Radial Basis Kernel Regressive Feature Extraction and Robert Ensembled Brown Boost Classifier for Attack Detection in Cloud Environment

Cloud computing shares the resource in information technology field. The existing technique is failed to provide better results for identifying unknown attacks with higher accuracy and lesser time consumption. In order to address these problems, Radial Basis Kernel Regressive Feature Extracted Brown Boost Classification (RBKRFEBBC) method is introduced for performing the attack detection in cloud computing. The main objective of RBKRFEBBC method is to improve the attack detection performance with higher accuracy and minimal time consumption. Dichotomous radial basis kernelized regressive function is used in RBKRFEBBC method to extract the relevant features through determining the correlation between the output and one or more input variables (i.e., features of patient transaction data). After extracting relevant features, GRNBBC algorithm is used in RBKRFEBBC method to improve the secured data communication performance through classifying the patient data transaction as attack presence or attack absence. By this way, attack detection is carried out in accurate manner. Experimental evaluation is carried out by NSL-KDD dataset using different metrics like attack detection accuracy, attack detection time and error rate. The evaluation result shows RBKRFEBBC method improves the accuracy and minimizes the time consumption as well as error rate than existing works.

Utility of Acridine Orange staining for detection of bacteria from positive blood cultures

The diagnostic performance of AO stain was evaluated for the detection of bacteria and or fungi from positive blood cultures. The sensitivity of Gram stain (GS) was 98.26% while Acridine Orange (AO) stain proved to be more sensitive (100%) with a Positive and Negative Predictive Value of 100% each. The specificity of both the stains was 100%. Overall agreement between the two stains was 98.23% (688/700). The organisms that were missed by GS and positive by AO were Candida species (Sutton, 2006) and Gram negative bacilli (GNB) (Sutton, 2006). Sensitivity of GS was 82.35% and AO was 100% among mixed cultures. Immediate reporting of the results of AO stain would have a significant impact on clinical management of patients with serious blood stream infections.

Application of real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay to detect Legionella pneumophila in patients of community-acquired pneumonia in a tertiary care hospital

Legionella pneumophila is one of the important pathogen responsible for community -acquired pneumonia attributing for 1-5% of cases. Since early and accurate therapy reduces mortality, rapid and reliable diagnostic methods are needed. A total of 134 samples of blood, urine and respiratory tract fluids were collected. Blood was tested for IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies using commercially available kits. A total of 8 (6%) samples were found to be positive for L. pneumophila by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), compared to conventional PCR where 6 (4.4%) samples were positive. Serology was positive in a total of 32 (23%) cases though only 3 (2.2%) of the PCR-positive cases were positive by serology as well. These results suggest that real-time PCR can detect Legionella infection early in the course of the disease before serological response develops.

Altered oxidative stress and carbohydrate metabolism in canine mammary tumors

Aim:

Mammary tumors are the most prevalent type of neoplasms in canines. Even though cancer induced metabolic alterations are well established, the clinical data describing the metabolic profiles of animal tumors is not available. Hence, our present investigation was carried out with the aim of studying changes in carbohydrate metabolism along with the level of oxidative stress in canine mammary tumors.

Materials and Methods:

Fresh mammary tumor tissues along with the adjacent healthy tissues were collected from the college surgical ward. The levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione, protein, hexose, hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) were analyzed in all the tissues. The results were analyzed statistically.

Results:

More than two-fold increase in TBARS and three-fold increase in glutathione levels were observed in neoplastic tissues. Hexokinase activity and hexose concentration (175%) was found to be increased, whereas glucose-6-phosphatase (33%), fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase (42%), and G6PD (5 fold) activities were reduced in tumor mass compared to control.

Conclusion:

Finally, it was revealed that lipid peroxidation was increased with differentially altered carbohydrate metabolism in canine mammary tumors.

Microbiological spectrum of brain abscess at a tertiary care hospital in South India: 24-year data and review

Intracranial abscesses are life-threatening infections that pose a diagnostic challenge not only to the neurosurgeon but also to the microbiologists. Detailed studies documenting the spectrum of infecting agents involved in brain abscesses are limited from India. Materials and Methods. This is a retrospective analysis of 352 samples from 1987 to 2010 analyzed at a tertiary care hospital in South India from 1987 to 2010, to document the changing trends with time. Results. The age of the patients ranged from 2 to 80 years, a larger number of males being affected. Otogenic infections were the most common cause while cryptogenic abscesses were 20%. Gram stain and culture positivity were 78% each. Gram-positive and negative facultative aerobes and obligate anaerobes were also on the rise. Unusual organisms, like Burkholderia pseudomallei, Salmonella typhi, Nocardia species, Cladosporium bantiana, Fonsecaea pedrosoi, Entamoeba histolytica, and Acanthamoeba were also isolated and/or detected from the brain abscesses aspirate or resected tissue. Summary. New and emerging pathogens associated with brain abscess, especially in immunosuppressed individuals, have renewed the necessity of an early detection, and it will be of great value in appropriate management of patients with brain abscess.

Alkaline phosphatase activity is expressed in murine splenic B-lymphocytes sensitized in vivo with Tetanus toxoid

Alkaline phosphatase (APase) activity and proliferative response to Tetanus toxoid (TT) were measured in murine splenic lymphocytes immunized in vivo with TT. APase activity was enhanced in TT-stimulated B-lymphocytes concomitant with an increase in the proliferative response in a dose-dependent manner. Cytochemical staining for APase using beta-naphthyl phosphate also showed an increase in APase positive cells in TT-stimulated lymphocyte population. The results suggest that membrane APase expression is a physiological phenomenon occurring in antigen-stimulated B-lymphocytes.

An investigation of aeroallergens affecting urban Malaysian asthmatics

We investigated the aeroallergens affecting 200 asthmatics from the University Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and found 164 (82%) patients with skin prick test (SPT) reactivity to one or more of a panel of 14 allergens, which included indoor and outdoor animal and plant aeroallergens. Reactivity was most frequent to the indoor airborne allergens, with 159 (79.5%) reacting to either or both house dust mite (Dermatophagoides) species and 87 (43.5%) to cockroach. The SPT reactivity to house dust mites corresponded with the finding that patients found house dust to be the main precipitant of asthmatic attacks.

Effect of zinc on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes in hepatic and brain tissues of chick embryos

Chick embryos were treated with different concentrations (25 and 75 mumoles/kg egg wt.) of zinc on the 14th day of embryonic development. The levels of thiobarbuturic acid reacting substances (TBARS), glutathione (GSH) and activity levels of antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase were measured in both hepatic and brain tissues after different time intervals (24 h, 72 h and 120 h) of zinc exposure. Increased levels of TBARS were observed after 24 h of zinc treatment and thereafter (72 h and 120 h) the levels were decreased in both the tissues. Significant induction was observed in antioxidant enzyme activities in both the tissues after 24 h and 72 h when compared to 120 h. However, the GSH levels were increased at 24 h and 72 h and thereafter decreased in both the tissues at 120 h. The elevated levels of antioxidant enzymes at 24 h and 72 h may be responsible for the reduction of TBARS at 72 h and 120 h in developing chick embryos.

Inhibition of lipid peroxidation by selenium in chick embryos

Toxic doses of Selenium (Se) (12.5 and 37.5 micro moles/Kg egg wt.) administered to 14 day old chick embryos reduced the level of lipid peroxides (LPO) significantly both in hepatic and brain tissues. However, the LPO formation was inhibited maximally at early hours after exposure (3 h and 6 h) and it was gradually increased thereafter to normal levels by 48 h. Further, the effect of Se on some of the antioxidant enzymes like glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase were studied. In hepatic tissues GPx, GST and SOD activities were increased at 6 h post treatment with no change in the activities of GR and catalase. However, at 48 h GST and catalase activities were found to be increased, while GPx, GR and SOD activities were not affected. In brain at 6 h increase in the activities of GPx, GST, GR and SOD and no change of catalase were observed. At 6 h glutathione (GSH) levels were reduced in both hepatic and brain tissues. Our results suggest that the elevated levels of antioxidant enzymes at early hours were successful in bringing LPO levels back to normal.

Inhibitory effect of selenium on enzymes involved in heme biosynthetic pathway in chick embryos

Effect of different concentrations of selenium (Se) on heme biosynthesis was studied at different developmental stages of chick embryo. The first rate limiting enzyme ALA-synthase (ALA-S; E.C.2.3-1.37) activity was enhanced by selenium, while hepatic and blood ALA-dehydratase activity (ALA-d; E.C.3.2.1.24) was decreased. Hepatic and blood free-sulfhydryl (-SH) group contents were significantly decreased by Se. Further, hepatic aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and total blood porphyrin levels were enhanced and hepatic heme levels were depleted by selenium exposure. Heme biosynthesis was maximally inhibited in the E4 (4th day injected embryos) when compared to later periods.

Isolation of 75Se binding protein from hepatic tissues of chick embryos

Distribution study using 75Se shows that maximum accumulation was in liver tissues after 24h of 75Se administration. Induction of selenium binding protein (Se-P) in hepatic tissues of chick embryo was observed. Chick embryo hepatic Se-P was isolated after 24h of 75Se treatment using Sephadex G-75 column chromatography. Fractions of induced protein shows the presence of maximum concentration of 75Se. This induced protein was found to have an approximate molecular weight of 56 KD on molecular sieve. It also showed an absorbance maxima at 254 nm, which indicates the presence of high concentrations of sulphydryl groups.

Selenium altered regulation of heme biosynthesis in chick embryos

A few selected indices of heme biosynthesis have been studied in liver and blood from chick embryos receiving different concentrations of selenium of toxicological significance 12.5, 25 and 37.5 mumoles/Kg egg.Wt.). The first rate limiting enzyme Aminolevulinic acid synthetase activity was enhanced by selenium treatment under both IN VIVO and IN VITRO conditions, while hepatic ALA dehydratase activity was unaltered. Hepatic and blood free sulfhydryl (-SH) group contents were significantly decreased by selenium. In accordance with these results, blood aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA dehydratase) and hepatic ferrochelatase, both the sulfhydryl group requiring enzymes, were significantly inhibited. Further, hepatic ALA, total blood porphyrin levels were enhanced and hepatic heme levels were depleted by selenium exposure. These results suggest selenium as a novel regulator of heme biosynthesis by altering the activities of sulfhydryl group requiring enzymes of chick embryos.

Effect of lead on lipid peroxidation of the hepatic subcellular organelles of developing chick embryos

The effect of lead on hepatic mitochondria and microsomes of chick embryo was studied with special attention to the role of lipid peroxidation in the manifestation of lead toxicity. Mitochondrial enzymes such as succinate dehydrogenase, cytochrome C oxidase and ATPase were found to decrease in a dose dependent manner upon lead administration. Further, mitochondrial cytochromes, microsomal cytochrome P-450 and heme levels were reduced considerably with concomitant increase of mitochondrial and microsomal lipid peroxides. In the present investigation an attempt has been made to correlate the lead induced lipid peroxidation, the loss of mitochondrial and microsomal hemoproteins and the inhibition of mitochondrial enzymes in chick embryo.

Lead-induced lipid peroxidation and antioxidant defense components of developing chick embryos

Administration of lead (1.25 and 2.5 mumol/kg egg weight) to 14-day-old chick embryos enhanced the level of lipid peroxides (LPO) in tissues of liver, brain, and heart. Accumulation of LPO was maximum at 9 h after treatment with lead and returned to normal level by 72 h. Further, we have studied the levels of glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase. At 9 h posttreatment, the hepatic GR was reduced significantly with the induction of GST and considerable depletion of GSH. However, in brain and heart, both GR and GST activities were unaltered with significant reduction of GSH. Further, an increase of non-Se-dependent GPx and SOD activities were observed in liver, brain, and heart. Similarly, at 72 h, although the GPx activity was found decreased in liver and brain, the GST, catalase, and SOD activities were significantly increased in all the three tissues alike, suggesting tissue-specific changes of antioxidant defense components in response to lead treatment. Our results suggests that the elevated levels of GST, SOD, and catalase at 72 h were successful in bringing LPO levels back to normal.

Selenium as a novel regulator of porphyrin biosynthesis in germinating seedlings of mung bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

5-Aminolevulinic acid, porphyrin and chlorophyll contents as well the activities of 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase and PBG deaminase were studied in selenium treated mung bean seedlings. Selenium had no effect on 5-aminolevulinic acid synthetic ability but inhibited 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase and PBG deaminase activities. Further, it was observed that selenium induced accumulation of protoporphyrin-IX and Mg-protoporphyrin ester and decreased chlorophyll levels in both light and dark-grown seedlings. The results suggest the possible regulatory role of selenium on chlorophyll synthesis by interacting with sulfhydryl containing enzymes 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase and porphobilinogen deaminase.