Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Camellia sinensis in Uttarakhand State, India

Many microorganisms form symbioses with plants that range on a continuous scale, from parasitic to mutualistic. Among these, the most widespread mutualistic symbionts is the arbuscular mycorrhiza, formed between arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and vascular flowering plants and other plants. A study of diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Camellia sinensis was conducted in four plantation territories of Uttarakhand. Microscopic analysis of the mycorrhizal status of roots has revealed that samples from all four locations belonged only to AM fungi. The mycorrhizal colonization level was found high thus reflecting the mycotrophic nature of C. sinensis (L.). Results of isolation and identification of spores from all field-collected soil samples has revealed relatively higher spore count. All recovered spores were found to belong to the Glomales Order, represented by Glomaceae family. Isolation has also brought into notice that three groups were dominant: the first one included light yellow colored spores, second, corresponded dark yellow-brown colored spores and third, magenta colored spores. The morphological characters indicated that the spore populations consisted of 3 – 6 morphotypes. The Glomus genus was represented by three species; that is, Glomus mossae, Glomus fasciculatum, Glomus sp. 1 (an unidentified species).Keywords: Glomus mossae, Glomus fasciculatum, Mycorrhiza, Camillia sinensisAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(33), pp. 5313-5319, 16 August, 201

FORMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF THERMOSENSITIVE IN-SITU GEL OF MOXIFLOXACIN HYDROCHLORIDE FOR OCULAR DRUG DELIVERY

Objective: The present study has focused on development and optimization of thermosensitive in-situ ocular drug delivery system for the treatment of conjunctivitis.Methods: Thermosensitive in-situ hydrogel formulation of moxifloxacin hydrochloride was developed by dispensing variable concentration of pluronic F-127, gellan-gum, and carbopol in distilled water. Viscosity, gelation temperature and mean release time (MRT) were measured by using ‘Brookfield' viscometer LV-III (spindle no. 40), rheological techniques and dissolution apparatus respectively. Optimization for ideal formulation was carried by ‘Box–Behnken' design on the basis of prime factors of the formulation including viscosity, gelation temperature, and MRT. Moreover, the optimized formulation was evaluated for accelerated stability study by in vitro drug release, anti-microbial potential by ‘Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion' method and ocular irritancy assay were done by in vivo analysis.Results: Optimised thermosensitive in-situ gel, when administered into cul-de-sac region of the eye, it was immediately transformed from sol to gel by multi-dimensional mechanism due to plurionic, gellan-gum, carbopol. The optimized formulation minimizes the chances of formulation failure as well as the concentration on individual polymer which dependence on a single mechanism of gelation. The final optimised formulation consists of plurionic (11.50% w/v), gellan-gum (0.32% w/v), carbopol (0.3% w/v), shows optimum therapeutic effect. Moreover, the accelerated stability study, anti-microbial potential, and ocular irritancy confirmed the biocompatibility of optimized in-situ drug-containing gel with high potency and stability.Conclusion: Thus, optimized in-situ drug-containing gel with multifactorial approaches showed promising ocular formulation having minimum side effect and high therapeutic efficacy.Â

FORMULATION, OPTIMIZATION, AND EVALUATION OF IN-SITU GEL OF MOXIFLOXACIN HYDROCHLORIDE FOR OPHTHALMIC DRUG DELIVERY

Objective: The present study emphasizes the synthesis, optimization, and evaluation of ocular in-situ gel for ophthalmic drug delivery against conjunctivitis. Methods: Pre-formulation studies on the drug and polymers were carried out, which included the study of various physicochemical properties of the drug and drug-polymer compatibility studies. The 12 different formulations were further pre-optimised by Taguchi method for determining the number of influential factors. Furthermore, the formulation optimization was done by using ‘Box–Behnken’ design (BBD) (Design expert 10 software) for assessing the effect of formulation variables on product characteristics viz. viscosity, gelation temperature (GT), and mean release time (MRT). About 13 suggested runs of the experiment were carried out and formulations were optimised. Finally, three batches of the optimised formulation were prepared and evaluated for in vitro drug release, isotonicity of formulation, anti-microbial potential, ocular irritancy, and accelerated stability testing. Results: Pre-formulation study confirmed the purity, solubility, and compatibility of drug measured by λmax, partition coefficient, stability study, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Taguchi screening method suggested about 12 different formulations and 3 most prominent influential factors including viscosity, GT, and drug release. 13 different formulations designed based on ‘BBD’ method were further optimised by considering the most influential factors suggested by Taguchi screening. The in vitro evaluation of the optimised formulation gave satisfactory results in terms of drug release, and anti-microbial activity. It was found to be isotonic with no ocular irritancy. Further, the preparation immediately transformed from sol to gel upon administration into cul-de-sac region of the eye due to multi-dimensional approaches utilised for in-situ gel formation namely temperature change Pluronic, ion sensitivity due to Gellan-gum, pH sensitivity because of Carbopol. Conclusion: The optimised in-situ gelling ocular drug formulation showed promising potency for ophthalmic drug delivery with no irritancy due to the multifactorial mechanism

Comparison of Macular Oedema after Cataract Surgery in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Patients using OCT

Background: Diabetes is a major cause of blindness in developed and developing world. Cataract is increased in frequency in diabetics and makes an important contribution to diabetic blindness. With OCT various parameters of macula can be obtained which helps in understanding of relationship of macular status before and after cataract surgery.Objectives: This study uses OCT to compare cystoid macular oedema after cataract surgery in diabetic and non diabetic patients.Methods: This prospective, comparative study was conducted on 100 patients during October 2017 to September 2018. Patients were divided into Group I (50 eyes of metabolically controlled diabetic patients) and Group II (50 eyes of non diabetic patients). OCT was used to assess macular oedema in both groups preoperatively and postoperatively at 1st and 3rd month. Results: In Group I, the mean foveal thickness significantly increased by 13% and 8.9% from the baseline at 1 and 3 months respectively (p= 0.001, 0.003). In Group II the mean foveal thickness increased by 10.4% and 7% from the baseline at 1 and 3 months. (p= 0.001, p=0.022). The difference in increase in mean foveal thickness between Group I and Group II was statistically significant at 1 and 3 months (p=0.005, p=0.001) respectively.Conclusion: The results in our study suggest that OCT is effective tool in estimating the post operative macular oedema and should be done if available to get baseline macular status and diagnosis. The preoperative evaluation of macular status in diabetics by OCT is important in determining post operative visual gain. Keywords: macular oedema, optical coherence tomography, diabetes, cataract surger

COMPARATIVE STUDY TO CHECK THE EFFICACY OF pH STRIP & pH GLOVES FOR DETECTION OF BACTERIAL VAGINOSIS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objectives: Comparative study to check the efficacy of pH Strip & pH Gloves for Detection of Bacterial Vaginosis in a Tertiary Care Hospital.Methods: It was a duly approved, cross-sectional study in which 50 subjects were enrolled from Tertiary care hospital, New Delhi, India. Written informed consent was obtained from all women. Vaginal swabs were collected for vaginal pH measurement. Vaginal pH was evaluated immediately with the pH strips and vaginal pH glove simultaneously.Results: The study was done on to check the efficacy of pH strip & pH gloves in pregnant as well as non-pregnant women by regularly visiting the tertiary care hospital. Among 50 subjects 8(16%) were Pregnant and 42(84%) were Non-pregnant. The mean age of the patients included in the study was found to be 26.1±19.5 years. After a Gram stain and microscopic examination of samples obtained from 50 women, those with intermediate flora and Candida infection were excluded and the final analysis was done on 40 samples. Among 40, 15 were diagnosed with BV and 25 had normal vaginal flora based on Nugents' score.Conclusions: Our findings show that vaginal pH determination is relatively sensitive, but less specific in detecting women with BV. Both pH glove and pH strip are equally suitable for screening women with BV on an outpatient basis. Further studies are required to explore the possibility of self-evaluation of vaginal pH with pH glove at community level.Â

Synthesis, characterization and potent antimicrobial and antifungal activity of 2-substituted benzimidazole derivatives

Benzimidazole is the heterocyclic compound formed by the fusion of benzene and imidazole ring. Benzimidazole analogs are of great significance because of their clinical application and biological activity. Benzimidazoles are considered as an optimistic class of bioactive heterocyclic compound that possesses a range of biological activities. We have synthesized five substituted Benzimidazole derivative using on both microwave irradiation and conventional heating method. The newly synthesized compounds are characterized by IR, NMR and Mass spectra analysis. In the present study, we have reported the synthesis, spectral studies and biological evaluation of some benzimidazole derivatives. Benzimidazole play important role in medical field with so many pharmacological activities such as antimicrobial, anti bacterial, etc. The potency of this clinically useful drug in treatment in microbial action and other activities has encouraged the development of some more potent and significant compounds.

Synthesis, characterization and potent antimicrobial and antifungal activity of 2-substituted benzimidazole derivatives

148-151Benzimidazole is the heterocyclic compound formed by the fusion of benzene and imidazole ring. Benzimidazole analogs are of great significance because of their clinical application and biological activity. Benzimidazoles are considered as an optimistic class of bioactive heterocyclic compound that possesses a range of biological activities. We have synthesized five substituted Benzimidazole derivative using on both microwave irradiation and conventional heating method. The newly synthesized compounds are characterized by IR, NMR and Mass spectra analysis. In the present study, we have reported the synthesis, spectral studies and biological evaluation of some benzimidazole derivatives. Benzimidazole play important role in medical field with so many pharmacological activities such as antimicrobial, anti bacterial, etc. The potency of this clinically useful drug in treatment in microbial action and other activities has encouraged the development of some more potent and significant compounds

Prognostic Stratification of GBMs Using Combinatorial Assessment of IDH1 Mutation, MGMT Promoter Methylation, and TERT Mutation Status: Experience from a Tertiary Care Center in India

AbstractThis study aims to establish the best and simplified panel of molecular markers for prognostic stratification of glioblastomas (GBMs). One hundred fourteen cases of GBMs were studied for IDH1, TP53, and TERT mutation by Sanger sequencing; EGFR and PDGFRA amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization; NF1expression by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR); and MGMT promoter methylation by methylation-specific PCR. IDH1 mutant cases had significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) as compared to IDH1 wild-type cases. Combinatorial assessment of MGMT and TERT emerged as independent prognostic markers, especially in the IDH1 wild-type GBMs. Thus, within the IDH1 wild-type group, cases with only MGMT methylation (group 1) had the best outcome (median PFS: 83.3 weeks; OS: not reached), whereas GBMs with only TERT mutation (group 3) had the worst outcome (PFS: 19.7 weeks; OS: 32.8 weeks). Cases with both or none of these alterations (group 2) had intermediate prognosis (PFS: 47.6 weeks; OS: 89.2 weeks). Majority of the IDH1 mutant GBMs belonged to group 1 (75%), whereas only 18.7% and 6.2% showed group 2 and 3 signatures, respectively. Interestingly, none of the other genetic alterations were significantly associated with survival in IDH1 mutant or wild-type GBMs.Based on above findings, we recommend assessment of three markers, viz., IDH1, MGMT, and TERT, for GBM prognostication in routine practice. We show for the first time that IDH1 wild-type GBMs which constitute majority of the GBMs can be effectively stratified into three distinct prognostic subgroups based on MGMT and TERT status, irrespective of other genetic alterations

PanGFR-HM: A Dynamic Web Resource for Pan-Genomic and Functional Profiling of Human Microbiome With Comparative Features

The conglomerate of microorganisms inhabiting various body-sites of human, known as the human microbiome, is one of the key determinants of human health and disease. Comprehensive pan-genomic and functional analysis approach for human microbiome components can enrich our understanding about impact of microbiome on human health. By utilizing this approach we developed PanGFR-HM (http://www.bioinfo.iicb.res.in/pangfr-hm/) – a novel dynamic web-resource that integrates genomic and functional characteristics of 1293 complete microbial genomes available from Human Microbiome Project. The resource allows users to explore genomic/functional diversity and genome-based phylogenetic relationships between human associated microbial genomes, not provided by any other resource. The key features implemented here include pan-genome and functional analysis of organisms based on taxonomy or body-site, and comparative analysis between groups of organisms. The first feature can also identify probable gene-loss events and significantly over/under represented KEGG/COG categories within pan-genome. The unique second feature can perform comparative genomic, functional and pathways analysis between 4 groups of microbes. The dynamic nature of this resource enables users to define parameters for orthologous clustering and to select any set of organisms for analysis. As an application for comparative feature of PanGFR-HM, we performed a comparative analysis with 67 Lactobacillus genomes isolated from human gut, oral cavity and urogenital tract, and therefore characterized the body-site specific genes, enzymes and pathways. Altogether, PanGFR-HM, being unique in its content and functionality, is expected to provide a platform for microbiome-based comparative functional and evolutionary genomics

Amyloid β Induces Early Changes in the Ribosomal Machinery, Cytoskeletal Organization and Oxidative Phosphorylation in Retinal Photoreceptor Cells

Amyloid β (Aβ) accumulation and its aggregation is characteristic molecular feature of the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). More recently, Aβ has been suggested to be associated with retinal pathology associated with AD, glaucoma and drusen deposits in age related macular degeneration (AMD). In this study, we investigated the proteins and biochemical networks that are affected by Aβ in the 661 W photoreceptor cells in culture. Time and dose dependent effects of Aβ on the photoreceptor cells were determined utilizing tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling-based quantitative mass-spectrometric approach. Bioinformatic analysis of the data revealed concentration and time dependent effects of the Aβ peptide stimulation on various key biochemical pathways that might be involved in mediating the toxicity effects of the peptide. We identified increased Tau phosphorylation, GSK3β dysregulation and reduced cell viability in cells treated with Aβ in a dose and time dependent manner. This study has delineated for the first-time molecular networks in photoreceptor cells that are impacted early upon Aβ treatment and contrasted the findings with a longer-term treatment effect. Proteins associated with ribosomal machinery homeostasis, mitochondrial function and cytoskeletal organization were affected in the initial stages of Aβ exposure, which may provide key insights into AD effects on the photoreceptors and specific molecular changes induced by Aβ peptide