In vitro Cellulose Rich Organic Material Degradation by Cellulolytic Streptomyces albospinus (MTCC 8768)

Aims: Cellulosic biomass is the only foreseeable sustainable source of fuels and is also one of the dominating waste materials in nature resulting from human activities. Keeping in view the environmental problems like disposal of large volumes of cellulosic wastes and shortage of fossil fuel in the world, the main aim of the present investigation was to characterize and study the cellulolytic activity of Streptomyces albospinus (MTCC 8768), isolated from municipal wastes, on natural cellulosic substrates viz. straw powder, wood powder and finely grated vegetable peels.Methodology and Result: Stanier’s Basal broth with 100 mg of each of the substrates was inoculated separately with S. albospinus (MTCC No. 8768) and incubated at 37 °C for 8 days. The cellulosic substrates were re-weighed at an interval of 2 days and the difference between the initial weight and the final weight gave the amount of substratesdegraded by the isolate. It was observed that maximum degradation was observed in the grated vegetable peels (64 mg) followed by straw powder (38 mg) and wood powder (28 mg) over a period of 8 days.Conclusion, significance and impact of study: By the selection of efficient cellulolytic microorganisms and cost-effective operational techniques, the production of useful end products from the biodegradation of the low cost enormous stock of cellulose in nature can be very beneficial

Alleviating privacy and security concerns in financial aggregation programs

This paper focuses on the privacy and security concerns of young people in Australia regarding the use of financial aggregation (FA) programs as a way of making decisions about their money. The use of FA programs to provide a comprehensive online picture of a person\u27s finances, bringing together information from discreet providers, is one example of the increasing importance of Internet and media services in the lives of young people. Young people are likely to be the target user group for these programs; this is because younger Australians are known to use Internet banking to a greater extent than older Australians. They also see it as more private, more secure and more trustworthy than do older Australians. Drawing particularly on two user experience workshops in Melbourne around Sunario, a FA prototype, the paper documents the privacy and security concerns of the 24 participants, all of whom were between 18 and 45 years old. Despite these concerns and other usability issues, the majority of the participants said they would use the prototype. The paper describes how the design of the FA program had some of these concerns in mind when it decided against automatically downloading information from accounts held by another bank. Following the workshop, there were further attempts to alleviate the users\u27 privacy and security concerns while increasing the trustworthiness of the service. The paper illustrates the value of user feedback to the design of a FA program. The design principles that emerged from the workshops have general applicability to all FA programs. The paper also recommends the need for regulatory overview to ensure that the provision of these new financial services continues to be a safe and private space for information and transaction

Placental inflammation in spontaneous preterm birth and neonatal outcomes

Background: Preterm birth (PTB) can be classified as spontaneous or indicated. The complications of PTB can affect all systems and result in chronic physical and mental disabilities. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the incidence of placental inflammation in PTB with and without preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM) and its effects on various neonatal outcomes. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary hospital where all preterm neonates born by spontaneous onset vaginal delivery and cesarean section were included in the study. Neonates born to mothers having significant uterine anomalies, multiple gestations, and those with any major congenital anomalies were excluded from the study. Placentas were assessed for evidence of inflammation on histopathological examination. Correlation of placental inflammation with neonatal morbidity and mortality was also assessed. Results: The incidence of placental inflammation in spontaneous onset preterm births (sPTB) was found to be 29%. Most placentas showed Stage 1 chorioamnionitis (47%). Three placentas had evidence of fetal inflammatory response, of which one had early funisitis (Stage 1) and two had intermediate funisitis (Stage 2). Of the nine neonates who had features of sepsis (definite or probable), 4 (44.4%) had evidence of placental inflammation. No significant association was found between placental inflammation and other secondary outcomes such as duration of neonatal intensive care unit stay, neonatal mortality, requirement of phototherapy, and need for continuous positive airway pressure support. Conclusions: Placental inflammation was seen in almost one-third of cases of sPTB, of which 78% were without pPROM. Hence, sPTB irrespective of pPROM should be considered as indirect marker of ongoing inflammation

Preclinical Modeling and Therapeutic Avenues for Cancer Metastasis to the Central Nervous System

Metastasis is the dissemination of cells from the primary tumor to other locations within the body, and continues to be the predominant cause of death among cancer patients. Metastatic progression within the adult central nervous system is 10 times more frequent than primary brain tumors. Metastases affecting the brain parenchyma and leptomeninges are associated with grave prognosis, and even after successful control of the primary tumor the median survival is a dismal 2–3 months with treatment options typically limited to palliative care. Current treatment options for brain metastases (BM) and disseminated brain tumors are scarce, and the improvement of novel targeted therapies requires a broader understanding of the biological complexity that characterizes metastatic progression. In this review, we provide insight into patterns of BM progression and leptomeningeal spread, outlining the development of clinically relevant in vivo models and their contribution to the discovery of innovative cancer therapies. In vivo models paired with manipulation of in vitro methods have expanded the tools available for investigators to develop agents that can be used to prevent or treat metastatic disease. The knowledge gained from the use of such models can ultimately lead to the prevention of metastatic dissemination and can extend patient survival by transforming a uniformly fatal systemic disease into a locally controlled and eminently more treatable one

Молекулярні підтипи як фактор індивідуалізації хворих на рак молочної залози

Молекулярні підтипи (МП) стають все більш вагомим фактором впливу на розробку тактики лікування хворих на рак молочної залози (РМЗ). Визначено розповсюдженість, незмінність МП, та їх вплив на особливості метастазування і виживаність хворих з РМЗ

Pengimunan protein rekombinan SAG2 Eimeria tenella melindungi ayam terhadap kesan penyakit koksidiosis

Pengawalan penyakit koksidiosis ayam yang disebabkan oleh jangkitan parasit Eimeria melibatkan penggunaan vaksin hidup. Namun, kaedah ini mempunyai batasan disebabkan kos pengeluarannya yang tinggi secara relatif dan hanya memberikan perlindungan yang terhad disebabkan oleh sifat Eimeria yang khusus-hos. Justeru, vaksin rekombinan diperkenalkan sebagai strategi alternatif. Antigen permukaan-2 (SAG2) Eimeria tenella telah dikenal pasti berupaya merangsang gerak balas imun ayam berikutan jangkitan. Oleh itu, dalam kajian ini, protein rekombinan SAG2 terlarut telah dihasil dan digunakan dalam pengimunan ayam. Hasil ELISA menggunakan sampel ayam terimun menunjukkan bahawa program pengimunan berjaya merangsang penghasilan antibodi-khusus SAG2 pada ayam terimun. Antibodi IgG, IgM dan IgA khusus-SAG2 pada serum ayam berjaya dikesan selepas suntikan perangsang yang pertama, manakala IgA rembesan khusus-SAG2 dikesan pada sampel kandungan mukosa ayam yang telah melengkapkan keseluruhan program pengimunan. Ayam seterusnya telah diberikan jangkitan cabaran oosista tersporulasi E. tenella. Hasil menunjukkan bahawa ayam terimun menghasilkan bilangan oosista yang lebih rendah berbanding dengan ayam tidak terimun (p<0.05) dan ini mencadangkan keupayaan protein rekombinan SAG2 untuk melindungi ayam terhadap kesan jangkitan E. tenella. Secara keseluruhannya, hasil kajian ini menunjukkan kesesuaian protein rekombinan SAG2 E. tenella sebagai calon vaksin rekombinan bagi penyakit koksidiosis

Novel Nanostructured Organosilicate Nanoparticle Coatings for Chem-Bio Sensing [abstract]

Plenary speakerWe present novel nanostructured organosilicate particulate based films and demonstrate that these materials have a great potential for chemical-biological sensor development. With unprecedented high surface areas (> 1400 m2/g) and optical transparency together with its easy surface functionalization, these materials can be readily interfaced with existing immunoassays for the rapid and trace detection of both chemical and biological warfare agents. The ultra high surface area associated with these films stems from its unique nanostructure consisting of nanoparticles (2-5nm) in a “raspberry” structure in combination with interconnected nanopores (3-10nm). This unique nanostructure has been exploited to immobilize high areal density of sensor probes to improve the sensing performance. Two orders of magnitude increase in binding density was achieved when fluorescently tagged protein A molecules were immobilized upon these surfaces compared to flat substrates (glass and Silicon). Our on-going work applies these materials to develop platforms for multiplexed sensitive detection of biological and chemical agents at point of care for both army and civilian use

Increased summer temperature is associated with reduced calf mass of a circumpolar large mammal through direct thermoregulatory and indirect, food quality, pathways

Climate change represents a growing ecological challenge. The (sub) arctic and boreal regions of the world experience the most rapid warming, presenting an excellent model system for studying how climate change afects mammals. Moose (Alces alces) are a particularly relevant model species with their circumpolar range. Population declines across the southern edge of this range are linked to rising temperatures. Using a long-term dataset (1988–1997, 2017–2019), we examine the relative strength of direct (thermoregulatory costs) and indirect (food quality) pathways linking temperature, precipitation, and the quality of two important food items (birch and freweed) to variation in moose calf mass in northern Sweden. The direct efects of temperature consistently showed stronger relationships to moose calf mass than did the indirect efects. The proportion of growing season days where the temperature exceeded a 20 °C threshold showed stronger direct negative relationships to moose calf mass than did mean temperature values. Finally, while annual forb (freweed) quality was more strongly infuenced by temperature and precipitation than were perennial (birch) leaves, this did not translate into a stronger relationship to moose calf weight. The only indirect path with supporting evidence suggested that mean growing season temperatures were positively associated with neutral detergent fber, which was, in turn, negatively associated with calf mass. While indirect impacts of climate change deserve further investigation, it is important to recognize the large direct impacts of temperature on cold-adapted species

Patient and healthcare provider knowledge, attitudes and barriers to handover and healthcare communication during chronic disease inpatient care in India:a qualitative exploratory study

Objectives 1. To investigate patient and healthcare provider knowledge (HCP), attitudes and barriers to handover communication during inpatient care. 2. To explore potential interventions for improving the storage and transfer of critical healthcare information. Methods Design: Qualitative study comprising 41 semi-structured, individual interviews. Thematic analysis using the Framework Method with analyst triangulation. Setting: Three hospitals in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, India. Participants: 20 male (n=10) and female (n=10) chronic NCD patients and 21 male (n=15) and female (n=6) HPCs. Purposive sampling was used to identify patients with chronic NCDs (Chronic Respiratory Disease, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes or Hypertension) and HCPs working in the study hospitals. Results For chronic NCD patients, three themes emerged: (1) Public healthcare service characteristics; (2) HCP-patient communication; (3) Attitudes regarding medical information. For HCPs, three themes emerged: (1) System factors; (2) Information exchange practices; (3) Quality improvement strategies. Whilst some content within themes was unique to each participant group, there was substantial overlap. Both patients and HCPs recognised constraints affecting public healthcare; deficient primary care services placed increased pressure on hospitals, subsequently limiting HCP consultation times. HCP and IP reports also indicated an absence of structured referral formats, resulting in fragmented information transfer. Additionally, whilst patient-held documents were a key vehicle for information exchange between HCPs, not all patients transported them and HCPs stated that this hindered continuity of care. Inpatient descriptions of HCP communication indicated notable inconsistencies and a lack of patient-centeredness. HCPs reported systemic issues such as absence of formal handover communication systems and training. Conclusions Handover communication for chronic NCD patients visiting public hospitals in India is currently suboptimal. Structured information exchange systems are urgently required to improve quality, continuity and safety of care. Our findings indicate that well-designed patient-held record booklets may be an acceptable and effective part of the solution

Identification and Characterization of AES-135, a Hydroxamic Acid-Based HDAC Inhibitor That Prolongs Survival in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive, incurable cancer with a 20% 1 year survival rate. While standard-of-care therapy can prolong life in a small fraction of cases, PDAC is inherently resistant to current treatments, and novel therapies are urgently required. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are effective in killing pancreatic cancer cells in in vitro PDAC studies, and although there are a few clinical studies investigating combination therapy including HDAC inhibitors, no HDAC drug or combination therapy with an HDAC drug has been approved for the treatment of PDAC. We developed an inhibitor of HDACs, AES-135, that exhibits nanomolar inhibitory activity against HDAC3, HDAC6, and HDAC11 in biochemical assays. In a three-dimensional coculture model, AES-135 kills low-passage patient-derived tumor spheroids selectively over surrounding cancer-associated fibroblasts and has excellent pharmacokinetic properties in vivo. In an orthotopic murine model of pancreatic cancer, AES-135 prolongs survival significantly, therefore representing a candidate for further preclinical testing