Skatole remediation potential of Rhodopseudomonas palustris WKU-KDNS3 isolated from an animal waste lagoon

Skatole (3MI) is a major contributor to the malodor emission resulting from ruminant and human faeces. The remediation of malodor has been a major challenge for the animal production industry. In this investigation, a pure culture of purple nonsulphur bacterium capable of degrading 3MI was isolated from a swine waste lagoon using an enrichment technique and identified as Rhodopseudomonas palustris WKU-KDNS3 based on 16S rRNA analysis and UV-visible spectroscopy. The cell structure of the organism was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Growth profile and 3MI removal pattern were determined using media supplemented with 0.1 μmol 3MI under short-term and long-term aerobic growth conditions. The organism grew on 3MI media as luxuriantly as control (without 3MI). Growth of R. palustris WKU-KDNS3 demonstrated a significant reduction in the level of 3MI (>48%) in 72 h. The level of 3MI dropped further by >93% of the total concentration present in the medium in 21 days. Skatole remediation potential of R. palustris WKU-KDNS3 can be judiciously utilized in various animal and industrial waste treatment systems.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Odour pollution is a serious environmental problem, particularly in the agriculture industry, and technologies based on chemical remediation are less effective and cost prohibitive. In this study, the newly isolated Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain WKU-KDNS3 causes biodegradation of 3-methylindole (skatole), which is one of the most offensive odorants present in wastewater lagoons. Aerobic degradation of this widely spread aromatic pollutant by Rhodopseudomonas strain is a significant finding that enhances the present understanding about metabolic versatility of purple photosynthetic nonsulphur bacteria. The remediation potential of R. palustris WKU-KDNS3 can also be gainfully utilized in various waste treatment facilities.

The effects of liver transplantation on the clinical course of colitis in ulcerative colitis patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis

BACKGROUND

The course of ulcerative colitis (UC) following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is unclear.

AIM

To investigate the clinical course of UC, before and after OLT for PSC.

METHODS

From a historical cohort of 86 patients with PSC-UC who underwent OLT, 77 patients who were followed up at our institution both before and after OLT from 1985 to 2011 were included.

RESULTS

Ulcerative colitis was diagnosed in 77 (97.5%) patients before OLT. Nineteen of 77 (24.7%) patients underwent colectomy before OLT. In the other 58 patients, the course of UC after OLT when compared to the last 5 years before OLT was quiescent in 48 patients (82.8%) while 9/58 (15.5%) of patients underwent colectomy post-OLT. There was a total of 97 colitis flares over a total of 621 years of follow-up from PSC/UC diagnosis to OLT (0.156 flares per patient year) whereas post-OLT, there were 31 flares over a total of 511 years of post-OLT follow-up (0.061 flares per patient year) (P < 0.001). On univariable analysis, the number of UC flares [Odds ratio (OR) 1.52; 95% Confidence interval (1.02-2.27), P = 0.04] and dysplasia [OR 47.00; 95% CI (6.48-340.66), P < 0.001] increased the risk of colectomy following OLT; the use of corticosteroids [OR 0.07; 95% CI (0.01-0.63), P = 0.008] and 5-aminosalicylate [OR 0.18; 95% CI (0.04-0.83), P = 0.04] was protective.

CONCLUSIONS

Ulcerative colitis in the presence of primary sclerosing cholangitis remains quiescent, and may improve in most patients after orthotopic liver transplantation.

Tearfilm immunoglobulin E (IgE) level in vernal keratoconjunctivitis by ELISA

BACKGROUND

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is recurrent chronic allergic conjunctivitis occurring in the prepubertal age-group with secondary involvement of the cornea and is self-limiting in character. The disease is prevalent worldwide but it shows predominance in the areas with dry and warm climate including the South Asia. VKC represents about 3% of the serious ophthalmic disease in some parts of the world where the prevalence is rate is high.Type I hypersensitivity reaction which is IgE-dependent and type IV hypersensitivity reaction have been implicated for the pathogenesis VKC.

OBJECTIVE

To determine level of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in the tear fi lm of patients with Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) attending outpatient department of BP Koirala Lions Centre for Ophthalmic Studies (BPKLCOS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty-four VKC patients and thirty-four controls were included in this study. Tear samples were collected using micro- capillary glass tube method and tear IgE levels were measured using an enzyme - linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTS

There was high concentration of tear IgE level in VKC (95.09IU/ml) than in controls (1.63IU/ml) though the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.16). No statistically significant difference was observed in male and female gender within VKC group and when compared with control group (in male group, p=0.21 and in female group, p=0.26). There was no statistically significant difference observed in tear IgE level in different age groups within VKC group and when compared with control group (p=0.30). The result did not show any significant difference in tear IgE level with respect to the duration of the disease (p=0.23).There was no statistically significant difference in tear IgE level with different episodes of VKC (p=0.69). No statistically significant difference of IgE concentration in tear was seen among different types of VKC (p=0.53) and grades of tarsal and limbal papillae (p=0.72).

CONCLUSION

There was high concentration of tear IgE level observed in VKC.

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis: modes of presentation in Nepalese population

OBJECTIVE

To determine pattern of clinical presentation in Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) in our context.

METHODS

Thirty-four VKC patients were included in this study.

RESULTS

The study revealed prepubertal onset with male preponderance and most frequently encountered symptom in the study among VKC cases was itching (100%) followed by redness of eyes and discharge (76.5% each) and the commonest sign was tarsal papillae (100%) followed by conjunctival hyperemia (91%) in 68 eyes of 34 cases of VKC.

CONCLUSION

The clinical presentation of VKC cases in our country is very much similar to the findings of other parts of the world.

Repression of Dmp1 and Arf transcription by anthracyclins: critical roles of the NF-kappaB subunit p65

Both genotoxic and oncogenic stress activates the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) and p53 proteins; however, the p53 activity is antagonized by NF-kappaB signaling. Dmp1 is a Myb-like transcription factor that activates the Arf-p53 pathway. The Dmp1 promoter was activated by a classical NF-kappaB activator tumor necrosis factor alpha, but repressed by treatment of cells with non-classical NF-kappaB activators, anthracyclins and UV-C. p65 and other subsets of NF-kappaB proteins were bound to the Dmp1 promoter following anthracyclin/UV-C treatment of rodent fibroblasts. This resulted in the downregulation of Dmp1 mRNA and protein. Repression of the Dmp1 transcription by anthracyclins depended on the unique NF-kappaB site on the promoter. Downregulation of p65 significantly attenuated the repression of the Dmp1 promoter by anthracyclins/UV-C. The amount of Dmp1 bound to the Arf promoter decreased significantly upon anthracyclin treatment; this, in turn, downregulated the Arf levels. Repression of the Arf promoter by p65 or anthracyclins depended on Dmp1, which was significantly attenuated in Dmp1(-/-) cells. Both Dmp1(-/-)and Arf(-/-)cells showed resistance to anthracyclin-induced cell death compared to wild-type cells; non-immortalized p65-knockdown cells were much more sensitive. Thus, the Dmp1-Arf pathway is repressed by p65 in response to genotoxic stress, which implicates a novel mechanism of p53 inactivation by NF-kappaB.

Genome analyses of three strains of Rhodobacter sphaeroides: evidence of rapid evolution of chromosome II

Three strains of Rhodobacter sphaeroides of diverse origin have been under investigation in our laboratory for their genome complexities, including the presence of multiple chromosomes and the distribution of essential genes within their genomes. The genome of R. sphaeroides 2.4.1 has been completely sequenced and fully annotated, and now two additional strains (ATCC 17019 and ATCC 17025) of R. sphaeroides have been sequenced. Thus, genome comparisons have become a useful approach in determining the evolutionary relationships among different strains of R. sphaeroides. In this study, the concatenated chromosomal sequences from the three strains of R. sphaeroides were aligned, using Mauve, to examine the extent of shared DNA regions and the degree of relatedness among their chromosome-specific DNA sequences. In addition, the exact intra- and interchromosomal DNA duplications were analyzed using Mummer. Genome analyses employing these two independent approaches revealed that strain ATCC 17025 diverged considerably from the other two strains, 2.4.1 and ATCC 17029, and that the two latter strains are more closely related to one another. Results further demonstrated that chromosome II (CII)-specific DNA sequences of R. sphaeroides have rapidly evolved, while CI-specific DNA sequences have remained highly conserved. Aside from the size variation of CII of R. sphaeroides, variation in sequence lengths of the CII-shared DNA regions and their high sequence divergence among strains of R. sphaeroides suggest the involvement of CII in the evolution of strain-specific genomic rearrangements, perhaps requiring strains to adapt in specialized niches.

Efficacy of nitroglycerin inhalation in reducing pulmonary arterial hypertension in children with congenital heart disease

BACKGROUND

There has been a renewed interest in nitric oxide donor drugs, such as nitroglycerin, delivered by the inhalational route for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We investigated the acute effects of inhaled nitroglycerin on pulmonary and systemic haemodynamics in children with PAH associated with congenital heart disease.

METHODS

Nineteen children with acyanotic congenital heart disease and a left to right shunt with severe PAH, undergoing routine diagnostic cardiac catheterization were included in this study. Systolic, diastolic and mean systemic as well as pulmonary artery pressures, right atrial pressure and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) were recorded and systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI) and pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRI) were calculated at room air, following 100% oxygen as well as after nitroglycerin inhalation in all patients.

RESULTS

Systolic, diastolic and mean pulmonary artery pressure and PVRI decreased significantly, whereas heart rate, systolic, diastolic and mean systemic arterial pressure, PCWP and SVRI did not change significantly following 100% oxygen or inhalation of nitroglycerin.

CONCLUSION

Inhaled nitroglycerin significantly decreases systolic, diastolic and mean pulmonary artery pressure as well as PVRI without affecting systemic haemodynamics, and thus can be used as a therapeutic modality for acute reduction of PAH in children with congenital heart disease.