DISTRIBUTION OF VIRULENCE FACTORS AMONG VANCOMYCIN RESISTANT ENTEROCOCCUS FAECALIS FROM DENTAL ISOLATES

ABSTRACTObjective: Enterococcus faecalis causing serious infections especially as a nosocomial pathogen was reinforced in many epidemiological studies. Manyvirulence factors were found to be involved in the pathogenesis of enterococcal infections and understanding of those factors are still limited. The aimof this study was to detect the presence of seven virulence genes in E. faecalis isolates from various dental conditions.Methods: A total of 42 E. faecalis isolates that were found to be vancomycin resistant were studied. Identification of the isolates was done bybiochemical methods and 16s rRNA and screened for the presence of virulence genes eep, ace, asa1, asa373, enlA, fsr, and sprE using PCR.Results: All the 42 isolates were found to contain at least one and concomitantly up to as many as six virulence genes, with three or four being acommon pattern. Most of the strains carried the ace gene (95%), and other genes were present at the frequency of 33% to 90% as well and 12% ofthe isolates carried eep+ace+asa1+asa373+fsr+sprE pattern in combination.Conclusion: From the data, it was observed that with different dental (clinical) conditions both dental caries and gingivitis were found to have variousand highest prevalence of virulence factors though all the virulence genes were observed randomly in all the isolates. It should be pointed out thatgene silencing could play its part in virulence determinants regardless of mere presence of virulence gene.Keywords: Virulence factors, Aggregation substance, Enterolysin, Collagen-binding protein, Molecular detection

Acute and Subchronic Oral Toxicity Assessment of the Ethanolic Extract of the root of Oncoba spinosa (Flacourtiaceae) in Rodents

Purpose: To investigate the toxicological profile of the ethanol extract of Oncoba spinosa (EEOS) after acute and sub-chronic administration to rodents.Methods: In the acute toxicity study, a single administration of the extract at doses of 2000 and 5000 mg/kg, respectively, was given to the mice. Mice were observed for general behavioural changes, adverse effects and mortality up to 14 days post-treatment. In sub-acute toxicity studies, EEOS was given orally to male and female rats at doses of 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg for 28 days. Body weight, food intake and water intake were monitored throughout the experimental period; hematological parameters, biochemical parameters of the blood and histopathology of various organs were also evaluated at the end of the experiment.Results: In the acute toxicity study, both the doses used did not cause any mortality or significant behavioural changes. Daily oral administration of EEOS for 28 days, in the sub-chronic toxicity study, did not show any treatment-related abnormalities with regard to hematological and biochemical parameters. There were no significant differences in body weight and organ weight between the control and treated groups (p < 0.05). Histological analysis did not show any morphological changes in the major vital organs (liver, kidney, stomach, spleen, brain and heart) tested.Conclusion: These results demonstrate that the extract may not have any single dose toxicity. The LD50 value is greater than 5000 mg/kg. The no-observed adverse effects level (NOAEL) was considered to be 1000 mg/kg for male and female rats, respectively.Keywords: Oncoba spinosa, Acute and sub-acute toxicity, Hematological, Biochemical parameter

A Rule Based Biped Dynamic Walking

Dynamic walking approach has got its significance because of its energy efficiency in walking. Walking models are made using this approach which would consume energy as low as the energy required for human being walking. The basis of this dynamic walking is purely passive walking which takes no energy for walking. For a simple compass model passive walking can be achieved only for particular initial conditions (angular positions and velocities) which are found by trial and error or from previous experience.Various ways are derived to make the model walk on a level ground by supplying external energy through some means i.e torques at hip joint and ankle joints which is called active walking. Two approaches are available for active walking, one is creating virtual slope and then by applying equivalent torques at ankle and hip as the functions of virtual slope;other approach is using torsional springs and dampers at hip as well as ankles such that the torques are given in terms of springs' stiffness coefficient and damping coefficient. The stability is analyzed based on ZMP position. When ZMP of the system falls within the foot support area then system is said to be stable

Search for CPCP violation in the D+→π+π0D^{+}\to\pi^{+}\pi^{0} decay at Belle

We search for $CP$ violation in the charged charm meson decay $D^{+}\to\pi^{+}\pi^{0}$, based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $\rm 921~fb^{-1}$ collected by the Belle experiment at the KEKB $e^{+}e^{-}$ asymmetric-energy collider. The measured $CP$ violating asymmetry is $[+2.31\pm1.24({\rm stat})\pm0.23({\rm syst})]\%$, which is consistent with the standard model prediction and has a significantly improved precision compared to previous results.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Evidence for Isospin Violation and Measurement of CPCP Asymmetries in B→K∗(892)γB \to K^{\ast}(892) \gamma

We report the first evidence for isospin violation in $B \to K^* \gamma$ and the first measurement of difference of $CP$ asymmetries between $B^+ \to K^{*+} \gamma$ and $B^0 \to K^{*0} \gamma$. This analysis is based on the data sample containing $772 \times 10^6 B\bar{B}$ pairs that was collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB energy-asymmetric $e^+ e^-$ collider. We find evidence for the isospin violation with a significance of 3.1$\sigma$, $\Delta_{0+} = (+6.2 \pm 1.5 ({\rm stat.}) \pm 0.6 ({\rm syst.}) \pm 1.2 (f_{+-}/f_{00}))$\%, where the third uncertainty is due to the uncertainty on the fraction of $B^+B^-$ to $B^0\bar{B}^0$ production in $\Upsilon(4S)$ decays. The measured value is consistent with predictions of the SM. The result for the difference of $CP$ asymmetries is $\Delta A_{CP} = (+2.4 \pm 2.8({\rm stat.}) \pm 0.5({\rm syst.}))$\%, consistent with zero. The measured branching fractions and $CP$ asymmetries for charged and neutral $B$ meson decays are the most precise to date. We also calculate the ratio of branching fractions of $B^0 \to K^{*0} \gamma$ to $B_s^0 \to \phi \gamma$.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures. shown at FPCP2017. accepted by PR

Angular analysis of B0→K∗(892)0ℓ+ℓ−B^0 \to K^\ast(892)^0 \ell^+ \ell^-

We present a measurement of angular observables, $P_4'$, $P_5'$, $P_6'$, $P_8'$, in the decay $B^0 \to K^\ast(892)^0 \ell^+ \ell^-$, where $\ell^+\ell^-$ is either $e^+e^-$ or $\mu^+\mu^-$. The analysis is performed on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $711~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ containing $772\times 10^{6}$ $B\bar B$ pairs, collected at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider KEKB. Four angular observables, $P_{4,5,6,8}'$ are extracted in five bins of the invariant mass squared of the lepton system, $q^2$. We compare our results for $P_{4,5,6,8}'$ with Standard Model predictions including the $q^2$ region in which the LHCb collaboration reported the so-called $P_5'$ anomaly.Comment: Conference paper for LHC Ski 2016. SM prediction for $P_{6}'$ corrected and reference for arXiv:1207.2753 adde

Evaluation of Awareness Status of Dental Out Patients for Dental Treatment with or without Pain

Fear, cost, safety, and time are the four main reasons people delay visiting a dentist in early stages. Anxiety, discomfort, and potential issues can lead to a delay. Many workers lack dental insurance, especially those working for themselves or small businesses. Busy schedules and COVID-19 make it difficult to schedule appointments. People\u27s beliefs about dental treatment and painful extractions often discourage dental care, affecting rural and urban areas. Oral health education can raise awareness and encourage dental care. In our study we have evaluated the awareness status of dental out patients for dental treatment coming with pain or without pain to Institutional Dental Hospital. Here we conducted a study regarding Evaluation of awareness status of dental out patients for dental treatment with or without Pain in 300 Subjects

Microbial Production of Amylase from Cassava Waste

Bacterium mura was isolated from cassava waste, (Tamil Nadu, India) for the production of extracellular amylase. On screening for amylase producing bacteria, 5 isolates showed positive results, of which Bacterium mura showed best amylase activity. The optimal conditions for the amylase activity were found at pH 6.0 (39 U/ml) and at temperature 37°C. Amylase activity was found to be higher when lactose (31 U/ml), casein, barley (42 U/ml) and SDS (32 U/ml) were used as the carbon source, nitrogen source, agro waste source and as additives respectively. The enzyme was partially purified by dialysis and the molecular mass was found to be 65kDa by SDS-PAGE. The partially purified and crude amylase was confirmed by zymogram. The partially purified amylase was used in bread making, which improved the softening of the bread and was used as a de-sizing agent