Prenatal Screening Of Foetal Chromosomal Disorders Using Maternal Serum Biochemical Markers And Karyotyping Among Indian Population

Background: Prenatal screening for aneuploidy during the first and second trimesters is a part of obstetric care. Because invasive procedures carry a high risk of miscarriage, these screening tests in high-risk pregnancies for aneuploidies are essential for determining the abnormality. The present study aimed to determine the predictive accuracy of prenatal screening tests and USG soft markers concerning maternal age groups, the incidence of chromosomal abnormalities, and the trends of screening tests chosen by obstetricians for women undergoing prenatal chromosome analysis prenatal screening. Methods: 2280 Pregnant women were referred for prenatal screening tests in 2019–2020 by a well-established medical diagnostic laboratory, Lifecell International Private Limited.The sample has been analyzed based on the maternal age, screening tests, clinical indicators, karyotype interpretation, and type of chromosomal abnormalities. All the data were examined with the aid of SPSS 16.0 and EXCEL. Results: 46.40% of women used TMT, 7.28% used DMT, and 3.82% used a combined first-trimester test in the present study. Positive predictive accuracy of the first trimester combined test is the highest (33.33%). Among 2280 women screened positive for aneuploidy based on different prenatal screening procedures, only 149 (6.5%) were found to have an abnormal karyotype, and the remaining 2131(93.5%) had a normal karyotype. USG marker in the absence of biochemical markers can detect considerable aneuploidy risk during the first and second trimesters. Conclusion: The present study shows that in India second trimester prenatal tests are preferred over first-trimester prenatal tests by obstetricians.  It shows that biochemical risk estimated in the first and second trimesters does not turn into a high likelihood of chromosomal abnormality in the general population. However, these tests can help informed decision-making in high-risk pregnancies based on maternal age and unfavourable obstetric history. Further confirmation through advanced methods like Chromosomal Microarray (CMA), Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is warranted for better diagnostic decisions

Brzi dokaz vrste Mycobacterium bovis u kliničkim uzorcima uporabom stanične linije THP-1.

The rapid isolation of M. bovis was attempted in THP-1 cells (Macrophage cell line). THP-1 cells infected with M. bovis showed characteristic cytopathic effect 48 hr after infection. The bacteria had grown very well in the first passage itself, without any blind passages in cell culture. The presence of bacteria in the cell culture fluid was confirmed by Ziehl-Neelsen staining and nested PCR amplification of insertion sequences.Brzo izdvajanje vrste Mycobacterium bovis pokušano je na staničnoj liniji makrofaga THP-1. Stanice THP-1 zaražene tom vrstom pokazivale su karakterističan citopatski učinak 48 sati nakon infekcije. Bakterije su se vrlo dobro razmnožavale već u prvoj pasaži bez potrebe za daljnjim uzgojem. Prisutnost bakterija u hranjivoj tekućini bila je potvrđena bojenjem po Ziehl-Nelseenu i umnožavanjem specifičnih sekvencija ugniježđenom lančanom reakcijom polimerazom

Association Between Residential Greenness and Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Background Exposure to green vegetation has been linked to positive health, but the pathophysiological processes affected by exposure to vegetation remain unclear. To study the relationship between greenness and cardiovascular disease, we examined the association between residential greenness and biomarkers of cardiovascular injury and disease risk in susceptible individuals. Methods and Results In this cross-sectional study of 408 individuals recruited from a preventive cardiology clinic, we measured biomarkers of cardiovascular injury and risk in participant blood and urine. We estimated greenness from satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index ( NDVI ) in zones with radii of 250 m and 1 km surrounding the participants' residences. We used generalized estimating equations to examine associations between greenness and cardiovascular disease biomarkers. We adjusted for residential clustering, demographic, clinical, and environmental variables. In fully adjusted models, contemporaneous NDVI within 250 m of participant residence was inversely associated with urinary levels of epinephrine (-6.9%; 95% confidence interval, -11.5, -2.0/0.1 NDVI ) and F2-isoprostane (-9.0%; 95% confidence interval, -15.1, -2.5/0.1 NDVI ). We found stronger associations between NDVI and urinary epinephrine in women, those not on β-blockers, and those who had not previously experienced a myocardial infarction. Of the 15 subtypes of circulating angiogenic cells examined, 11 were inversely associated (8.0-15.6% decrease/0.1 NDVI ), whereas 2 were positively associated (37.6-45.8% increase/0.1 NDVI ) with contemporaneous NDVI . Conclusions Independent of age, sex, race, smoking status, neighborhood deprivation, statin use, and roadway exposure, residential greenness is associated with lower levels of sympathetic activation, reduced oxidative stress, and higher angiogenic capacity

Antibacterial Activity of Partially Oxidized Ag/Au Nanoparticles against the Oral Pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis

Advances in nanotechnology provide opportunities for the prevention and treatment of periodontal disease. While physicochemical properties of Ag containing nanoparticles (NPs) are known to influence the magnitude of their toxicity, it is thought that nanosilver can be made less toxic to eukaryotes by passivation of the NPs with a benign metal. Moreover, the addition of other noble metals to silver nanoparticles, in the alloy formulation, is known to alter the silver dissolution behavior. Thus, we synthesized glutathione capped Ag/Au alloy bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) via the galvanic replacement reaction between maltose coated Ag NPs and chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) in 5% aqueous triblock F127 copolymer solution. We then compared the antibacterial activity of the Ag/Au NPs to pure Ag NPs on Porphyromonas gingivalis W83, a key pathogen in the development of periodontal disease. Only partially oxidized glutathione capped Ag and Ag/Au (Au : Ag ≈ 0.2) NPs inhibited the planktonic growth of P. gingivalis W83. This effect was enhanced in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, which simulates the oxidative stress environment in the periodontal pocket during chronic inflammation

Antibacterial and anti-HIV activity of extracellular pigment from Streptomyces sp. S45 isolated from Sabarimala forest soil, India

Actinobacteria, particularly from under-studied habitats, are often endowed with diverse biological properties. In the present study, about 17 actinobacterial strains were isolated from Sabarimala forest an understudied ecosystem in Western Ghats, India and screened for their pigment producing potential. Pinkish brown soluble pigment producing Streptomyces sp. strain S45 was selected and screened for antibacterial and anti-HIV activity. The bioactivity of ethyl acetate extract of the strain S45 showed maximum zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 (17.3±0.4 mm) and Bacillus cereus (15.6±0.6 mm). Also, it showed anti-HIV activity with the IC50 value of 8.75 µg/mL. The bioactive pigment isolated from the strain S45 was partially purified and characterized using UV absorption. In bio-autography, an antibacterial compound found to be active against S. aureus ATCC 29213 and its MIC values ranged between 25-1.56 µg/mL. Variables such as glucose, rhamnose, soybean meal and CaCl2, pH 7 and temperature 30℃ were found to influence bioactive pigment production. Potential strain S45 was identified as Streptomyces species on the basis of microscopic, cultural, physiological and 16SrRNA analysis. Results suggest that the Streptomyces sp. S45 strain explored in this study could be a promising candidate for isolation of antibacterial and anti HIV pigment

Antibacterial and anti-HIV activity of extracellular pigment from Streptomyces sp. S45 isolated from Sabarimala forest soil, India

861-868Actinobacteria, particularly from under-studied habitats, are often endowed with diverse biological properties. In the present study, about 17 actinobacterial strains were isolated from Sabarimala forest — an understudied ecosystem in Western Ghats, India and screened for their pigment producing potential. Pinkish brown soluble pigment producing Streptomyces sp. strain S45 was selected and screened for antibacterial and anti-HIV activity. The bioactivity of ethyl acetate extract of the strain S45 showed maximum zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 (17.3±0.4 mm) and Bacillus cereus (15.6±0.6 mm). Also, it showed anti-HIV activity with the IC50 value of 8.75 µg/mL. The bioactive pigment isolated from the strain S45 was partially purified and characterized using UV absorption. In bio-autography, an antibacterial compound found to be active against S. aureus ATCC 29213 and its MIC values ranged between 25-1.56 µg/mL. Variables such as glucose, rhamnose, soybean meal and CaCl2, pH 7 and temperature 30℃ were found to influence bioactive pigment production. Potential strain S45 was identified as Streptomyces species on the basis of microscopic, cultural, physiological and 16SrRNA analysis. Results suggest that the Streptomyces sp. S45 strain explored in this study could be a promising candidate for isolation of antibacterial and anti HIV pigment

High-throughput sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater provides insights into circulating variants

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) likely emerged from a zoonotic spill-over event and has led to a global pandemic. The public health response has been predominantly informed by surveillance of symptomatic individuals and contact tracing, with quarantine, and other preventive measures have then been applied to mitigate further spread. Non-traditional methods of surveillance such as genomic epidemiology and wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) have also been leveraged during this pandemic. Genomic epidemiology uses high-throughput sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes to inform local and international transmission events, as well as the diversity of circulating variants. WBE uses wastewater to analyse community spread, as it is known that SARS-CoV-2 is shed through bodily excretions. Since both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals contribute to wastewater inputs, we hypothesized that the resultant pooled sample of population-wide excreta can provide a more comprehensive picture of SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity circulating in a community than clinical testing and sequencing alone. In this study, we analysed 91 wastewater samples from 11 states in the USA, where the majority of samples represent Maricopa County, Arizona (USA). With the objective of assessing the viral diversity at a population scale, we undertook a single-nucleotide variant (SNV) analysis on data from 52 samples with \u3e90% SARS-CoV-2 genome coverage of sequence reads, and compared these SNVs with those detected in genomes sequenced from clinical patients. We identified 7973 SNVs, of which 548 were “novel” SNVs that had not yet been identified in the global clinical-derived data as of 17th June 2020 (the day after our last wastewater sampling date). However, between 17th of June 2020 and 20th November 2020, almost half of the novel SNVs have since been detected in clinical-derived data. Using the combination of SNVs present in each sample, we identified the more probable lineages present in that sample and compared them to lineages observed in North America prior to our sampling dates. The wastewater-derived SARS-CoV-2 sequence data indicates there were more lineages circulating across the sampled communities than represented in the clinical-derived data. Principal coordinate analyses identified patterns in population structure based on genetic variation within the sequenced samples, with clear trends associated with increased diversity likely due to a higher number of infected individuals relative to the sampling dates. We demonstrate that genetic correlation analysis combined with SNVs analysis using wastewater sampling can provide a comprehensive snapshot of the SARS-CoV-2 genetic population structure circulating within a community, which might not be observed if relying solely on clinical cases

Bacterial sialoglycosidases in Virulence and Pathogenesis

Human oral microbiome and dysbiotic infections have been recently evidently identified. One of the major reasons for such dysbiosis is impairment of the immune system. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the tissues that surround and support the teeth. In the United States., approximately 65 million people are affected by this condition. Its occurrence is also associated with many important systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer’s disease. Among the most important etiologies of periodontitis is Porphyromonas gingivalis, a keystone bacterial pathogen. Keystone pathogens can orchestrate inflammatory disease by remodeling a normally benign microbiota causing imbalance between normal and pathogenic microbiota (dysbiosis). The important characteristics of P. gingivalis causing dysbiosis are its virulence factors which cause effective subversion of host defenses to its advantage allowing other pathogens to grow. Some of the mechanisms involved in these processes are still not well-understood. However, various microbial strategies target host sialoglycoproteins for immune dysregulation. In addition, the enzymes that break down sialoglycoproteins and sialoglycans are the “sialoglycoproteases„, resulting in exposed terminal sialic acid. This process could lead to pathogen-toll like receptor (TLR) interactions mediated through sialic acid receptor ligand mechanisms. Assessing the function of P. gingivalis sialoglycoproteases, could pave the way to designing carbohydrate analogues and sialic acid mimetics to serve as drug targets