Distributed Graph Isomorphism using Quantum Walks

Graph isomorphism being an NP problem, most of the systems that solves the graph isomorphism are constrained with some classes of the graph, and do not work for all types of graphs in polynomial time. We exploited the two particle quantum walks on different classes of graphs including strongly regular graphs which are co-spectral in nature. We simulated two particle quantum walks on graph using distributed algorithm. To show the effectiveness of the technique, we applied it to the large graphs derived from images using Delauney triangulation. The results show a remarkable speedup for large data. The two-particle quantum walks is implemented in map-reduce programming technique which scales the computation as the cluster get scaled to account Big data. We checked the isomorphism of the graphs with upto 100 vertices in polynomial time. The system is scalable to accept big inputs from any other domain in graph format. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.15021

Fecal carriage of carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae among the intensive care unit patients

Background: The war against multidrug-resistant bacteria is challenging and of global concern. Hospitals are increasingly plagued by resistant gram negative pathogens. Bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are part of the normal human intestinal flora but are also often responsible for community- and healthcare-associated infections. These bacteria are prone to acquiring resistance genes.Methods: Rectal swabs/swabs from the peri-anal area of the patients who were admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the accident and emergency department of this teaching hospital. Swabs were collected first on day 1 of admission, then day 4, and thereafter weekly during the period of stay in the ICU. All the swabs were immediately inoculated into trypticase soy broth with one 10μg  meropenem disc and were incubated overnight at 35±2ºC, ambient air. Next day, the broth was vortexed, and then sub-cultured onto a MacConkey agar plate. On the third day, MacConkey agar plates were examined for lactose fermenting (pink-coloured) colonies. The representative isolated colonies were subjected to conventional antimicrobial susceptibility testing by the Kirby Bauer Disc diffusion method following the CLSI guidelines to know the susceptibility to carbapenem and other antimicrobial agents. Carbapenemase production was done by a Modified Hodge Test (MHT) and Imipenem-EDTA test.Results: Out of 89 patients, carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and E. coli isolates were recovered from 35 (39.3%) patients i.e. Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from fifteen patients and carbapenem resistant E. coli isolates from twenty patients. Prevalence of carbapenemase producing isolates was found to be 1.42%.  Conclusions: Surveillance for CRE can definitely help reduce rates of healthcare associated infections.

Efficacy of cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test to diagnose tubercular pleural effusion

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health concern worldwide. Extra pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in India accounts up to 20% of all tuberculosis cases. EPTB often remains undetected and untreated due to variable clinical presentation and lack of diagnostic means. Early detection of TB and drug resistance is important in the management of TB. The aim of present study was to assess the role of cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test in rapid diagnosis of tubercular pleural effusion.Methods: The study screened 211 symptomatic patients. The patients with clinical and radiological presentations suggestive of pleural effusion were analyzed using light’s criteria to make a diagnosis of tubercular pleural effusion; these patients submitted pleural fluid sample for smear microscopy after concentration for presence of acid fast bacilli under light emitting diode based fluorescent microscopy (LED-FM), and for cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) using GX4 GeneXpert MTB/Rif test system. The results were statistically analyzed.Results: Out of patients who had pleural effusion without any pulmonary tuberculosis, pleural fluid biochemistry analyses using light’s criteria detected 20 tubercular pleural effusions (11 male and 9 female). Seven patients had history of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in past, all of them received treatment with effective treatment compliance in past. Pleural fluid microscopic examination for detection of acid-fast bacilli was not able to detect acid-fast bacilli in any of these 20 patients diagnosed with tubercular pleural effusion. CBNAAT could authentically detect M. tuberculosis in 5/20 patients diagnosed with tubercular pleural effusion. There was no impact of gender, previous history of tuberculosis, history of anti-tuberculosis treatment (ATT) intake, or compliance to ATT on CBNAAT status in this study.Conclusions: CBNAAT has the potential to significantly authenticate tubercular etiology in some of smear-negative pleural fluid specimens with rapid test results. It has an added advantage to assess the rifampicin drug sensitivity. All this contribute hugely in diagnosis and management of tubercular pleural effusion

Comparing difference in mean total protein, albumin and globulin based on severity of rhesus isoimmunization: a prospective study

Background: Maternal RBC alloimmunization results from exposure and response to a foreign RBC antigen. Transplacental fetal to maternal hemorrhage is the most common cause of alloimmunization. Rh incompatibility can lead to either fetuses with hydropic features or non-hydropic. The precise mechanism leading to the development of hydrops is uncertain. Biochemical markers have the potential to be used to assess the severity of problem. But of the mechanisms proposed none have been able to totally explain the phenomenon or predict the prognosis. Objective of this study wads to compare the difference in mean total protein, albumin and globulin bases on severity of isoimmunization and comparing it with normal controls.Methods: A Total of 40 pregnant patients were enrolled which included 10 hydropic fetuses of Rh isoimmunised mothers, 10 non hydropic fetuses of Rh isoimmunized mothers. Control group included 18 Rh positive women without any fetal complication and 2 fetuses in women undergoing cordocentesis. Blood sampling was done at time of intrauterine transfusion and sent for estimation of total proteins, albumin, globulin in fetal blood. Pregnancies were followed up till delivery and fetal outcome noted.Results: Mean total protein, albumin and globulin between hydropic, non hydropic group and control group (3.25, 2.17 and 1.18 g/dl) in hydropic, (4.14, 2.70 and 1.44 g/dl) in non hydropic and (4.42, 2.95 and 1.47 g/dl) in control group respectively. Mean total protein, albumin and globulin between mild hydropic (3.43, 2.30 and 2.10 g/dl) and severe hydropic group (2.59, 1.6 and 1.3 g/dl) respectively.Conclusions: There was significantly lower levels of serum total proteins, albumin and globulin in hydropic fetuses as compared to non hydropic fetuses. Thus, hypoproteinemia can be considered a strong marker for development of hydrops in Rh isoimmunized fetuses

Seed Number and 100-Seed Weight of Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) Respond Differently to Low Soil Moisture in Genotypes Contrasting for Drought Tolerance

Water stress after flowering, one of the major factors limiting yields of pearl millet, affects both seed setting and grain filling and is a consequence of more/less water used prior to anthesis. However, whether genotypes have different sensitivities for seed setting and filling under drought, if exposed to similar stress intensity, is unclear. Experiments were conducted in two pairs of pearl millet genotypes, that is, PRLT2/89-33 and H77/833-2, 863B and 841B, contrasting for terminal drought tolerance, and two genotypes, ICMR 01046 and ICMR 01029 (IL-QTLs), introgressed with a terminal drought tolerance QTL from PRLT2/89- 33 into H77/833-2. Total seed weight, panicle number, 100-seed weight, seed number and stover biomass were measured at different soil moistures and throughout grain filling. Sensitive H77/833-2 had higher seed number and yield under well-watered (WW) conditions than in PRLT2/89-33 and IL-QTLs. Upon increases in water stress intensity, H77/833-2 suffered losses mostly in stover biomass (45 %) and seed number (60 %) at 0.3 FTSW whereas the biomass and seed number of PRLT2/89-33 decreased little (20 % and 25 %). The 100-seed weight of H77/833-2 decreased only 20 % under stress. Tolerant 863B also maintained a higher seed number and biomass under water stress than 841B. Grain filling duration in PRLT2/89-33 and IL-QTLs was similar to that of H77/833-2 under WW conditions but lasted longer than in H77833-2 under water stress (WS). Similarly, seed growth of 863B was longer than 841B under WS. It is concluded that the higher seed yield of tolerant parents PRLT2/89-33 and 863B, and of ILQTLs under WS was explained by the retention of a higher number of seeds than in sensitive lines, while the decrease in the 100-seed weight was proportionally less than the decrease in seed number. Phenotype with lesser number and larger size of panicles and larger grain size, like genotypes PRLT2/89-33 and 863B, withstood post-anthesis water stress better. IL-QTL inherited part of these characteristics, indicating a role for the terminal drought QTL in maintaining larger seed number and higher 100-seed weight. The continuous stover biomass increase under WW in H77/833-2, due to tillering, might indicate that tiller growth and grains are in competition for resources after anthesis, and this may relate to the relatively shorter grain-filling period

Study of rifampicin resistance among newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a prospective observational study

Background: Rifampicin (RIF) resistance in new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis is a matter of concern. Diabetes Mellitus triples the risk of developing tuberculosis. Early detection of TB and its resistance status in diabetics can help in improving the care and treatment outcomes of both diseases.Methods: It was a prospective study conducted from February 2019 to March 2020 in PGIMS, Rohtak on 50 patients of DM with newly diagnosed Pulmonary TB. Rifampicin resistance was detected by CBNAAT on sputum, induced sputum and BAL samples. Results: Mean age of study subjects was 51.24±10.421 (in years) with M: F ratio of 3:1 and maximum patients in 50-59 age group. The average BMI in patients was 22.49±2.42 kg/m2. The most common presenting complaint was cough (92%) followed by fever (68%). Mean serum HBA1c was 9.66±2.24 and mean FBS and PPBS was 195.81±59.08 and 302.02±99.01 mg/dl respectively. Out of 36 cases who gave sputum, 29 (80.55%) were detected rifampicin sensitive and 7 (19.44%) were rifampicin resistant whereas out of 11 who were induced, 9 (81.8%) were rifampicin sensitive and 2(18.18%) were rifampicin resistant. Out of 3 cases detected by BAL CBNAAT, 2 (66.6%) were rifampicin sensitive and 1 (33.33%) was rifampicin resistant. Overall, 10(20%) patients were detected Rifampicin resistant by CBNAAT.Conclusions: We found that TB-DM patients had a higher proportion of drug resistance (20%), so DM should be considered as an independent risk factor for MDR-TB and effective measures are required for early diagnosis of MDR-TB

STABILITY INDICATING METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION FOR ESTIMATION OF DORIPENEM IN BULK AND IN SOLID DOSAGE FORM BY RP-HPLC

A robust and reliable high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) approach was developed and validated for the analysis of Doripenem in pharmaceutical dosage form. The method is characterised by its simplicity, selectivity, precision, and capacity to accurately determine the stability of Doripenem. The experimental setup included the use of a Hypersil BDS-C18 column (250 X 4.6 mm ID, 5 µm) as the stationary phase in a chromatographic system. The mobile phase consisted of a combination of methanol and potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate with a pH of 6.7, in a ratio of 20:80. The flow rate of the mobile phase was set at 1 ml/min. The detection of the eluents occurred at a wavelength of 290 nm. The observed retention time for Doripenem was 5.56 minutes. Doripenem underwent acid and alkali hydrolysis, oxidation, photochemical degradation, and heat degradation. The results obtained from the linear regression analysis of the calibration plot demonstrated a strong linear connection within the concentration range of 70 – 130 µg/ml, as shown by a correlation coefficient value of 0.9995. The methodology was assessed to determine its precision, accuracy, ruggedness, and robustness. The medication experiences deterioration when exposed to environments characterised by acidity, alkalinity, photochemical reactions, and thermal stress. The active medicinal component exhibited distinct retention periods for each of its degradation product peaks, indicating successful resolution. The approach's ability to successfully isolate the medication from its degradation products renders it suitable for use as a stability-indicating method

Yeast Growth Plasticity Is Regulated by Environment-Specific Multi-QTL Interactions

For a unicellular, non-motile organism like Saccharomyces cerevisiae, carbon sources act both as nutrients and as signaling molecules and consequently affect various fitness parameters including growth. It is therefore advantageous for yeast strains to adapt their growth to carbon source variation. The ability of a given genotype to manifest different phenotypes in varying environments is known as phenotypic plasticity. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) that drive plasticity in growth, two growth parameters (growth rate and biomass) were measured in a published dataset from meiotic recombinants of two genetically divergent yeast strains grown in different carbon sources. To identify QTL contributing to plasticity across pairs of environments, gene-environment interaction mapping was performed, which identified several QTL that have a differential effect across environments, some of which act antagonistically across pairs of environments. Multi-QTL analysis identified loci interacting with previously known growth affecting QTL as well as novel two-QTL interactions that affect growth. A QTL that had no significant independent effect was found to alter growth rate and biomass for several carbon sources through two-QTL interactions. Our study demonstrates that environment-specific epistatic interactions contribute to the growth plasticity in yeast. We propose that a targeted scan for epistatic interactions, such as the one described here, can help unravel mechanisms regulating phenotypic plasticity