Isolation and characterization of extreme halophilic bacterium Salinicoccus sp. JAS4 producing extracellular hydrolytic enzymes

A extreme halophilic bacterium, strain JAS4 was isolated from the Arabal soil of west coast of Karnataka, India. The isolate is Gram positive, strictly aerobic, ferments several carbohydrates and has motile, coccoid shaped cells and non sporing, catalase- and oxidase- positive, that grew in presence of 2-25% (w/v) NaCl and at pH 6.5-11, with optimum growth at 10%(w/v) NaCl, with an optimum growth temperature of 340C, has potential to produce the extracellular enzymes such as Amylase, Protease, Inulinase and Gelatinase, but production of lipase was found to be negative. The phenotypic studies and genotypic analysis by 16S rRNA analysis showed that the bacterium belonged to the genera Salinicoccus of 98% BLAST sequence similarity and it is named as Salinicoccus sp. JAS4 and phylogenetic study was carried out using Mega5 software.  &nbsp

EVALUATION OF IN VITRO CYTOTOXIC AND ANTICANCER ACTIVITY OF HEPATOPROTECTIVE POLYHERBAL FORMULATION IN CELL LINE MODEL

Introduction: The use of natural products as anticancer agents has a long history that began with folklore medicine and through the years has been incorporated into traditional and allopathic medicine. Several drugs currently used are derived from medicinal plants. Objective: The main objective of this study is to investigate the cytotoxic potential of hepatoprotective polyherbal formulation in normal and cancer cell lines. Methods: A 3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was utilized to screen the cytotoxic activity. Results: The results revealed that the formulation does not induce much mortality in normal liver and kidney cell lines, and LC50 value of liver cell lines was found 1716.355 μg/ml and kidney cell lines 2464.910 μg/ml. The in vitro anticancer activity was performed on liver, colon, and prostate cancer cell lines, and IC50 values are found 2.077, 3.850, and 11.989 μg/ml, respectively, which show excellent anticancer activity. Conclusion: Based on the results obtained, the hepatoprotective polyherbal formulation is safe for normal cells and cytotoxic for cancer cells. Further, identification and quantification of phytoconstituents responsible for the activity are in progress

Depression, anxiety and stress levels among medical and dental students: а cross sectional study

Introduction. In medical and dental colleges increased levels of psychological disturbances such as depression, anxiety and stress (DASS) among students which affect the way these students take care of patients. By identifying necessary modifications can be made to improve the quality of life among medical and dental students.The aim of this study is to assess DASS among undergraduate medical and dental students in Mathura city, Uttar Pradesh, India.Material and methods. The medical and dental college students from K.D. Medical College and K.D. Dental College students were included. A short questionnaire version of depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21) was distributed and filled by students. Comparison among the variables was done using independent t-test with significance at p < 0.05.Results. The study group comprised 415 subjects, 164 (39.51 %) males and 251 (60.48 %) females. Among them 297 (71.56 %) were medical students and 118 (28.43 %) were dental students. Out of a total of 297 medical students, the severity of overall DASS score was 38.8 ± 10.2 while depression score was 12.6 ± 4.0, anxiety score was 13.0 ± 4.1, stress score was 13.2 ± 4.3. Out of a total of 118 dental students the severity of overall DASS score was 37.8 ± 11.1 while depression scores was 12.2 ± 4.2, anxiety score was 12.9 ± 4.0, stress score was 12.7 ± 4.5. The overall mean DASS score and its dimensions were not significant based on gender.Conclusions. Clinical years were more stressful than the nonclinical years. This suggests a need for special attention to the structure of the clinical program, particularly at the point of transition from the preclinical to the clinical phase

Radiation and Soret Effects of MHD Nanofluid Flow over a Moving Vertical Moving Plate in Porous Medium

We analyzed the magneticfiled, radiation and soret effects of a nanofluid flow over a moving vertical plate in porous medium. We considered two types of nanofluids namely Cu-Ethylene glycol, CuO-Ethylene glycol. The governing partial differential equations of the flow are transformed to ordinary differential equations by using similarity transformation and then solved numerically. The effects of non-dimensional governing parameters namely volume fraction of nano particles,  magneticfiled parameter, radiation parameter, soret number, buoyancy parameter and porosity parameter on the flow, temperature and concentration profiles are discussed and presented graphically. Also, the friction factor and Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are discussed and given in tabular form for two nanofluids separately. Keywords: MHD, Radiation, Soret effect, Porous medium, Nanofluid

ESTIMATED DAILY INTAKE AND EXPOSURE OF SODIUM BENZOATE AND POTASSIUM SORBATE THROUGH FOOD PRODUCTS IN SCHOOL CHILDREN OF TIRUPATI, INDIA

Objective: According to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) the preservatives, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate belong to permitted class II preservatives. The aim of this study is to determine the concentration levels of these preservatives in food products that are consumed by school children and to assess the chronic dietary exposure by conducting the Total Diet Study (TDS).Methods: The quantitative determination was carried out by UV spectrophotometer. The absorbance for sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate were measured at 228 and 250 nm respectively. The 24-hour diet recall method was used to estimate the amount of food ate in last 24 hours. For estimation of preservative exposure dietary modelling techniques were utilized which combine the amount of preservative concentration present in that food with the amount of food consumed. Then the dietary exposure was assessed by considering the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI).Results: The results include chemical concentration levels of the foods analyzed as well as estimated dietary exposures and contributions to the exposure from different foods. The obtained mean concentration of sodium benzoate was found to be425 ppm for sauces, 161 ppm for pickles and 80 ppm for soft drinks. Potassium sorbate was found to be 130 ppm for fruit juices,302 ppm for jellies and 380 ppm for jams. The highest mean dietary exposure for both the preservatives was observed in children of 2-7 years age group, the percentage exposure of sodium benzoate was 33% of the ADI and potassium sorbate was 17 % of the ADI.Conclusion: This study can enlighten the public on the consumption of preservative containing food products within the limit and encourages to eating fresh preservative free foods.Â

Development of a sustained-release voriconazole-containing thermogel for subconjunctival injection in horses

PURPOSE. To determine in vitro release profiles, transcorneal permeation, and ocular injection characteristics of a voriconazole-containing thermogel suitable for injection into the subconjunctival space (SCS). METHODS. In vitro release rate of voriconazole (0.3% and 1.5%) from poly (DL-lactide-coglycolide-b-ethylene glycol-b-DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA-PEG-PLGA) thermogel was determined for 28 days. A Franz cell diffusion chamber was used to evaluate equine transcorneal and transscleral permeation of voriconazole (1.5% topical solution, 0.3% and 1.5% voriconazole-thermogel) for 24 hours. Antifungal activity of voriconazole released from the 1.5% voriconazole-thermogel was determined via the agar disk diffusion method. Ex vivo equine eyes were injected with liquid voriconazole-thermogel (4°C). Distension of the SCS was assessed ultrasonographically and macroscopically. SCS voriconazole-thermogel injections were performed in a horse 1 week and 2 hours before euthanasia and histopathologic analysis of ocular tissues performed. RESULTS. Voriconazole was released from the PLGA-PEG-PLGA thermogel for more than 21 days in all groups. Release followed first-order kinetics. Voriconazole diffused through the cornea and sclera in all groups. Permeation was greater through the sclerae than corneas. Voriconazole released from the 1.5% voriconazole-thermogel showed antifungal activity in vitro. Voriconazole-thermogel was easily able to be injected into the dorsal SCS where it formed a discrete gel deposit. Voriconazole-thermogel was easily injected in vivo and did not induce any adverse reactions. CONCLUSIONS. Voriconazole-containing thermogels have potential application in treatment of keratomycosis. Further research is required to evaluate their performance in vivo

Clinical evaluation of silicone gel in the treatment of cleft lip scars.

Upper lip scars are at risk of hypertrophy. Our center therefore uses microporous tape and silicone sheeting for postoperative scar care following cleft lip repair. However, some babies have previously ingested their silicone sheeting, which has the potential for respiratory compromise or gastrointestinal obstruction. Self-dry silicone gel is reportedly also effective for preventing hypertrophic scars. Hence, we sought to test whether silicone gel, which cannot be ingested whole, might be non-inferior to silicone sheeting for controlling against upper lip scar hypertrophy. This was a mixed prospective and retrospective case-controlled clinical trial involving patients undergoing unilateral cleft lip repair, 29 of whom received standard postoperative silicone sheeting (control group) and another 33 age-matched consecutive patients who received self-dry silicone instead. The Vancouver scar scale, visual analogue scale and photographically assessed scar width assessments were the same in both groups at six months after surgery. In conclusion, silicone gel appears to be non-inferior to silicone sheeting for postoperative care of upper lip scars as judged by scar quality at six months, but silicone sheeting has the safety disadvantage that it can be swallowed whole by babies. It is thus recommended that silicone gel be used for upper lip scar management in babies.This article is freely available via Open Access. Click on the Additional Link above to access the full-text via the publisher's site

Influence of Stefan blowing on nanofluid flow submerged in microorganisms with leading edge accretion or ablation

The unsteady forced convective boundary layer flow of viscous incompressible fluid containing both nanoparticles and gyrotactic microorganisms, from a flat surface with leading edge accretion (or ablation), is investigated theoretically. Utilizing appropriate similarity transformations for the velocity, temperature, nanoparticle volume fraction and motile microorganism density, the governing conservation equations are rendered into a system of coupled, nonlinear, similarity ordinary differential equations. These equations, subjected to imposed boundary conditions, are solved numerically using the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg fourth-fifth order numerical method in the MAPLE symbolic software. Good agreement between our computations and previous solutions is achieved. The effect of selected parameters on flow velocity, temperature, nano-particle volume fraction (concentration) and motile microorganism density function is investigated. Furthermore, tabular solutions are included for skin friction, wall heat transfer rate, nano-particle mass transfer rate and microorganism transfer rate. Applications of the study arise in advanced micro-flow devices to assess nanoparticle toxicity

Using brain structural neuroimaging measures to predict psychosis onset for individuals at clinical high-risk

Machine learning approaches using structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) can be informative for disease classification, although their ability to predict psychosis is largely unknown. We created a model with individuals at CHR who developed psychosis later (CHR-PS+) from healthy controls (HCs) that can differentiate each other. We also evaluated whether we could distinguish CHR-PS+ individuals from those who did not develop psychosis later (CHR-PS-) and those with uncertain follow-up status (CHR-UNK). T1-weighted structural brain MRI scans from 1165 individuals at CHR (CHR-PS+, n = 144; CHR-PS-, n = 793; and CHR-UNK, n = 228), and 1029 HCs, were obtained from 21 sites. We used ComBat to harmonize measures of subcortical volume, cortical thickness and surface area data and corrected for non-linear effects of age and sex using a general additive model. CHR-PS+ (n = 120) and HC (n = 799) data from 20 sites served as a training dataset, which we used to build a classifier. The remaining samples were used external validation datasets to evaluate classifier performance (test, independent confirmatory, and independent group [CHR-PS- and CHR-UNK] datasets). The accuracy of the classifier on the training and independent confirmatory datasets was 85% and 73% respectively. Regional cortical surface area measures-including those from the right superior frontal, right superior temporal, and bilateral insular cortices strongly contributed to classifying CHR-PS+ from HC. CHR-PS- and CHR-UNK individuals were more likely to be classified as HC compared to CHR-PS+ (classification rate to HC: CHR-PS+, 30%; CHR-PS-, 73%; CHR-UNK, 80%). We used multisite sMRI to train a classifier to predict psychosis onset in CHR individuals, and it showed promise predicting CHR-PS+ in an independent sample. The results suggest that when considering adolescent brain development, baseline MRI scans for CHR individuals may be helpful to identify their prognosis. Future prospective studies are required about whether the classifier could be actually helpful in the clinical settings.</p