The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii

Although analysis of toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems can be instructive, to date, there is no information on the prevalence and identity of TA systems based on a large panel of Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates. The aim of the current study was to screen for functional TA systems among clinical isolates of A. baumannii and to identify the systems' locations. For this purpose, we screened 85 A. baumannii isolates collected from different clinical sources for the presence of the mazEF, relBE and higBA TA genes. The results revealed that the genes coding for the mazEF TA system were commonly present in all clinical isolates of A. baumannii. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that transcripts were produced in the clinical isolates. Our findings showed that TA genes are prevalent, harboured by chromosomes and transcribed within A. baumannii. Hence, activation of the toxin proteins in the mazEF TA system should be investigated further as an effective antibacterial strategy against this bacterium

PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT AMONG ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS RESIDING IN URBAN BENGALURU: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Introduction Increase in life expectancy results in an increasing elderly population which contributes to 9.3% of global population. With epidemiological transition of diseases, the burden of chronic morbidity conditions will also increase with an effect on Quality of life, which demands social support especially among elderly individuals. Hence the present study was taken up to assess social support among elderly individuals residing in urban field practice area of Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute (BMCRI), Bengaluru. Objective: To assess the perceived social support among elderly population residing in the urban field practice area of BMCRI Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted to assess the perceived social support among 100 elderly population residing in the urban field practice area of BMCRI. Simple random sampling technique was used. Data was collected using validated Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) questionnaire along with socio-demographic factors. Results: In this study, the mean age of the elderly individuals was 67.0 + 5.90 years, total social support score was 59.2 + 17.97. Perceived social support was found to be statistically significant found between characteristics gender, educational status, marital status, earning status, marital status, earning status, support obtained for medication and previous hospitalization. (p<0.05

Study of craniofacial skeletal patterns and body measurements in south Indians

Introduction:Craniofacial skeletal pattern and body measurements have been studied in anthropology, orthodontics, cosmetology and garment industries. The purpose of this study was to find the relationship between craniofacial skeletal pattern and body measurements, Ratios and BMI. Methods: Digital lateral cephalogram was recorded for all the two hundred subjects and were traced and analysed using six cephalometric measurements to identify craniofacial skeletal pattern. These two hundred subjects were divided into three groups Vertical, Horizontal and Average. Then twenty five subjects from each group were randomly selected for this study. Each subject’s height, weight, chest, waist and hip were measured and the ratios and BMI were derived. Data was tabulated and statistically analysed. Results: Waist measurement showed significant difference between Vertical and Horizontal groups.  The body mass index showed significant differences between Vertical and Average group. However, there were no significant differences in any measurements taken between Horizontal and Average. Conclusion: The data recorded by the present study shows that waist and BMI are significantly associated with each other between three groups. We would like to conclude by suggesting that these data can be used in identifying the craniofacial skeletal patterns in early age and preventive methods can be used in cardiovascular risk factors. Additionally these results can be used by forensic anthropologists as well as fashion designers to correlate the ratio and craniofacial skeletal patterns.  &nbsp

Evaluation of in vitro Vibrio static activity of Shewanella algae isolated from healthy Penaeus monodon

To conquer disease problem in shrimp industries, probiotic biocontrol is a well known remedy now. The antagonistic ability of separated isolates from different parts of juvenile Penaeus monodon werescreened against shrimp Vibrio pathogens; Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio alginolyticus. The most antagonistic effect was observed for an isolate that was primarily identified as Shewanella algae usingconventional methods followed by Biolog microlog software. Since production of antagonistic agents rely on cultural conditions, antagonistic ability of candidate probioic against the mentioned Vibrios was assessed using Response Surface Methodology, with central composite design in which four independents variables were assumed: temperature (10 - 50°C), pH (6 -10), NaCl concentration (0 - 50%)and time (12 – 60 h). The coefficients of multiple determinations (R2), for the responses of antagonistic effect of S. algae against V. parahaemolyticus and V. alginolyticus values were 0.807 and 0.805,respectively. Concentration of the NaCl exhibited least influence on the antibacterial effect of candidate probiotic while the other independent variables exhibited different degree of affect. The candidateprobiotic revealed a reasonable antibacterial response in quite a wide range of temperature and pH in which the maximum levels were in the same range of optimum shrimp culture

Growth of TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanoparticles in thermally evaporated fatty amine thin films by a method of ion entrapment

The synthesis of titania nanoparticles within thermally evaporated octadecylamine (ODA) thin films is described. Synthesis of the nanoparticles was achieved by electrostatically entrapping TiF62&#8722; ions in thin films of the fatty amine by a simple immersion technique followed by in-situ hydrolysis of the metal ions. Without any further heat treatment, it was observed that titania nanoparticles of the brookite polymorph were formed within the film. By this simple procedure, uniformly distributed fairly monodisperse titania nanoparticles of ca. 4 nm diameter were synthesized within the lipid matrix and investigated using a host of techniques

Selective amplification of bacterial 16S rDNA sequence from clinical samples

Background: Conventional blood culture method is time consuming and less sensitive; when fastidious or un-culturalable organisms are involved. The use of PCR targeting the 16S rRNA allows detection of bacteria; however, these primers have ability to co-amplify human DNA. This Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method is based on nucleic acid amplification test. Objective of the study: This study determined a method for selective amplification of bacterial DNA from clinical samples without co-amplification of human DNA. Materials and methods: Seventy one blood samples from clinically suspected cases of early onset neonatal sepsis were collected and analysed in parallel by culture and 16S rRNA amplification. DNA was extracted using commercial extraction QiAmp mini DNA kit and subjected to 16S rRNA amplification. The products were sequenced, analysed and compared with blood culture results. Positive and negative controls were used for extraction and amplification respectively. Results: Out of 71 samples analysed, 5 (7.0%) samples by blood culture were equally positive for 16S rRNA PCR; the PCR was also able to identified 16 (22.5%) more positive samples which blood culture could not identify, but only 1 (1.4%) sample was identified positive using blood culture while PCR identified it as negative. During the study, 7 (9.9%) samples were identified positive by conventional blood culture but later found to be contaminants. Conclusion: This study confirmed the presence of 16S rRNA among bacterial isolates and modification of PCR protocol with shorter denaturation temperature and time, leading to selective amplification of bacterial DNA. Therefore, there is need to carry-out this investigation on both culturable and unculturable specimens. Keywords:16SrRNA amplification; bacterial DNA; human DNA and Polymerase chai

Synthesis, Characterization and Quantification of Simvastatin Metabolites and Impurities

Simvastatin is used in treatment of hypercholesterolemia because it regulates cholesterol synthesis as a result of its β-hydroxy acid acting as an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA). The present communication deals with synthesis, characterization and development of accurate, precise and sensitive Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for simultaneous estimation of simvastatin and its synthetic impurities. The impurities methyl ether and β-hydroxy acid of simvastatin were synthesized in the laboratory and characterized by MS, NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. The separation of simvastatin and its impurities was carried out on an isocratic JASCO RP-HPLC system using KYA TECH HIQ SIL C18 column (150 × 4.6 mm internal diameter, particle size 5 μm) operating at ambient temperature using acetonitrile:water (80:20 v/v) with 0.1% orthophosphoric acid as mobile phase. The method developed for HPLC analysis of three impurities along with simvastatin was validated using ICH Q2B (R1) guidelines and it complied with these guidelines. The results of analysis were found to be in the range of 98.14% to 101.89% for all analytes with acceptable accuracy and precision. The method can be used for detection and quantification of synthetic impurities in bulk or formulations of simvastatin

The effect of occupational exposure to welding fumes on trachea, bronchus and lung cancer: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) are developing joint estimates of the work-related burden of disease and injury (WHO/ILO Joint Estimates), with contributions from a large network of experts. Welding fumes have been classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC); this assessment found sufficient evidence from studies in humans that welding fumes are a cause of lung cancer. In this article, we present the protocol for a systematic review of parameters for estimating the number of deaths and disability-adjusted life years from trachea, bronchus and lung cancer attributable to occupational exposure to welding fumes, to inform the development of the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates

First report on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus of Spa type T037, Sequence type 239, SCCmec type III/IIIA in Malaysia

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from Malaysia were shown to possess staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec)-III and IIIA. Spa sequencing and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) documented t037 and ST 239 (CC8) for 83.3% of the isolates. This confirms observations in several other Far Eastern countries and corroborates the epidemicity of this clone