In recent years, bioactive compounds are in high demand in the pharmaceuticals and naturopathy, due to their health benefits to human and plants. Microorganisms synthesize these compounds and some ...enzymes either alone or in association with plants. Microbes residing inside the plant tissues, known as endophytes, also produce an array of these compounds. Endophytic actinomycetes act as a promising resource of biotechnologically valuable bioactive compounds and secondary metabolites. Endophytic
Streptomyces
sp. produced some novel antibiotics which are effective against multi-drug-resistant bacteria Antimicrobial agents produced by endophytes are eco-friendly, toxic to pathogens and do not harm the human. Endophytic inoculation of the plants modulates the synthesis of bioactive compounds with high pharmaceutical properties besides promoting growth of the plants. Hydrolases, the extracellular enzymes, produced by endophytic bacteria, help the plants to establish systemic resistance against pathogens invasion. Phytohormones produced by endophytes play an essential role in plant development and drought resistance management. The high diversity of endophytes and their adaptation to various environmental stresses seem to be an untapped source of new secondary metabolites. The present review summarizes the role of endophytic bacteria in synthesis and modulation of bioactive compounds.
Diagnosing a urinary tract infection (UTI) is typically a clinical procedure involving multiple steps. The need to perform a test depends on the presence of relevant symptoms. Given the current ...pandemic situation, visiting a clinic may not be a preferable choice for many users. Many vulnerable groups of patients, namely, males with certain predispositions and pregnant women, may not present with symptoms of UTI and may go undiagnosed, which could give rise to a more complicated situation. So far, microbial cultures have been used as the gold standard for the diagnosis of an infection. However, performing microbial cultures currently requires trained professionals and laboratory grade equipment. Therefore, there is a need for a home-use culture kit that can serve this purpose. To our knowledge, no such kit exists. Here, we present a feasibility study of an affordable and easy-to-use home-based setup for quantifying bacterial load in a urine. We believe that such a system can be used by people at home to monitor recurrent UTI infections and also by physicians to remotely monitor and prescribe narrow-spectrum antibiotics for more effective treatment.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The terms discussed in this review-biosurfactants (BSs) and bioemulsifiers (BEs)-describe surface-active molecules of microbial origin which are popular chemical entities for many industries, ...including food. BSs are generally low-molecular-weight compounds with the ability to reduce surface tension noticeably, whereas BEs are high-molecular-weight molecules with efficient emulsifying abilities. Some other biomolecules, such as lecithin and egg yolk, are useful as natural BEs in food products. The high toxicity and severe ecological impact of many chemical-based surfactants have directed interest towards BSs/BEs. Interest in food surfactant formulations and consumer anticipation of "green label" additives over synthetic or chemical-based surfactants have been steadily increasing. BSs have an undeniable prospective for replacing chemical surfactants with vast significance to food formulations. However, the commercialization of BSs/BEs production has often been limited by several challenges, such as the optimization of fermentation parameters, high downstream costs, and low yields, which had an immense impact on their broader adoptions in different industries, including food. The foremost restriction regarding the access of BSs/BEs is not their lack of cost-effective industrial production methods, but a reluctance regarding their potential safety, as well as the probable microbial hazards that may be associated with them. Most research on BSs/BEs in food production has been restricted to demonstrations and lacks a comprehensive assessment of safety and risk analysis, which has limited their adoption for varied food-related applications. Furthermore, regulatory agencies require extensive exploration and analysis to secure endorsements for the inclusion of BSs/BEs as potential food additives. This review emphasizes the promising properties of BSs/BEs, trailed by an overview of their current use in food formulations, as well as risk and toxicity assessment. Finally, we assess their potential challenges and upcoming future in substituting chemical-based surfactants.
Introduction: Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit usually affects adolescents. It is seen on the face, neck, trunk and arms. The main pathogenic factors of acne ...are high sebaceous gland secretion, follicular hyper proliferation, high androgen effects, propionibacterium acnes colonization and inflammation. Objectives: To determine the presence of insulin resistance in moderate to very severe acne vulgaris. Material and Methods: One hundred sixty subjects were enrolled in the study consisting of 80 patients with moderate to very severe acne vulgaris and 80 age and sex-matched controls without acne. Fasting serum insulin and glucose levels were measured and insulin resistance was calculated by Homeostasis Model Assessment- Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) Index. The values were compared with the healthy control group. Results: Significant difference was observed in HOMA values and fasting insulin among the two groups (P < 0.001). The levels were significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group, whereas no significant difference was present in fasting glucose levels between the two group. Conclusions: In conclusion, insulin resistance was seen in majority of patients with acne. These results can add to the evidence regarding a potential association between metabolic dysregulation and acne.
Recommender systems have been widely used in various domains including movies, news, music with an aim to provide the most relevant proposals to users from a variety of available options. Recommender ...systems are designed using techniques from many fields, some of which are: machine learning, information retrieval, data mining, linear algebra and artificial intelligence. Though in-memory nearest-neighbor computation is a typical approach for collaborative filtering due to its high recommendation accuracy; its performance on scalability is still poor given a huge user and item base and availability of only few ratings (i.e., data sparsity) in archetypal merchandising applications. In order to alleviate scalability and sparsity issues in recommender systems, several model-based approaches were proposed in the past. However, if research in recommender system is to achieve its potential, there is a need to understand the prominent techniques used directly to build recommender systems or for preprocessing recommender datasets, along with its strengths and weaknesses. In this work, we present an overview of some of the prominent traditional as well as advanced techniques that can effectively handle data dimensionality and data sparsity. The focus of this survey is to present an overview of the applicability of some advanced techniques, particularly clustering, biclustering, matrix factorization, graph-theoretic, and fuzzy techniques in recommender systems. In addition, it highlights the applicability and recent research works done using each technique.
Signalling pathways in malaria parasite remain poorly defined and major reason for this is the lack of understanding of the function of majority of parasite protein kinases and phosphatases in ...parasite signalling and its biology. In the present study, we have elucidated the function of Protein Kinase 2 (PfPK2), which is known to be indispensable for the survival of human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. We demonstrate that it is involved in the invasion of host erythrocytes, which is critical for establishing infection. In addition, PfPK2 may also be involved in the maturation of the parasite post-invasion. PfPK2 regulates the release of microneme proteins like Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA1), which facilitates the formation of Tight Junction between the merozoite and host erythrocyte- a key step in the process of invasion. Comparative phosphoproteomics studies revealed that PfPK2 may be involved in regulation of several key proteins involved in invasion and signalling. Furthermore, PfPK2 regulates the generation of cGMP and the release of calcium in the parasite, which are key second messengers for the process of invasion. These and other studies have shed light on a novel signalling pathway in which PfPK2 acts as an upstream regulator of important cGMP-calcium signalling, which plays an important role in parasite invasion.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A rapid, reliable, and sensitive loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) system was developed for screening of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The optimized LAMP assays using designed ...primers target commonly employed promoters, i.e., Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S (P-35S) and Figwort Mosaic Virus promoter (P-FMV), and marker genes, i.e., aminoglycoside 3′-adenyltransferase (aadA), neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII), and β-glucuronidase (uidA). The specificity and performance of the end-point and real-time LAMP assays were confirmed using eight genetically modified (GM) cotton events on four detection systems, employing two chemistries. LAMP assays on the isothermal real-time system were found to be most sensitive, detecting up to four target copies, within 35 min. The LAMP assays herein presented using alternate detection systems can be effectively utilized for rapid and cost-effective screening of the GM status of a sample, irrespective of the crop species or GM trait. These assays coupled with a fast and simple DNA extraction method may further facilitate on-site GMO screening.
Rapid and efficient screening assays based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) were developed, targeting two marker genes, namely, phosphinothricin-N-acetyltransferase (pat) and ...phosphomannose isomerase (pmi). These marker genes are being employed in more than 35% of GM events approved globally. Specificity of developed visual and real-time LAMP assays was confirmed using seven GM events of two crops, viz., maize (3272, 59122, Bt11, Bt176, MIR604, TC1507), and cotton (Widestrike™). In visual LAMP, positive amplification can be directly analyzed by the colorimetric change from orange to green, whereas real-time LAMP is based on the monitoring of fluorescence signals as amplification and annealing curves. Visual LAMP was found sensitive enough to detect up to 0.05% GM content for pat and 0.1% for pmi within 40 min. Real-time LAMP efficiently detected up to 0.01% GM content within 30 min. Practical applicability of developed assays was confirmed using proficiency test samples of maize. LAMP assays for pmi gene have been reported for the first time. Due to portability of systems, the developed LAMP assays when combined with a fast DNA extraction method could facilitate on-site GMO screening.
•Visual and real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays targeting pat and pmi were developed.•LAMP assays for pmi gene have been reported for the first time.•Limit of detection (LOD) of visual LAMP was up to 0.05% genetically modified (GM) content for pat and 0.1% for pmi.•Real-time LAMP efficiently detected up to 0.01% GM content within 30 min.•These assays could be employed to screen 35% of GM events approved globally.
Purpose:
Aim of this study is to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice among the pharmacists/medical shopkeepers regarding “over the counter” prescription of topical eye steroid.
Method:
It is a ...prospective cross-sectional questionnaire-based observational study, carried out among 60 pharmacists/pharmacy shopkeepers.
Result:
Out of 60 participants, 40% had been sensitized regarding topical steroid misuse. 16% had seen complications following OTC dispensing, and 83% had never seen complications following OTC dispensing of medications. 50% were of the opinion of banning the OTC dispensing of ocular medications, 41.6% were against it, and 8.33% were of no opinion.
Conclusion:
Doctors and pharmacists play a crucial role regarding spreading awareness of self-medication. Government should take proper initiative in educating patients to discourage the unethical and irrational dispensing of medicine by pharmacists.
Abstract In this paper, we study Rubio de Francia extrapolation theorems in the framework of the variable grand Lebesgue spaces with weights. As an application of the extrapolation theorems, we prove ...the boundedness of the Hardy averaging operator and the fractional Riemann Liouville transform for nonnegative and nonincreasing measurable functions. Some structural properties of the weighted grand Lebesgue spaces with variable exponent are also investigated.
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