Resistin-like Molecule α Provides Vitamin-A-Dependent Antimicrobial Protection in the Skin

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Acute Binge Drinking Increases Serum Endotoxin and Bacterial DNA Levels in Healthy Individuals

Binge drinking, the most common form of alcohol consumption, is associated with increased mortality and morbidity; yet, its biological consequences are poorly defined. Previous studies demonstrated that chronic alcohol use results in increased gut permeability and increased serum endotoxin levels that contribute to many of the biological effects of chronic alcohol, including alcoholic liver disease. In this study, we evaluated the effects of acute binge drinking in healthy adults on serum endotoxin levels. We found that acute alcohol binge resulted in a rapid increase in serum endotoxin and 16S rDNA, a marker of bacterial translocation from the gut. Compared to men, women had higher blood alcohol and circulating endotoxin levels. In addition, alcohol binge caused a prolonged increase in acute phase protein levels in the systemic circulation. The biological significance of the in vivo endotoxin elevation was underscored by increased levels of inflammatory cytokines, TNFα and IL-6, and chemokine, MCP-1, measured in total blood after in vitro lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Our findings indicate that even a single alcohol binge results in increased serum endotoxin levels likely due to translocation of gut bacterial products and disturbs innate immune responses that can contribute to the deleterious effects of binge drinking.     

Antimicrobial and antifungal activity of soil actinomycetes isolated from coal mine sites

In the current study, twenty-eight soil samples were collected from coalmine sites of Telangana, India. The isolates were purified and identified based on their culture characterization on oatmeal agar, glycerol asparagine agar, yeast extract-malt extract agar, inorganic salt starch agar, and starch casein agar medium. Further, the supernatant of all the isolates were tested for antimicrobial and antifungal activities. The biochemical and microscopic studies of isolated strains results indicates the potential isolate strains belongs to Streptomyces genus. Among all the strains the biological activity of BHPL-KSKU5 showed higher anti-bacterial and anti-funagal activity. The molecular characterization of BHPL-KSKU5 16s rDNA gene sequence and phylogenetic tree showed that is mostly related to the Streptomysis felleus (S. felleus) strain. This isolate was submitted to gene bank NCBI with accession number MH553077. In addition, physiological studies such as utilization of carbon, nitrogen, amino acid sources of potential isolated were studied. Further, optimization, purification and characterization of the novel compound producing strain may be helpful for discovering the new therapeutic microbial agent.     

Combining Biochemical and Imaging Markers to Improve Diagnosis and Characterization of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in the Acute Setting: Results from a Pilot Study

Background

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a significant healthcare burden and its diagnosis remains a challenge in the emergency department. Serum biomarkers and advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have already demonstrated their potential to improve the detection of brain injury even in patients with negative computed tomography (CT) findings. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical value of a combinational use of both blood biomarkers and MRI in mTBI detection and their characterization in the acute setting (within 24 hours after injury).

Methods

Nine patients with mTBI were prospectively recruited from the emergency department. Serum samples were collected at the time of hospital admission and every 6 hours up to 24 hours post injury. Neuronal (Ubiquitin C-terminal Hydrolase-L1 [UCH-L1]) and glial (glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP]) biomarker levels were analyzed. Advanced MRI data were acquired at 9±6.91 hours after injury. Patients’ neurocognitive status was assessed by using the Standard Assessment of Concussion (SAC) instrument.

Results

The median serum levels of UCH-L1 and GFAP on admission were increased 4.9 folds and 10.6 folds, respectively, compared to reference values. Three patients were found to have intracranial hemorrhages on SWI, all of whom had very high GFAP levels. Total volume of brain white matter (WM) with abnormal fractional anisotropy (FA) measures of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were negatively correlated with patients’ SAC scores, including delayed recall. Both increased and decreased DTI-FA values were observed in the same subjects. Serum biomarker level was not correlated with patients’ DTI data nor SAC score.

Conclusions

Blood biomarkers and advanced MRI may correlate or complement each other in different aspects of mTBI detection and characterization. GFAP might have potential to serve as a clinical screening tool for intracranial bleeding. UCH-L1 complements MRI in injury detection. Impairment at WM tracts may account for the patients’ neurocognitive symptoms.     

Morphological and molecular characterization of new plant type core set for yield and culm strength traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

New plant type core set comprising indica and tropical japonica accessions along with checks were evaluated for yield and culm strength related traits and characterized with gene specific markers viz., Gn1a, DEP1, Ghd7, SPL14, GS5, TGW6 and SCM2. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences as well as presence of variability among the genotypes for all the traits. Seven genotypes (IRGC25510, IRGC1742, Haorei machang, Azhoghi, Thangmoi, BPT5204 and Swarnadhan) do not possess similar allele as that of the assessed genes based on combined analysis for all the traits and genes. Of them, four genotypes IRGC1742, Azhoghi, BPT5204 and Swarnadhan possess ideal trait combination (90–100 days to 50% flowering, 100–120 cm plant height, grain number of > 200, 11–15 productive tillers) but with weak culm can be ideal sources for identification of new genes for yield attributing traits and direct introgression of SCM2. Based on single trait-gene analysis, nine trait wise donors with high value for the trait (also with desirable plant type) but without similar allele of the corresponding gene were identified. One genotype IRGC7486 with high grain number (300), four genotypes (IRGC50448, IRGC43741, IRGC15147 and IRGC39111) with strong culm (1195–2655 g.f), three genotypes viz., IRGC15147, IRGC39111 and IRGC10658 with high panicle weight and one genotype Solumpiket with high 1000-grain weight and high panicle weight can be considered for identification of novel gene(s) for respective traits.