Digital Gangrene is a Rare Presentation of Takayasu's Arteritis.

Takayasu's arteritis is a chronic large vessel vasculitis that mainly affects the aorta and its major branches such as brachiocephalic, carotid, subclavian, vertebral, renal, coronary and pulmonary arteries. It most commonly occurs in female at child bearing age and female to male ratio is 8:2. Initial presentations of Takayasu's arteritis may be nonspecific like fever, malaise, weakness, fatigue, arthralgia, myalgia and weight loss but in advanced stage there may be features of vascular inflammation like segmental stenosis, occlusion, dilatation and/or aneurysm. It is a sub acute process over months to years and usually with good collateral formation. So, critical limb ischemia due to acute onset of vascular stenosis is very rare. Here we are reporting a case of a 50-year- old male patient who presented with digital gangrene due to critical limb ischemia. Though the age of onset was at 50 years and the patient lacks clinical features like constitutional symptoms, bruit, claudication, asymmetrical blood pressure, the patient was diagnosed as a case of Takayasus's arteritis. The patient dramatically improved with oral glucocorticoid treatment. Although rare, takayasu's arteritis can presents only with digital gangrene without having other clinical features. The physicians should be aware of this unusual but limb threatening presentation and more studies are needed to find out the exact mechanism of this presentation.

Differential gene expression analysis under salinity stress in the selected turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) cultivars for curcuminoid biosynthesis.

BACKGROUND: Curcuminoids are the phenolic compounds found exclusively in turmeric. Their presence is known to increase immunity and resistance against certain cancers and neurological disorders in humans also, protecting the plant itself against salinity stress. METHODS: In this experiment, we studied the expression levels of MAPK1 and DCS genes, their curcuminoid biosynthesis under salinity stress conditions so that the impact of individual genes can be understood using semi- quantitative PCR. RESULTS: The expressions of the genes with respect to curcuminoid biosynthesis showed fluctuations in their band intensity values due to the production of curcuminoids, which is initiated first in the leaves followed by the rhizomes. Not all the genes responsible for the curcuminoid biosynthesis show positive regulation under salt stress conditions which is observed in response to the severity of the stress imposed on the cultivars. CONCLUSIONS: In our findings, both the genes MAPK1 and DCS were down-regulated for curcuminoid biosynthesis compared to their controls in both the cultivars Vallabh Sharad and Selection 1.

Plantaricin LD1 purified from Lactobacillus plantarum LD1 inhibits biofilm formation of Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 in tooth model.

Plantaricin LD1 was purified to homogeneity using activity-guided chromatography. Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 was found to be sensitive to plantaricin LD1 showing 13 ± 0·21 mm zone of growth inhibition. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was found to be 50 µg ml-1 against Ent. faecalis ATCC 29212. The in vitro biofilm formation by Ent. faecalis ATCC 29212 was observed, which was completely inhibited in the presence of bacteriocin. Similarly, biofilm formation was also observed on the teeth surface showing purple colour, whereas treated-teeth were clean and indicated no biofilm formation. Further, untreated cells of Ent. faecalis ATCC 29212 were found normal and plantaricin LD1-treated cells were ruptured when seen under light microscope, suggesting killing of target cells. These findings have proven the initial leads for antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity of plantaricin LD1 against Ent. faecalis and its possible application for the treatment of endodontic diseases.

Morpho-molecular and mating-type locus diversity of Ustilaginoidea virens: an incitant of false smut of rice from Southern parts of India.

AIMS: To characterize the geo-distinct isolates of Ustilaginoidea virens for morpho-molecular and mating-type locus diversity. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty-one isolates of U. virens collected from Southern India exhibited significant diversity in mycelial width (3·45-5·50 µm), colony colour (yellow, pale yellow, and white), and growth pattern (thick leather mat, raised-fluffy, flat-fluffy, and raised). Field-borne chlamydospores of each isolate were significantly smaller in size (3·34-5·26 µm2 ) compared to those formed on culture media (18·6-100·89 µm2 ). The phylogenetic study based on internal transcribed sequences revealed two clusters; however, most isolates (n = 54) were grouped in cluster-I, indicating common ancestral origin. We also identified 42 haplotypes; among them, Hap_3 has the highest number of isolates (n = 19). Mating-type locus (MAT1) analysis revealed all sixty-one isolates as heterothallic, wherein 37 and 24 isolates belonging to MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1 heterothallic mating types, respectively. The microsynteny analysis of MAT1 loci of one of the Indian strain (Uv-Gvt) along with Uv-8b (China) strain revealed synteny conservation at MAT1 locus, which is flanked by conserved genes SLA2 and a hypothetical protein in the upstream and APN2, COX12 and APC5 in the downstream of the locus. CONCLUSIONS: Morpho-molecular study revealed the significant diversity among geo-distinct isolates, and MAT1 loci analysis indicated the distribution of heterothallic mating types in south Indian paddy fields. And also, complete synteny conservation between Indian and Chinese strain was observed at the MAT1 locus. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first report describing the sexuality of Indian strains of the U. virens, which would help better understand the genetic diversity of the U. virens prevailing in Southern India and aid in developing resistant rice cultivars against this pathogen population.

Candidatus Actinochlamydia pangasiae sp. nov. (Chlamydiales, Actinochlamydiaceae), a bacterium associated with epitheliocystis in Pangasianodon hypophthalmus.

Chlamydial infections are recognised as causative agent of epitheliocystis, reported from over 90 fish species. In the present study, the farmed striped catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (14-15 cm, 70-90 g) with a history of cumulative mortality of about 23% during June and July 2015, were brought to the laboratory. The histopathological examination of gills from the affected fish revealed presence of granular basophilic intracellular inclusions, mostly at the base of the interlamellar region and in gill filaments. A concurrent infection with Trichodina spp., Ichthyobodo spp. and Dactylogyrus spp. was observed in the gills. The presence of chlamydial DNA in the gills of affected fish was confirmed by amplification and sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. BLAST-n analysis of these amplicons revealed maximum similarity (96%) with Candidatus Actinochlamydia clariae. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis, it was inferred that the epitheliocystis agents from striped catfish were novel and belonged to the taxon Ca. Actinochlamydia. It is proposed that epitheliocystis agents from striped catfish will be named as Ca. Actinochlamydia pangasiae. The 16S rRNA gene amplicons from novel chlamydiae were labelled and linked to inclusions by in situ hybridisation. This is the first report of epitheliocystis from India in a new fish host P. hypophthalmus.

Genome wide in silico characterization of Dof gene families of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp.).

The DNA binding with One Finger (Dof) protein is a plant specific transcription factor involved in the regulation of wide range of processes. The analysis of whole genome sequence of pigeonpea has identified 38 putative Dof genes (CcDof) distributed on 8 chromosomes. A total of 17 out of 38 CcDof genes were found to be intronless. A comprehensive in silico characterization of CcDof gene family including the gene structure, chromosome location, protein motif, phylogeny, gene duplication and functional divergence has been attempted. The phylogenetic analysis resulted in 3 major clusters with closely related members in phylogenetic tree revealed common motif distribution. The in silico cis-regulatory element analysis revealed functional diversity with predominance of light responsive and stress responsive elements indicating the possibility of these CcDof genes to be associated with photoperiodic control and biotic and abiotic stress. The duplication pattern showed that tandem duplication is predominant over segmental duplication events. The comparative phylogenetic analysis of these Dof proteins along with 78 soybean, 36 Arabidopsis and 30 rice Dof proteins revealed 7 major clusters. Several groups of orthologs and paralogs were identified based on phylogenetic tree constructed. Our study provides useful information for functional characterization of CcDof genes.

Epitaxial Fe films on ZnSe(001): effect of the substrate surface reconstruction on the magnetic anisotropy.

It is well known that Fe films deposited on a c(2 × 2)-reconstructed ZnSe(001) surface show a strong in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. Here, the effect of the substrate reconstruction on the magnetic anisotropy of Fe has been studied by in situ Brillouin light scattering. We found that the in-plane uniaxial anisotropy is strongly reduced for Fe films grown on a (1 × 1)-unreconstructed ZnSe substrate while the in-plane biaxial one is nearly unaffected by the substrate reconstruction. Calculations of magnetic anisotropy energies within the framework of ab initio density functional theory reveal that the strong suppression of anisotropy at the (1 × 1) interface occurs due to complex atomic relaxations as well as the competing effects originating from magnetocrystalline anisotropy and dipole-dipole interactions. For both sharp and intermixed c(2 × 2) interfaces, the magnetic anisotropy is enhanced compared to the (1 × 1) case due to the further lowering of symmetry. The theoretical results are in agreement with the experimental findings.

Detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from nasal samples by multiplex real-time PCR based on dual priming AT-rich primers.

In this study, we reported on the design of a multiplex real-time PCR assay based on SYBR Green I, incorporating dual priming adenine-thymine (AT)-rich primers for direct detection of MRSA from nasal samples. The multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay reported in this study is based on SYBR Green I with incorporation of six dual priming AT-rich primers designed from the SCCmec/orf junction. A string (4-6 bp) of low-melting bases, such as adenine and thymine, was incorporated into the primers, which virtually divided a single primer in two functional regions, thus decreasing non-specific PCR products. The analytical sensitivity and specificity of the RT-PCR assay was determined with genomic DNA of reference strains (MRSA, MSSA, and MRCoNS). RT-PCR assay was performed for analysis of 72 nasal swab specimens, and the results were confirmed by use of a culture method. Furthermore, the results of RT-PCR were compared with LightCycler MRSA advance test. The multiplex RT-PCR assay reproducibly detected a minimum of 1 pg genomic DNA (31.5 copy of genome) of MRSA reference strains and clinical isolates, with a specific melting peak at 83.5 ± 1.5°C, and neither fluorescence nor a melting peak was detected in non-target isolates. The concordance rate between RT-PCR assay and culture method was 87.5% with Cohen's kappa value (κ) 0.75, which showed good agreement between the two assays. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the assay were 93.5%, 82.9%, 80.5%, and 94.4%, respectively. In a comparative study for the detection of 72 nasal samples, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the multiplex RT-PCR assay with respect to LightCycler MRSA advance test was 84.2%, 88.2%, 89%, and, 83.3%, respectively. The results of RT-PCR assay demonstrated high specificity (88.2%) and positive predictive value (89%) for the direct detection of MRSA from nasal samples.

Use of oil bodies and oleosins in recombinant protein production and other biotechnological applications.

Oil bodies obtained from oilseeds have been exploited for a variety of applications in biotechnology in the recent past. These applications are based on their non-coalescing nature, ease of extraction and presence of unique membrane proteins-oleosins. In suspension, oil bodies exist as separate entities and, hence, they can serve as emulsifying agent for a wide variety of products, ranging from vaccines, food, cosmetics and personal care products. Oil bodies have found significant uses in the production and purification of recombinant proteins with specific applications. The desired protein can be targeted to oil bodies in oilseeds by affinity tag or by fusing it directly to the N or C terminal of oleosins. Upon targeting, the hydrophobic domain of oleosin embeds into the TAG matrix of oil body, whereas the protein fused with N and/or C termini is exposed on the oil body surface, where it acquires correct confirmation spontaneously. Oil bodies with the attached foreign protein can be separated easily from other cellular components. They can be used directly or the protein can be cleaved from the fusion. The desired protein can be a pharmaceutically important polypeptide (e.g. hirudin, insulin and epidermal growth factor), a neutraceutical polypeptide (somatotropin), a commercially important enzyme (e.g. xylanase), a protein important for improvement of crops (e.g. chitinase) or a multimeric protein. These applications can further be widened as oil bodies can also be made artificially and oleosin gene can be expressed in bacterial systems. Thus, a protein fused to oleosin can be expressed in Escherichia coli and after cell lysis it can be incorporated into artificial oil bodies, thereby facilitating the extraction and purification of the desired protein. Artificial oil bodies can also be used for encapsulation of probiotics. The manipulation of oleosin gene for the expression of polyoleosins has further expanded the arena of the applications of oil bodies in biotechnology.

Pulseless cardiomyopathy.

Takayasu arteritis can have myriads of presentation, depending on site and extent of disease. As no age is immune for this disease, it is important to keep a high index of suspicion, otherwise the diagnosis can be missed. We hereby describe a case of Takayasu arteritis, which presented as dilated cardiomyopathy.