Majority (79.4%) had post-traumatic facial scars. On statistical analysis, there was statistically significant improvement in symptoms such as pain (P = 0.001), itching (P = 0.001), stiffness (P = 0.001), thickness (P = 0.001), colour (P = 0.001), irregularity (P = 0.001) and scar characteristics such as vascularity (P = 0.005), relief (P = 0.001), pliability (P = 0.001), thickness (P = 0.001) and pigmentation (P = 0.001) 3 months after injection. The photographic comparison also showed good aesthetic outcome. Conclusion: Autologous emulsified nanofat injection is effective in improving the scar characteristics as well as symptoms and helps in scar rejuvenation

Development and characterization of natural polyelectrolyte capsules for drug delivery applications

379-384Nanotechnology has provided numerous cutting-edge applications in drug delivery, biosensors, nanorobots, biomedical devices and nanocarriers. Polyelectrolyte mediated nanocapsules contributes a significant development as drug carriers for more than a decade. Majority of the nanocapsules employed in the drug delivery system are fabricated using synthetic materials leading to many health complications. In this research, natural polyelectrolyte capsules are prepared using carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) and chitosan by dip coating technique. The capsules are used for the delivery of antibacterial drug by encapsulating ciprofloxacin hydrochloride into the capsule interiors. The drug release study has been carried out by altering the permeability of the capsule shell. The optimal pH for the drug encapsulation has been established at 2.3 pH and 381 μg of drug is loaded in 60 min. The drug release study is performed at three different pH conditions of 2.0 pH, 6.0 pH, and 7.2 pH respectively and the release media chosen is water and PBS. Maximum amount of drug release (367 μg) is achieved at pH 2.0 within 48 hours. The study demonstrates an easy and effective delivery of antibacterial drug from natural polyelectrolyte capsules