BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF ALTERNARIA SP. RL4 – A POTENT ENDOPHYTIC FUNGUS ASSOCIATED WITH RAUVOLFIA SERPENTINA L. BENTH.

Objectives: Endophytic fungi are considered as an important source of bioactive metabolites. The present study focused on the isolation of potent endophytic fungal strains from well-known medicinal plant Rauvolfia serpentina L. Benth. having biological activities.Materials & Methods: Fungal endophytes were isolated from aerial parts of the plant and the potent strain was selected on the basis of antibacterial activities of cell-free supernatant (CFS). Ethyl acetate (EA) extraction of CFS was done and mode of action of EA fraction was checked against pathogenic bacteria. EA fraction was also analyzed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). In addition, antioxidant activity was checked by 1,1-Diphenyl- 2-picrylhydrazyl-free radical scavenging assay and anticancer activity was checked against breast cancer cell line MCF-7 by MTT assay.Results: Among the different endophytic fungal isolates, CFS of Alternaria sp. RL4 produced prominent zones of inhibition against numbers of Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus (12±0.5 mm) and Listeria monocytogenes (17±2.0 mm). Massive reductions in bacterial CFS were noticed upon treatment with EA fraction (2 mg/ml). It also showed strong cidal mode of action against Gram-positive organisms. TLC analysis revealed the production of two different compounds with antibacterial potentials. In addition, EA fraction of RL4 showed very good antioxidant property with an IC50 value of 49.80±2.11μg/ml. MTT assay also suggested the anticancerous properties of EA fraction of RL4.Conclusion: Alternaria sp. RL4 could be a very good source of bioactive compounds for the development of new drugs

PATTERNS OF PRESCRIPTION AND ANTIBIOTIC USE AMONG OUTPATIENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL OF BANGLADESH

Objective: Irrational drug use increased the risk of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), the emergence of drug resistance and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The study was designed to analyse prescription patterns and antibiotic use among outpatients in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Bangladesh.Methods: This prospective survey was conducted among the out-patients in a district hospital. The prescribed drugs were classified according to Anatomical and Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. Patient characteristics and drug data were recorded. The prescription pattern was analysed using general drug use indicators according to world health organisation (WHO).Results: A total of 405 prescriptions were analyzed of which 54% of child and 46% of adult prescriptions. The age and body weight of the patients were not mentioned in 30% of child and 62% of adult prescriptions and none of the prescriptions included sex of the patients. Physician's handwriting was not clear and legible in 31% prescriptions. A total 1362 drugs were used in this study with an average 3.36 drugs per prescription. However, none of the drugs was prescribed in generic name. Children were highly exposed to antibiotics (66%) than to adults (44%) of which cephalosporin's (30%) and macrolides (14%) were commonly used. Interestingly, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were also highly accounted in children (53%) than to adults (36%).Conclusion: Our results suggested that the prescription information was incomplete and physicians did not follow the standard guideline for drug treatment resulting in polypharmacy and indiscriminate use of antimicrobials irrespective to the age of patients

Burden of head and neck cancers in Kamrup urban district cancer registry of Assam, India: a retrospective study

Background: Head and Neck cancers are basically squamous cell carcinomas. It is the fifth most common cancer and the sixth most common cause of cancer mortality in the world. Incidence of cancer as a whole for all sites is fourth highest in Kamrup Urban District (KUD) in males (AAR 185.2) and second highest (AAR 156.3) in females out of all Population Based Cancer Registries (PBCR) in India. Incidence of head and neck cancers in KUD is quite high both nationally and internationally. This retrospective study was carried out to assess the incidence pattern of head and neck cancers in Kamrup Urban District of Assam, India for the period of 2009-2011.  Methods: Cancer is not notifiable in India, so method of collecting information on cancer was active in PBCR Guwahati. A total of 4416 cases were registered during the three years (1st January 2009- 31st December 2011) of which 2508 were male and 1908 female. Statistical analysis used: Age Adjusted Rate (AAR), Crude Rate (CR) and Population pyramids are provided by NCRP-ICMR.Results: The relative proportion of head and neck cancers of total cancer cases registered in KUD constitutes 26% (654/2508) and 12% (225/1908) in male and female respectively. In males cancer of hypopharynx (AAR 14.7) was most common followed by tongue (AAR 9.4) and mouth (AAR 7.7). In females cancer of mouth (AAR 7.6) is most common followed by cancer of tongue (AAR 3.2).Conclusion: The pattern and incidence of various head and neck cancers is of utmost importance for primary prevention and early detection to adequately manage these cancers comprehensively in the community.

Search for top squarks in the four-body decay mode with single lepton final states in proton-proton collisions at s \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A search for the pair production of the lightest supersymmetric partner of the top quark, the top squark (t∼1), is presented. The search targets the four-body decay of the t∼1, which is preferred when the mass difference between the top squark and the lightest supersymmetric particle is smaller than the mass of the W boson. This decay mode consists of a bottom quark, two other fermions, and the lightest neutralino (χ∼01), which is assumed to be the lightest supersymmetric particle. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC. Events are selected using the presence of a high-momentum jet, an electron or muon with low transverse momentum, and a significant missing transverse momentum. The signal is selected based on a multivariate approach that is optimized for the difference between m(t∼1) and m(χ∼01). The contribution from leading background processes is estimated from data. No significant excess is observed above the expectation from standard model processes. The results of this search exclude top squarks at 95% confidence level for masses up to 480 and 700 GeV for m(t∼1) − m(χ∼01) = 10 and 80 GeV, respectively

Search for Higgs Boson Decay to a Charm Quark-Antiquark Pair in Proton-Proton Collisions at √s = 13 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying to a charm quark-antiquark pair, H→c¯c, produced in association with a leptonically decaying V (W or Z) boson is presented. The search is performed with proton-proton collisions at √s=13  TeV collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138  fb−1. Novel charm jet identification and analysis methods using machine learning techniques are employed. The analysis is validated by searching for Z→c¯c in VZ events, leading to its first observation at a hadron collider with a significance of 5.7 standard deviations. The observed (expected) upper limit on σ(VH)B(H→c¯c) is 0.94 (0.50+0.22−0.15)pb at 95% confidence level (C.L.), corresponding to 14 (7.6+3.4−2.3) times the standard model prediction. For the Higgs-charm Yukawa coupling modifier, κc, the observed (expected) 95% C.L. interval is 1.1<|κc|<5.5 (|κc|<3.4), the most stringent constraint to date

Measurement of the cross section of top quark-antiquark pair production in association with a W boson in proton-proton collisions at s \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

The production of a top quark-antiquark pair in association with a W boson $(t\bar{t}W)$ is measured in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The analyzed data was recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{−1}$. Events with two or three leptons (electrons and muons) and additional jets are selected. In events with two leptons, a multiclass neural network is used to distinguish between the signal and background processes. Events with three leptons are categorized based on the number of jets and of jets originating from b quark hadronization, and the lepton charges. The inclusive $(t\bar{t}W)$ production cross section in the full phase space is measured to be 868 ± 40(stat) ± 51(syst) fb. The $(t\bar{t}W)+$ and $(t\bar{t}W)−$ cross sections are also measured as 553 ± 30(stat) ± 30(syst) and 343 ± 26(stat) ± 25(syst) fb, respectively, and the corresponding ratio of the two cross sections is found to be 1.61±0.15(stat)$^{+0.07}_{−0.05}$(syst). The measured cross sections are larger than but consistent with the standard model predictions within two standard deviations, and represent the most precise measurement of these cross sections to date

Measurement of the Dependence of the Hadron Production Fraction Ratios fs/fuf_s / f_u and fd/fuf_d / f_u on BB Meson Kinematic Variables in Proton-Proton Collisions at s=13TeV\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

The dependence of the ratio between the $B^0_s$ and $B^+$ hadron production fractions, $f_s/f_u$, on the transverse momentum $(p_T)$ and rapidity of the $B$ mesons is studied using the decay channels $B^0_s→J/ψϕ$ and $B^+→J/ψK^+$. The analysis uses a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment in 2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $61.6  fb^{−1}$. The $f_s/f_u$ ratio is observed to depend on the $B$ $p_T$ and to be consistent with becoming asymptotically constant at large $p_T$. No rapidity dependence is observed. The ratio of the $B^0$ to $B^+$ meson production fractions, $f_d/f_u$, is also measured, for the first time in proton-proton collisions, using the $B^0→J/ψK^{*0}$ decay channel. The result is found to be within 1 standard deviation of unity and independent of $pT$ and rapidity, as expected from isospin invariance