Co-infection of Hepatitis A and E with Salmonella Infection; a Case Report

Background: Ours is a developing country so infectious diseases contribute maximum to the morbidity and mortality. Among these, water borne diseases like diarrhea, typhoid, infectious hepatitis etc. are on rise. Sometimes more than one type of infection coexists which makes the diagnosis and management a challenging task. We report a case of Coinfection of Salmonella typhi with Hepatitis A and E. Case Presentation: A 5 year old male child came to us with complaints of fever and jaundice for last 9 days. Blood culture of patient was positive for Salmonella typhi. Viral markers turned out to be positive for Hepatitis A and E. To the best of our knowledge coinfection of Hepatitis A and E with Salmonella has rarely been reported earlier. Conclusion: In view of the restricted finances in our country vaccines against typhoid and Hepatitis A can not be incorporated in the national immunization schedule at present but these vaccines can be offered on an individual basis

Alleviating Damage Extent and Enhancing Yield through Ridge Planting Techniques in Maize (Zea mays L.) during Excess Soil Moisture Stress

Waterlogging is one of the major constraints limiting maize (Zea mays L.) production in India and might become more common due to irregular precipitation pattern due to climate change. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the efficacy of planting techniques by examining of physio-morphological, and productivity of excess water sensitive maize (Zea mays L.), under excess soil moisture stress (ESM). A field experiment was conducted during the kharif season 2020 at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. The experiment consisting of two planting methods (flat and ridge), under ponding conditions (30 DAS for 7 days) along with non-ponded condition was laid out in factorial randomized block design with three replications. The recommended dose of nutrients was120:60:40kgN: P2O5:K2O/ha. The physio-biochemical and yield characteristics of the plants at different times interval after planting were evaluated. Growing of maize on ridge bed maintain comparatively aerobic condition and give better anchorage to sturdy in excess moisture resulting lowest crop lodging (12.06%) and higher yield (3501kg/ha) by 7.2% compare to flat system (3268kg/ha). In comparison to non-ponded and ponded plant showed significantly maximum growth, however lowest crop lodging percent

Clinical Profile and Outcome in Children of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in North India

Objective: The number of dengue fever (DF)/dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) cases reported in India has risen in recent years. This study was undertaken to evaluate clinical profile and outcome of children admitted with DHF/dengue shock syndrome (DSS), in the 2006 DHF epidemic in Ludhiana, Punjab. Methods: Eighty one children with dengue hemorrhagic fever were hospitalized in the Pediatric Department of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, India. All patients were diagnosed, managed and monitored according to a standard protocol. Findings: Children between 10-15 years were most commonly afflicted (59%). Infants were the least affected sub-group (3.7%). Ninety two percent of all children were of DHF and 8% cases presented in DSS. The common symptoms seen were fever (91%), vomiting (41%), poor intake (21%), abdominal pain (16%) and significant bleeding (15%). Hepatomegaly was present in 60% of cases. 85% of cases had petechiae alone, 15% had evidence of significant bleeding manifestation. Gastrointestinal bleeding was the commonest observed bleeding. The complications seen were liver dysfunction (14.8%), coagulopathy (3.7%), renal dysfunction (3.7%), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (2.4%) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (1.2%). Mortality in the study was 3.7%. Refractory shock and coagulopathy were seen in all cases with poor outcome. Conclusion: Increased awareness, better transport facilities and case management according to the WHO guidelines, is needed to further reduce mortality of DHF/DSS cases

Effects of Plant Growth-promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) on Morpho-Physiological Parameters of Strawberry cv. Chandler under Different Moisture Levels

Drought stress is one of the challenges that can affect the growth and quality of strawberries. The present study aims to determine the effect of PGPR and AMF on the growth of the strawberry cultivar Chandler under different moisture levels. This study was conducted under polyhouse at the Horticulture Research Center, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar, during 2021-2022 and 2022-23. The experiment was arranged in a factorial CRD design (FCRD) with three replications. The experiment included moisture levels (100% field capacity (FC), 75% FC and 50% FC) and bioinoculants: control (without PGPR or AMF), PGPR, AMF and combination of PGPR+AMF. The results showed that water stress significantly reduced all the growth and biochemical characteristics of leaves. Plants treated with PGPR and AMF either alone or in combination showed higher survival rate of plants as compared to control. The numbers of leaves, petiole length, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids were found to increase in all the treatments where bioinoculants were incorporated in the potting media. The increase in chlorophyll content suggests improved photosynthetic efficiency which eventually enhanced stress tolerance of the plants. The use of PGPR and AMF provides a ray of hope for sustainable agricultural cultivation of strawberry particularly in regions affected by water scarcity

Native Plant and Microbial Contributions to a Negative Plant-Plant Interaction1[OA]

A number of hypotheses have been suggested to explain why invasive exotic plants dramatically increase their abundance upon transport to a new range. The novel weapons hypothesis argues that phytotoxins secreted by roots of an exotic plant are more effective against naïve resident competitors in the range being invaded. The common reed Phragmites australis has a diverse population structure including invasive populations that are noxious weeds in North America. P. australis exudes the common phenolic gallic acid, which restricts the growth of native plants. However, the pathway for free gallic acid production in soils colonized by P. australis requires further elucidation. Here, we show that exotic, invasive P. australis contain elevated levels of polymeric gallotannin relative to native, noninvasive P. australis. We hypothesized that polymeric gallotannin can be attacked by tannase, an enzymatic activity produced by native plant and microbial community members, to release gallic acid in the rhizosphere and exacerbate the noxiousness of P. australis. Native plants and microbes were found to produce high levels of tannase while invasive P. australis produced very little tannase. These results suggest that both invasive and native species participate in signaling events that initiate the execution of allelopathy potentially linking native plant and microbial biochemistry to the invasive traits of an exotic species

Ocimum sanctum leaf extract induces drought stress tolerance in rice

<p>Ocimum leaves are highly enriched in antioxidant components. Thus, its leaf extract, if applied in plants, is believed to efficiently scavenge ROS, thereby preventing oxidative damage under drought stress. Thus, the present study was performed in kharif 2013 and rabi 2014 season to evaluate the effect of aqueous leaf extract of <i>Ocimum sanctum</i> against drought stress in 2 rice genotype under glass house conditions. Here we show that various morpho- physiological (chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf rolling score, leaf tip burn, number of senesced leaves and total dry matter) and biochemical parameters (proline, malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase content) were amended by <i>Ocimum</i> treatment in both the seasons. Application of <i>Ocimum</i> extract increased expression of dehydrin genes, while reducing expression of aquaporin genes in drought stressed rice plant. Thus, application of <i>Ocimum</i> leaf extract under drought stress can be suggested as a promising strategy to mitigate drought stress in economical, accessible and ecofriendly manner.</p