Functional traits and phylogenetic analysis of top-soil inhabiting rhizobacteria associated with tea rhizospheres in North Bengal, India

Rhizobacteria associated with cultivated crops are known to stimulate plant growth through various indirect or direct mechanisms. In recent years, the host list of plant growth promotion/promoting rhizobacteria has expanded to include bean, barley, cotton, maize, rice, vegetables, peanut, rice, wheat, and several plantation crops. However, interaction of rhizobacteria with tea plants of organic and conventional tea gardens is poorly understood. In the present study, rhizobacterial species associated with tea rhizosphere were isolated from 14 tea gardens located in North Bengal, India. In total, 16 rhizobacterial isolates isolated from collected soil samples were assessed for antagonistic and plant growth promotion/promoting activity under laboratory conditions. Molecular characterization based on sequencing of 16S rRNA gene revealed dominance of Bacillus with five species followed by Pseudomonas with two species. Interestingly, only one isolate was affiliated with actinobacteria, i.e., Microbacterium barkeri. Out of 16 isolates, isolates Bacillus subtilis OKAKP01, B. subtilis BNLG01, B. paramycoides BOK01, M. barkeri BPATH02, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia BSEY01 showed highest growth inhibition against Fusarium solani (68.2 to 72.8%), Pseudopestalotiopsis theae (71.1 to 85.6%), and Exobasidium vexans (67.4 to 78.3%) causing respective Fusarium dieback, gray blight, and blister blight diseases in tea crop. Further, these five isolates also possessed significantly greater antifungal (siderophore producer, protease, chitinase, and cellulase activity) and plant growth promotion/promoting (indole-3-acetic acid production, ACC deaminase, ammonia, and phosphate solubilization) traits over other eleven rhizobacterial isolates. Therefore, these five isolates of rhizobacteria were chosen for their plant growth promotion/promoting activity on tea plants in nursery conditions. Results from nursery experiments revealed that these five rhizobacteria significantly improved growth rates of tea plants compared with the control. Therefore, this study suggests that these rhizobacteria could be used to formulate biopesticides and biofertilizers, which could be applied to sustainable tea cultivation to improve crop health and reduce disease attack

Solid variant ABC of long tubular bones: A diagnostic conundrum for the radiologist

Solid variant of aneurysmal bone cyst (sABC) is an extremely rare, reactive and non-neoplastic osseous lesion. On imaging it presents as a diaphyseal aggressive, eccentrically placed lytic and expansile lesion. However, differentiating this entity from the other possible malignant differentials is confounded by the histopathology mimicking several commoner lesions. We describe the distinctive MRI features of sABC of long bones from a series of four cases and briefly review the literature. We hope this review will educate all radiologists about this rare entity increasing their diagnostic confidence while formulating differentials for similar appearing lesions

Outcomes of Endovascular Therapy for Salvage of Hemodialysis Arteriovenous Fistulae

Introduction Arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) for hemodialysis (HD) are prone to development of multiple complications, which can lead to nonfunctioning of the fistula. We report outcomes of endovascular management for dysfunctional HD AVF. Materials and Methods In this prospective study, patients (43 men, 28 women, mean age 47.4 years) with clinical signs and symptoms of dysfunctional HD AVF and referred to interventional radiology for endovascular management were included. The most common clinical presentation included low flows during hemodialysis (n = 20), absent flow (n = 37), and failure of fistula maturation (n = 14). Patients with central venous obstruction who presented with limb swelling were excluded from this study. Patients underwent venography, venoplasty and thrombectomy, as appropriate, to salvage the fistula. The study outcomes were technical success, hemodynamic success, and clinical success of endovascular therapies in salvaging the fistulae. Results The technical, hemodynamic and clinical success rates of endovascular therapy for low-flow symptoms were 95%, 70% and 95%, respectively. Among patients who presented with absent flow, endovascular therapy had 81% technical success, 78.3% hemodynamic success, and 81% clinical success. Endovascular therapy was associated with 64.2% technical success, 57.1% hemodynamic success, and 64.2% clinical success in patients presenting with failed maturation of the fistula. The overall clinical success rate was 58/71 (81.7%) and failure rate was 13/71 (18.3%). The overall complication rate of endovascular therapy was 8.4% and the complications included vein rupture in 5 (7%) and balloon rupture in 1 (1.4%). Conclusion Endovascular therapy for salvage of nonfunctioning hemodialysis AVF is associated with a high-clinical success rate (81.7%) and low-complication rate

Needleless electrospun phytochemicals encapsulated nanofibre based 3-ply biodegradable mask for combating COVID-19 pandemic

The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected human health and world economies. According to WHO guidelines, continuous use of face mask is mandatory for personal protection for restricting the spread of bacteria and virus. Here, we report a 3-ply cotton-PLA-cotton layered biodegradable face-mask containing encapsulated phytochemicals in the inner-filtration layer. The nano-fibrous PLA filtration layer was fabricated using needleless electrospinning of PLA & phytochemical-based herba extracts. This 3-layred face mask exhibits enhanced air permeability with a differential pressure of 35.78 Pa/cm2 and superior bacterial filtration efficiency of 97.9% compared to conventional face masks. Close-packed mesh structure of the nano-fibrous mat results in effective adsorption of particulate matter, aerosol particles, and bacterial targets deep inside the filtration layer. The outer hydrophobic layer of mask exhibited effective blood splash resistance up to a distance of 30 cm, ensuring its utilization for medical practices. Computational analysis of constituent phytochemicals using the LibDock algorithm predicted inhibitory activity of chemicals against the protein structured bacterial sites. The computational analysis projected superior performance of phytochemicals considering the presence of stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and Arachidic acid exhibiting structural complementarity to inhibit targeted bacterial interface. Natural cotton fibers and PLA bio-polymer demonstrated promising biodegradable characteristics in the presence of in-house cow-dung based biodegradation slurry. Addition of jaggery to the slurry elevated the biodegradation performance, resulting in increment of change of weight from 07% to 12%. The improved performance was attributed to the increased sucrose content in biodegradation slurry, elevating the bacterial growth in the slurry. An innovative face mask has shown promising results for utilization in day-to-day life and medical frontline workers, considering the post-pandemic environmental impacts