Virulence Factors and Anti Fungal Sensitivity Pattern of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Candida</Emphasis> Sp. Isolated from HIV and TB Patients

The study comprised of 60 Candida spp., 50 isolates from HIV and TB positive individuals (immunocompromised) and 10 isolates from non-HIV and -TB patients (immunocompetent). Among the 60 Candidal isolates, 83.3% were identified as C. albicans, 11.6% as C. glabrata and rest 5% as C. krusei. There is no study in production pattern of extracellular enzymes of Candida spp. isolated from HIV and TB patients in comparison with non-HIV and -TB patients in India. The comparison of phospholipase activities showed that there was a significant difference between the groups at (P = 0.001). The non-HIV and -TB groups of C. glabrata and C. krusei did not show detectable phospholipase activity when compared to the HIV and TB groups. The mean difference in the phospholipase activities of these two groups was significant (P = <0.001). Candida spp. of both the groups do not possess the ability to hydrolyze gelatin. All the strains possessed the ability to show alpha haemolysis. Even though it had shown alpha haemolysis, the significant difference in haemolytic activity was observed only in C. albicans (P = <0.001). None of the isolates from the two groups possessed the ability to hydrolyze gelatin. In the resistance profile of Candida spp., C. albicans of HIV and TB groups had shown resistance to fluconazole, Itraconazole, ketaconazole, nystatin but showed 100% sensitivity towards amphotericin-B. The isolates of C. krusei and C. glabrata showed no resistance to any of the drugs tested. In the case of, non-HIV and -TB patients the resistance pattern was low.     

Impact of mycorrhizal soil fertility proteins and Arbuscular mycorrhizal application to combat drought stress in maize plants

Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology - The environmental and agricultural systems are prone to drastic effects due to water or drought stress, which is a major problem worldwide. It...     

Highly Sensitive Nitrogen Dioxide Sensor Based on Enhancement of Surface Plasmon Resonance Response in Glass Waveguides by C–Ag Nanodots

Continuous monitoring of air quality and rapid detection of pollutants are highly desirable in urban planning and development of smart cities. One of the primary greenhouse gases responsible for environmental degradation and respiratory diseases is nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). Existing gas sensors for measuring NO₂ concentration suffer from drawbacks such as cross-sensitivity, limited range, and short life span. On the other hand, optical sensors, in particular, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors, have emerged as a preferred alternative owing to advantages like high selectivity, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and low response time. In this work, we design and simulate a NO₂ sensor based on a glass waveguide coated with a gold film. Surface plasmons are excited at the interface by a 400–500-nm light source, incident at an angle of 43.16°. To enhance the sensitivity, we further coat the waveguide with three layers of carbon-silver (C–Ag) nanodots, which increases the surface plasmon field amplitude by nearly 7 times, in the absence of NO₂. When NO₂ concentration is varied in the range of 0–200 ppm, a corresponding change is observed in the reflected amplitude. In the absence of the C–Ag nanodots layer, the sensitivity is only 0.00042%/ppm, and on addition of C–Ag nanodots, the sensitivity increases significantly to 0.14235%/ppm which is nearly 343 times higher. These results demonstrate the efficiency of implementing nanodots in SPR sensor to detect and trace concentrations of contaminants in the gas phase.

     

Molecular docking analysis of CDK-1 inhibitors from Chrysophyllum cainito leaves

It is of interest to document the molecular docking analysis of Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK-1) inhibitors from Chrysophyllum cainito leaves towards the treatment of tumors using the known structure of PDB ID: 5HQ0. Data shows that molecules such as 8- (Dimethylamino)-7-(3-(4-ethylphenoxy)-2d, ethyl 6-oxo-5-propylheptanoate, 2,3-dihydro-3, 5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4h-pyran-4-one, 1,2,3-benzenetriol and 1,4-benzenediol 2,5-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl) identified in methanolic extract of C. cainito have binding features with CDK1 for further consideration.