Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In India, nearly 1.8 million new cases of TB are reported annually, which accounts for a fifth of new cases in the world—greater than...Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In India, nearly 1.8 million new cases of TB are reported annually, which accounts for a fifth of new cases in the world—greater than in any other country. Anti-tubercular drugs (ATDs) have been used for decades, and widespread resistance to them is a very serious public health concern in any part of the world. Aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Rifampicin (the first line Anti-TB drug) resistance among both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary samples tested positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and thereby predict the prevalence of Multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis in Kolkata and its Suburban regions. All 331 randomly collected clinical samples (both Pulmonary and Extra Pulmonary) were initially screened by Zeihl-Neelsen AFB staining followed by culture on BacT/Alert 3D system and on Lowenstein-Jensen medium and the positive samples were subjected to detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and simultaneous analysis of Rifampicin resistance by Xpert MTB/RIF assay. Out of the 51 (15.40%) culture positive samples, 13.7% of pulmonary samples and 9.09% of extra-pulmonary samples were Rifampicin resistant. The prevalence of Rifampicin resistant TB in our study is high and the possible reasons can be mixing of new as well as retreatment cases and smaller sample size but, yet it can help Government and public health regulatory bodies to formulate adequate strategies to fight against drug resistant tuberculosis, especially in this part of the world.展开更多
The oldest Asian record of alpheid shrimps,assigned to genus Alpheus,based on snapping claw fingertips from the Miocene Khari Nadi Formation in the Kutch Basin,western India reported herein,extends the fossil record o...The oldest Asian record of alpheid shrimps,assigned to genus Alpheus,based on snapping claw fingertips from the Miocene Khari Nadi Formation in the Kutch Basin,western India reported herein,extends the fossil record of the family Alpheidae from Asia by~22 million years.An early Miocene(Aquitanian)age is estimated based on the associated assemblage of calcareous nannofossils,Sphenolithus disbelemnos,Cyclicargolithus floridanus,and Reticulofenestra haqii.The co-occurring microbiota includes bony fish otolith remains,identified as“genus Gobiidarum”,isolated teeth of Dasyatis rays,Sphyrna sharks,and teleosts,ctenoid and placoid scales,ostracods,belonging to the genera Paractinocythereis,Alocopocythere,Ruggieria,Aglaiocypris,Bairdoppilata,and echinoid spines.Taken together,the microfossil assemblage and data from chemical analyses using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy,X-Ray Diffraction and Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence of host and associated lithologies suggests prevalence of a shallow(neritic)to coastal marine(intertidal)depositional paleoenvironment.The present investigation also provides the oldest fossil evidence on the co-occurrence of Alpheus and gobiids(based on otoliths)that strongly advocates that the mutualistic association between these animal groups had developed by the Aquitanian.展开更多
Environmental arsenic(As) contamination,considered as the largest mass poisoning of the human population,has become a serious health concern for the people of South East Asia,including those living in the Bengal delta...Environmental arsenic(As) contamination,considered as the largest mass poisoning of the human population,has become a serious health concern for the people of South East Asia,including those living in the Bengal delta.An As-resistant strain,KUMAs15,was isolated from the As-contaminated fields in Nadia Ddistrict in West Bengal,India and was evaluated for its possible use in environmental As bioremediation.Molecular identification based on 16S rDNA gene sequencing revealed that the strain belonged to the genus Micrococcus.The strain tolerated high levels of As and oxidized arsenite under the culture condition.The strain also accumulated large quantities of As when exposed to a wide range of environmentally relevant concentrations of inorganic As.Analysis of the aoxB,arsB,and arsC gene expression explained the underlying cause of arsenite oxidation and As accumulation by KUMAs15.The As-resistant strain KUMAs15 of Micrococcus sp.was suggested to be a potential environmental As decontaminant.展开更多
Bioprinting has emerged as a potential technique to fabricate tissue engineering constructs and in vitro models directly using living cells as a raw material for fabrication,conforming to the heterogeneity and archite...Bioprinting has emerged as a potential technique to fabricate tissue engineering constructs and in vitro models directly using living cells as a raw material for fabrication,conforming to the heterogeneity and architectural complexity of the tissues.In several of tissue engineering and in vitro disease modelling or surgical planning applications,it is desirable to have radiopaque constructs for monitoring and evaluation.In the present work,enhanced radiopaque constructs are generated by substituting Calcium ions with Barium ions for crosslinking of alginate hydrogels.The constructs are characterized for their structural integrity and followed by cell culture studies to evaluate their biocompatibility.This was followed by the radiopacity evaluation.The radiological images obtained by micro-CT technique was further applied to investigate the degradation behavior of the scaffolds.In conclusion,it is observed that barium crosslinking can provide a convenient means to obtain radiopaque constructs with potential for multi-faceted applications.展开更多
文摘Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In India, nearly 1.8 million new cases of TB are reported annually, which accounts for a fifth of new cases in the world—greater than in any other country. Anti-tubercular drugs (ATDs) have been used for decades, and widespread resistance to them is a very serious public health concern in any part of the world. Aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Rifampicin (the first line Anti-TB drug) resistance among both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary samples tested positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and thereby predict the prevalence of Multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis in Kolkata and its Suburban regions. All 331 randomly collected clinical samples (both Pulmonary and Extra Pulmonary) were initially screened by Zeihl-Neelsen AFB staining followed by culture on BacT/Alert 3D system and on Lowenstein-Jensen medium and the positive samples were subjected to detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and simultaneous analysis of Rifampicin resistance by Xpert MTB/RIF assay. Out of the 51 (15.40%) culture positive samples, 13.7% of pulmonary samples and 9.09% of extra-pulmonary samples were Rifampicin resistant. The prevalence of Rifampicin resistant TB in our study is high and the possible reasons can be mixing of new as well as retreatment cases and smaller sample size but, yet it can help Government and public health regulatory bodies to formulate adequate strategies to fight against drug resistant tuberculosis, especially in this part of the world.
基金granted by the BSIP LucknowIndia in the form of an In-house Project No. 3 (2021–2025)
文摘The oldest Asian record of alpheid shrimps,assigned to genus Alpheus,based on snapping claw fingertips from the Miocene Khari Nadi Formation in the Kutch Basin,western India reported herein,extends the fossil record of the family Alpheidae from Asia by~22 million years.An early Miocene(Aquitanian)age is estimated based on the associated assemblage of calcareous nannofossils,Sphenolithus disbelemnos,Cyclicargolithus floridanus,and Reticulofenestra haqii.The co-occurring microbiota includes bony fish otolith remains,identified as“genus Gobiidarum”,isolated teeth of Dasyatis rays,Sphyrna sharks,and teleosts,ctenoid and placoid scales,ostracods,belonging to the genera Paractinocythereis,Alocopocythere,Ruggieria,Aglaiocypris,Bairdoppilata,and echinoid spines.Taken together,the microfossil assemblage and data from chemical analyses using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy,X-Ray Diffraction and Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence of host and associated lithologies suggests prevalence of a shallow(neritic)to coastal marine(intertidal)depositional paleoenvironment.The present investigation also provides the oldest fossil evidence on the co-occurrence of Alpheus and gobiids(based on otoliths)that strongly advocates that the mutualistic association between these animal groups had developed by the Aquitanian.
基金supported by the financial grant received from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India (No. BT/PR4693/BCE/8/894/2012)
文摘Environmental arsenic(As) contamination,considered as the largest mass poisoning of the human population,has become a serious health concern for the people of South East Asia,including those living in the Bengal delta.An As-resistant strain,KUMAs15,was isolated from the As-contaminated fields in Nadia Ddistrict in West Bengal,India and was evaluated for its possible use in environmental As bioremediation.Molecular identification based on 16S rDNA gene sequencing revealed that the strain belonged to the genus Micrococcus.The strain tolerated high levels of As and oxidized arsenite under the culture condition.The strain also accumulated large quantities of As when exposed to a wide range of environmentally relevant concentrations of inorganic As.Analysis of the aoxB,arsB,and arsC gene expression explained the underlying cause of arsenite oxidation and As accumulation by KUMAs15.The As-resistant strain KUMAs15 of Micrococcus sp.was suggested to be a potential environmental As decontaminant.
文摘Bioprinting has emerged as a potential technique to fabricate tissue engineering constructs and in vitro models directly using living cells as a raw material for fabrication,conforming to the heterogeneity and architectural complexity of the tissues.In several of tissue engineering and in vitro disease modelling or surgical planning applications,it is desirable to have radiopaque constructs for monitoring and evaluation.In the present work,enhanced radiopaque constructs are generated by substituting Calcium ions with Barium ions for crosslinking of alginate hydrogels.The constructs are characterized for their structural integrity and followed by cell culture studies to evaluate their biocompatibility.This was followed by the radiopacity evaluation.The radiological images obtained by micro-CT technique was further applied to investigate the degradation behavior of the scaffolds.In conclusion,it is observed that barium crosslinking can provide a convenient means to obtain radiopaque constructs with potential for multi-faceted applications.
