Using Web Search Query Data to Monitor Dengue Epidemics: A New Model for Neglected Tropical Disease Surveillance

A variety of obstacles, including bureaucracy and lack of resources, delay detection and reporting of dengue and exist in many countries where the disease is a major public health threat. Surveillance efforts have turned to modern data sources such as Internet usage data. People often seek health-related information online and it has been found that the frequency of, for example, influenza-related web searches as a whole rises as the number of people sick with influenza rises. Tools have been developed to help track influenza epidemics by finding patterns in certain web search activity. However, few have evaluated whether this approach would also be effective for other diseases, especially those that affect many people, that have severe consequences, or for which there is no vaccine. In this study, we found that aggregated, anonymized Google search query data were also capable of tracking dengue activity in Bolivia, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Singapore. Whereas traditional dengue data from official sources are often not available until after a long delay, web search query data is available for analysis within a day. Therefore, because it could potentially provide earlier warnings, these data represent a valuable complement to traditional dengue surveillance

Optimization of xylanase production from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Melanocarpus albomyces</i> using wheat straw extract and its scale up in stirred tank bioreactor

282-289Production of xylanase from agro-industrial by-product such as wheat straw has been optimized. The wheat straw is subjected to heat treatment under mild alkaline conditions for the extraction of xylo-oligosaccarides, which serve as both an inducer and a carbon source for fungal growth and xylanase production under submerged fermentation. The statistical approach of response surface methodology has been employed for the optimization of different nitrogen sources. The production of xylanase is influenced by the synergic effect of nitrogen sources in the fermentation medium. Further optimization of other factors such as inoculum age, inoculum size, initial pH, growth temperature and agitation significantly enhance xylanase activity to about 425 ± 5 IU/mL in shake flask using optimized fermentation medium and conditions. The scale up of fermentation process up to 14 L bioreactor yields a maximum xylanase activity of about 520 IU/mL in 36 h of fermentation which is 1.22-fold higher than that obtained at shake flask level

Enhanced expression of the recombinant lethal factor of Bacillus anthracis by fed-batch culture

High cell density cultivation has been one of the most effective ways to increase cell as well as the product yields. The structural gene for the 90-kDa lethal factor (LF) isolated from Bacillus anthracis was expressed as fusion protein with 6× histidine residues under the transcriptional regulation of the T5 promoter in Escherichia coli. Various strategies were tried to scale up the expression of the recombinant lethal factor by bioprocess optimization using fed batch culture technique in a 14 litre fermentor. The media, a defined mixture of salts, trace elements, vitamins, etc. along with a specified carbon source was used for the growth. The pH of the media was maintained at 6.8 while the temperature was changed from 37 to 28°C during the cultivation. During the growth and induction phases, the DO was maintained above 20% by automatic control of agitation. The specific growth rate was controlled by utilizing an exponential feeding profile determined from mass balance equations. As a result of control of specific growth rate at two different levels, there was about twenty five fold increase in biomass compared to the biomass in the shake flask. E. coli cells yielded a soluble cytosolic protein with an apparent molecular mass of 90 kDa. The protein was purified to homogeneity using metal chelate affinity chromatography, followed by anion exchange on FPLC using Mono-Q column. In solution, trypsin cleaved protective antigen bound to native and recombinant LF with comparable affinity. The recombinant LF resembled the LF purified from B. anthracis in the macrophage lysis assay, using a murine macrophage cell line J774A.1 sensitive to anthrax toxin. It was possible to achieve a yield of 50 mg of the purified protein from 1 litre culture broth

Spray-drying of xylanase from thermophilic fungus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Melanocarpus albomyces</i>–Effect of carriers and binders on enzyme stability

89-95A spray-dried powder formulation obtained from the fermentation broth of the fungus has been developed. The effect of different additives (carriers and binders) on thermal deactivation of xylanase has been evaluated at 60°C. Addition of carriers and binders improves half-life by 6.6-7.0 folds, whereas the synergistic effect of carrier and binder enhances the half-life by 27.5 folds. Under the optimized conditions of the spray-drying process, retention of 99.4% specific activity is obtained with the maximum powder recovery of 62.4% at 140/65.2°C inlet/outlet temperature. The final spray dried powder produced is found to be brownish, free flowing and non-hygroscopic. The shelf-life of spray-dried powder is 202 days at 30°C, making it industrially useful product. </span

Inoculation of root microorganisms for sustainable wheat-rice and wheat-black gram rotations in India

The scarcity of non-renewable resources such as soils and fertilizers and the consequences of climate change can dramatically influence the food security of future generations. Mutualistic root microorganisms such as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can improve plant fitness. We tested the growth response of wheat (Triticum aestivum [L.]), rice (Oriza sativa [L.]) and black gram (Vigna mungo [L.], Hepper) to an inoculation of AMF and PGPR alone or in combination over two years at seven locations in a region extending from the Himalayan foothills to the Indo-Gangetic plain. The AMF applied consisted of a consortium of different strains, the PGPR of two fluorescent Pseudomonas strains (Pseudomonas jessenii, R62; Pseudomonas synxantha, R81), derived from wheat rhizosphere from one test region. We found that dual inoculation of wheat with PGPR and AMF increased grain yield by 41% as compared to un-inoculated controls. Yield responses to the inoculants were highest at locations with previously low yields. AMF or PGPR alone augmented wheat grain yield by 29% and 31%, respectively. The bio-inoculants were effective both at Zero and at farmers’ practice fertilization level (70 kg N ha−1, 11 kg P ha−1 in mineral form to wheat crop). Also raw protein (nitrogen × 5.7) and mineral nutrient concentration of wheat grains (phosphorus, potassium, copper, iron, zinc, manganese) were higher after inoculation (+6% to +53%). Phosphorus use efficiency of wheat grains [kg P grain kg−1 P fertilizer] was increased by 95%. AMF and PGPR application also improved soil quality as indicated by increased soil enzyme activities of alkaline and acid phosphatase, urease and dehydrogenase. Effects on rice and black gram yields were far less pronounced over two cropping seasons, suggesting that AMF and PGPR isolated from the target crop were more efficient. We conclude that mutualistic root microorganisms have a high potential for contributing to food security and for improving nutrition status in southern countries, while safeguarding natural resources such as P stocks. (c) Elsevie