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A novel Gram-negative gamma-proteobacterium, non-sporulating motile, rod or coccus-shaped bacterium designated as strain PKS7T was isolated from a sediment sample collected from Chilika Lake, Odisha, India and characterized taxonomically using a polyphasic approach. The major quinone was Q8 and major cellular fatty acids were C16:0, C17:0, C15:1w8c, C17:1w8c, C12:03-OH. The chemotaxonomic features confirmed the isolate to be a member of genus Rheinheimera. 16SrRNA gene sequence of strain PKS7T was closest in similarity to R. aquimaris SW-353T (99.36% identity), R. muenzenbergensis E49T (98.63%), R. nanhaiensis E407-8T (98.35%), R. japonica KMM 9513T (98.35%) and R. baltica DSM-14885T (98.08%). The 16S rRNA gene sequence-based phylogenetic analysis and sequence similarity between the isolated strain and type strains also revealed its affiliation to genus Rheinheimera. DNA–DNA relatedness with closest type strain R. aquimaris SW-353T was 25.0% (±3.40) and in silico DDH showed values in the range of 17.7–37.1% with the type strains of the genus Rheinheimera for which whole genome sequence are available. Strain PKS7T was also distinguished by a multi-locus sequence analysis (MLST) by alingning gyrB gene sequences of the closest type strains of Rheinheimera. The draft genome of strain PKS7T contained 32 contigs of total size 3,963,569 bp comprising of 3763 predicted coding sequences with a G + C content of 50.7 mol%. Comparision of phenotypic and genotypic data with its closest neighbours and closely related species confirm the strain PKS7T to be recognised as a novel species within the genus Rheinheimera, for which the name Rheinheimera pleomorphica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is PKS7T (= KCTC 42365 = JCM 30460).

Nowadays the conventional plastic wastes are very challenging to environments and its production cost also creates an economic crisis due to petrochemical-based plastic. In order to solve this problem, the current studies were aimed at screening and characterizing these PHA producing isolates and evaluating the suitability of some carbon source for newly screened PHA producing isolates. Some carbon sources such as D-fructose, glucose, molasses, D-ribose and sucrose were evaluated for PHA production. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. The 16SrRNA gene sequence of these isolates was performed. This newly isolated taxa was related to Bacillus species. It was designed as Bacillus sp. LPPI-18 and affiliated Bacillus cereus ATCC 14577T (AE01687) (99.10%). Paenibacillus sp. 172 (AF273740.1) was used as an out-group. Bacillus sp. LPPI-18 is a gram-positive, rod-shaped, endospore former, and citrate test positive. This isolate showed positive for amylase, catalase, pectinase, and protease test. They produced intracellular PHA granules when this isolate was stained with Sudan Black B (SBB) and Nile Blue A (NBA) preliminary and specific staining dyes, respectively. Both Temperature and pH used to affect PHA productivity. Bacteria are able to reserve PHA in the form of granules during stress conditions. This isolate produces only when supplied with carbon sources. More PHA contents (PCs) were obtained from glucose, molasses, and D-fructose. In this regard, the maximum mean value of PC was obtained from glucose (40.55±0.7%) and the minimum was obtained from D-Ribose (12.4±1.4%). Great variations (p≤0.05) of PCs were observed among glucose & sucrose, molasses & sucrose and D-fructose & sucrose carbon sources for PHA productivity (PP) of Cell Dry Weight (CDW) g/L. After extraction, PHA film was produced for this typical isolate using glucose as a sole carbon source. Fourier transform infrared spectrum was performed for this isolate and showed the feature of polyester at 1719.64 to 1721.16 wavelength for these extracted samples. The peak of fingerprinting (band of carboxylic acid group) at this wave-length is a characteristic feature of PHB and corresponds to the ester functional group (C=O).

This study reports the whole-genome sequencing and sequence analysis of a bacterial isolate Brevibacterium casei strain LS14, isolated from Loktak Lake, Imphal, India. The de novo assembled genome reported in this paper featured a size of 3,809,532 bp, has GC content of 68% and contains 3602 genomic features, including 3551 protein-coding genes, 46 tRNA and 5rRNA. A biosurfactant biosynthesis gene cluster in the genome of the isolated strain was identified using AntiSMASH online tool V3.0.5 and KAAS (KEGG Automatic Annotation Server). The presence of biosurfactant was demonstrated by drop collapse, oil displacement and emulsification index. Subsequent chemical characterization using FTIR and LC–MS analyses revealed surfactin and terpene containing biosurfactant moieties. Also, the presence of genes involved in terpenoid synthesis pathway in the genome sequence may account for biosurfactant terpenoid backbone, but genes for later-stage conversion of terpenoid to biosurfactant were not ascertained.

Tailored, one-on-one counseling delivered via cell phone was very effective in retaining mothers with HIV in care and in promoting infant HIV testing and antenatal and postnatal care attendance. The highest risk of loss to follow-up among women with HIV accessing PMTCT services was prior to delivery and then after infant HIV testing at 6 weeks. Challenges include continued limited access to cell phones, difficulty with reaching participants on the phone, and poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy for a substantial percentage of the population., Background: We evaluated the effectiveness of a cell phone counseling intervention to promote retention in care and HIV testing of infants among women with HIV accessing prevention of mother-to-child services in Kisumu, Kenya. Methods: Between May 2013 and September 2015, we recruited 404 pregnant women with HIV who were between 14 and 36 weeks of gestation and randomly assigned them to the intervention (n=207) or control arm (n=197). Retention was assessed at delivery and at 6 and 14 weeks postpartum. We also measured uptake of infant HIV testing. The intervention comprised a fixed protocol of counselor-delivered phone calls to provide one-to-one need-based support. The number of calls made varied depending on when participants presented for antenatal care services; the maximum number was 42. The control group received routine care. We evaluated retention at 3 time points using the complementary log-log regression model taking into account factors associated with retention and loss to follow-up time. We calculated the incidence rate for HIV transmission among infants and used binary logistic regression to identify predictors of HIV infection among infants. Results: Participants attended on average 63% of the required number of counseling calls during the study period. Retention was higher in the intervention arm than the control arm at delivery (95.2% vs. 77.7%, respectively); 6 weeks postpartum (93.9% vs. 72.9%, respectively); and 14 weeks postpartum (83.3% vs. 66.5%, respectively) (P90%, used to assess adherence to ART, was associated with lower odds of a positive HIV test among infants (adjusted odds ratio=0.20; 95% CI=0.04, 0.99). Attendance at antenatal and postnatal care visits was higher among participants in the intervention arm than the control arm. Conclusions: The one-on-one tailored counseling delivered via cell phone was effective in retaining mothers with HIV infection in care and promoting uptake of infant HIV testing and antenatal and postnatal care services. Phone counseling offers a practical approach to reach and retain pregnant women with HIV infection and postpartum mothers in care, but greater emphasis on collection of medications and adherence is required.

Ever-growing human population, their need for food, energy, and water along with various deadly pollutants are the major threat to the mankind. Hence, there is a need to develop sustainable technologies to provide constant supply of food and energy to enable a circular economy. Wastes in developing countries, if properly managed, can be potential source of energy, recycled materials, and revenue. For waste treatment, technologies such as fermentation, anaerobic digestion (AD), pyrolysis, incineration, and gasification can be used. However, selection of the right technology and proper process will depend on the type of waste, it’s generation, and the desired economy of scale. Hence, there is a need to develop an integrated biorefinery approach so that the waste can be treated to recover energy, produce various value-added products, and reduce greenhouse gases for a sustainable environment. Global availability of freshwater is reducing alarmingly. Majority of the freshwater is used for human consumption and, to a great extent, for industry and agriculture. However, all such anthropogenic activities lead to the generation of wastewater in large quantities that need to be recycled effectively to reduce dependence on freshwater. Biorefineries based on wastewater can play a great role as has been recorded in different parts of the world. This will generate closing the gap in water cycle, recovery of energy and valuable biochemicals, new business opportunities, reduction in greenhouse gases, saving natural resources which eventually will lead to development of a sustainable industrial ecosystem, and establishment of a circular bioeconomy.

Polysaccharides are nontoxic, biodegradable, and natural carbohydrate polymers virtually produced by almost all microbes, covering the surface of the cell and serve as the intracellular energy stores, and play a vital aspect in many biological pathways such as response to the infection, signal transduction, adhesion, and acts as a buffer against changing environments. They are mostly present as extracellular capsules, slime creations, or sheaths. Bioactive polysaccharides were proven to show many immune modulatory and health-promoting effects in diseases like cancer and some inflammatory diseases. Thus, substantial research has been carried out on revealing the mechanism behind the biological activity by structural and functional analysis. Apart from their applications in the health sectors, these polysaccharides have huge pertinence in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical industries as thickeners, probiotics, bioadhesives, and gelling agents. In environmental sectors, they are used as biosorbent and bioflocculant. In this chapter, several production processes of EPSs using a cost-effective biomass, commercial applications of the EPSs, and general mechanisms of EPS production are briefly described.

Pigments are compounds capable of absorbing light and are responsible for displaying a specific color. Several ores, insects, plants, microbes are the source of the natural pigments. However, microorganisms have enormous potential in producing pigments due to its stability, availability, productivity, easy downstream processing, and yield. Pigments like melanins, quinines melanins, flavins, violacein, monascins, and carotenoids have been produced by microorganisms. Microbial pigments have gained more interest in present research not just due to their utilization as colorants in industries like food, plastic, textile, paint, printing, and paper, but it also possess several biological properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, and various other bio-pharmacological activities that have been discussed in this chapter. This chapter will lead to the exploration of microorganisms producing pigments, their application in various fields as well as their ultimatums, and future prospective for various applications.

In the circular economy, reduction of the vigorous usages of nonrenewable resources is becoming the leading scenario. Fungal mycelium is the vegetative part of fungus consisting of a number of filamentous fibers that extend out of the fungus and is considered to be natural, fast growing, safe, and renewable. The ability to form self-assembling bonds helps them to grow quickly on biological and agricultural wastes and produce miles of thin fibers which bind to the substrate to form a strong biodegradable material and can easily be shaped for the production of packaging materials, architecture, and various new designed objects. With the benefit of cost-effective raw materials and sustainable substitute to polystyrene like hazardous synthetic materials, this mycelia-based material is becoming the material of choice. This chapter reviews the present scenario of technology-based mushroom cultivation using wastes generated from the agricultural industries and also focuses on a variety of utilizations as an alternative replacement for synthetic polystyrene.

This study reports the whole-genome sequencing and sequence analysis of a bacterial isolate Brevibacterium casei strain LS14, isolated from Loktak Lake, Imphal, India. The de novo assembled genome reported in this paper featured a size of 3,809,532 bp, has GC content of 68% and contains 3602 genomic features, including 3551 protein-coding genes, 46 tRNA and 5rRNA. A biosurfactant biosynthesis gene cluster in the genome of the isolated strain was identified using AntiSMASH online tool V3.0.5 and KAAS (KEGG Automatic Annotation Server). The presence of biosurfactant was demonstrated by drop collapse, oil displacement and emulsification index. Subsequent chemical characterization using FTIR and LC–MS analyses revealed surfactin and terpene containing biosurfactant moieties. Also, the presence of genes involved in terpenoid synthesis pathway in the genome sequence may account for biosurfactant terpenoid backbone, but genes for later-stage conversion of terpenoid to biosurfactant were not ascertained. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-021-02867-9.

Streptomyces, isolated from marine and estuarine habitat have been widely recognized as a potential source of antifungal, anti-tumour, anti-bacterial compounds. In the present study, the antimicrobial agent production potential of a Streptomyces cinereoruber sp was evaluated. The selective isolation of the strain was carried out on starch casein agar. The primary screening of the Streptomyces isolate was done by cross streak method against pathogenic test strains Escherichia.coli MTCC 82, Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96, Bacillus cereus IP406 and Salmonella typhi MTCC 734 and Micrococcus leuteus and the antimicrobial property against Micrococcus leuteus was confirmed. The secondary screening was carried out by using the culture supernatant against the test strain by agar well diffusion method. The growth and antimicrobial production ability of the strain against Micrococcus leuteus was studied. The antimicrobial agent production was also observed till pH 11 and NaCl concentration 3% (w/v). The partially purified compound showed a peak similar to streptomycin in HPLC. The culture condition for the production of the compound was optimised.

Klebsiella sp. strain KBG6.2 is a potential salt-tolerant, plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium isolated from a rice field in Konark, Odisha, India. Here, we report the whole-genome sequencing of Klebsiella sp. strain KBG6.2, which has a 5.038-Mb genome containing 4,867 predicted protein-coding sequences and 79 RNA genes.

Intense anthropogenic activity and consumerist culture of the global billions generate millions of tons of wastes throughout the world on a day-to-day basis. India with its approximately 1.3 billion people, that is 18% of the world population, also contributes substantially to waste generation and deposition. Although these wastes are rich in nutrients, organic compounds, and energy, they are not properly managed and exploited toward recovery and reuse. Efficient resource recovery and reuse can create sustainable livelihood and also support green economy by reducing waste and improving general environmental health and recovery of cost. Thus there is a need to recycle and reuse the waste produced from various sources in an efficient manner to meet the demand. This chapter elaborates the description of major agriculture and aquaculture wastes in India and focuses primarily on recovery of agriculture and aquaculture wastes for reuse and recycling. Since the amount of waste, particularly wastewater produced in India by agri-aquaculture practices, is huge, various avenues of recycling and eventual reuse have been discussed. Finally the contribution of the resource recovery approach toward bio-based economy has been considered.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS), which confers a high risk for cardiovascular diseases, needs early diagnosis and treatment to reduce morbidity and mortality. Lipid accumulation product index has been reported to be an inexpensive marker of visceral fat and metabolic syndrome. This study aimed to evaluate lipid accumulation product index as a marker for metabolic syndrome in the Indian population where the prevalence of the condition is steadily increasing.A hospital-based, case-control study was conducted with 72 diagnosed cases of metabolic syndrome and 79 control subjects. In all the participants, body mass index (BMI) and lipid accumulation product index were calculated. The difference between cases and controls in BMI, waist circumference (WC), and lipid accumulation product index was assessed by Mann-Whitney U test/unpaired t-test. Associations of BMI, WC, and lipid accumulation product index with metabolic syndrome were compared by multiple logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic analysis.BMI, WC, and lipid accumulation product index were significantly higher in metabolic syndrome (P 0.05). Although all were independently associated with metabolic syndrome, lipid accumulation product index had the highest prediction accuracy. The parameter also had a high area under curve of 0.901 (95% confidence interval 0.85-0.95) and a high sensitivity (76.4%), specificity (91.1%), positive predictive value (88.7%), and negative predictive value (80.9%) for detection of metabolic syndrome.In the Indian population, lipid accumulation product index is a better predictor of metabolic syndrome compared to BMI and WC and should be incorporated in laboratory reports as early, accurate, and inexpensive indicator of metabolic syndrome.

Optimization of media composition for microbial growth is crucial particularly in industrial processes to obtain the desired end product. The waste from sea food industries includes the non-edible parts of shrimp, crabs and prawns which are rich in chitin as the major cause of pollution in coastal areas. Chitin degradation is carried out chemically. It can be degraded biologically also, particularly using microorganisms resulting in chitooligosaccahrides and the monomer N-acetylglucosamine. N-acetyl glucosamine and related chitooligosaccahrides have various applications such as treatment of cancer and metastasis, treatment of autoimmune reactions, as food supplements and increased plant stress tolerance against salinity and heavy metals. Thus, chitin waste can be efficiently degraded biologically using microorganisms to produce such useful products. Conventional methods such as One factor at a time (OFAT) are more time consuming and costly to address the problem. The current work focuses on the development of an experimental design to ascertain parameters optimized for chitin degradation by a Streptomyces chilikensis to produce various chitooligosaccharides. More than one factor was taken at a time to carry out the experiments and the data were fit into Taguchi Design to determine the contribution of the most important factors responsible for the production of the desired end product that is NAG and other chitooligosaccaharides. Highest NAG production (3741 μM/reaction) was observed in a media that contains 0.5% Raffinose (w/v), 0.5% peptone (w/v), 2.5% NaCl at pH 11.

Bacterial taxonomy is studied to provide adequate information on identity and uniqueness of a species in their ecological, clinical, and industrial niche environments. The polyphasic taxonomy approach used in nomenclature and systematic of a novel Bacteria and Archaea includes a combination of chemotaxonomic, phenotypic, and genotypic data. However, due to several limitations in the use of % similarity in 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, DNA–DNA hybridization (DDH), and mol% of G+C content methods in polyphasic taxonomy are facing severe competition from the information generated by whole-genome sequences. Microbial genomics taxonomy fueled by next-generation sequencing provide rapid and cost-effective approaches to obtain genomic information coupled with computational tools, thus increasing the credibility of new taxonomic approaches. New analytical methods of genome analysis are portable and have greater discriminatory power to replace conventional DDH but are not yet accepted as alternative techniques for taxonomy. This chapter outlines current methods for polyphasic taxonomy, microbial genomics taxonomy and genome data analysis. It also includes overview of approaches for incorporating genomics into new strain identification to new taxon description workflows. These new insights and tools will be gradually introduced in the polyphasic taxonomic practice in future.

Unprotected sex, common among people who inject drugs, puts them and their partners at risk of sexually transmitted infections including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This analysis assesses the changes in sexual risk behavior with regular female partners (RFPs), among married men who inject drugs, before and after implementation of a HIV prevention intervention, and identifies correlates of unprotected sex. People who inject drugs (PWID) were assessed at three points: baseline, preintervention follow-up visit (FV)1, and postintervention FV2. Descriptive analysis was used for reporting changes in sexual behavior over time. Generalized estimating equation assessed the population-averaged change in self-reported unprotected sex with an RFP, attributable to intervention uptake. Multivariable logistic regression determined correlates of self-reported unprotected sex with an RFP at FV2. Findings suggest that the proportion of men reporting any unprotected sex remained high (baseline = 46.0%, FV1 = 43.5%, FV2 = 37.0%). A reduction was observed in unprotected sex after the intervention phase, but this could not be attributed to uptake of the intervention. Higher odds of self-reported unprotected sex with an RFP in the past three months at FV2 were associated with self-reported unprotected sex at baseline, living with family, and being HIV-negative. Married male PWID should receive counseling for safe sex with RFPs, especially those who are HIV-negative and live with their families.

Chitin is one of the most abundant biopolymers present in the environment. Chitosan being its major derivative can be obtained by hydrolysis of chitin, especially by microbial degradation. Estimation of resulting chitosan produced by chitin degradation is crucial to the process. Usefulness of the method of Badawy (Badawy, 2012) for estimation of chitosan is limited by interference resulting from susceptibility to variation in the pH of the sample and thiobarbituric acid. This work presents an improvement of the method proposed by Badawy for colorimetric determination of chitosan by using 3, 5-Dinitrosalicylic acid (DNSA) reagent instead of thiobarbituric acid, after one step depolymerization and deamination of chitosan with sodium nitrite (NaNO2). Eventually colorimetric estimation was carried out at 540 nm. With the use of DNSA reagent, the limitation of thiobarbituric acid are overcome. This method is easy, cost effective, and sensitive for quantitative determination of chitosan. This new improved method was applied for evaluation and quantification of chitosan produced by microbial degradation of chitin waste by different novel Streptomyces strains.

This paper reports the results of a three-country study of the social, economic and health vulnerabilities of migrants from Bangladesh and Nepal living in India and of returnees. Overall, migration was found to be economically beneficial for those who succeed in the host labour market. However, it is associated with significant psychosocial and health vulnerabilities for most migrants in both communities. Further, migrants returning to their home countries with expectations of a better life continue to be in debt and experience poor health, indicating that migration may not always alleviate economic distress and highlighting the need for financial guidance.

The present study focuses on the preparation of N-acetyl chitooligosaccharides (N-AcCOS) by microbial degradation of colloidal chitin using novel Streptomyces chilikensis strain RC1830 instead of using chitinolytic enzymes extracted from microorganisms as reported earlier. Statistical optimization of the factors such as pH, media, carbon source, nitrogen source, salt concentration, surfactants and metal ions on production of N-AcCOS by the strain RC1830 at shake flask level and subsequent validation of the optimized model at bench scale bioreactor level were conducted. The product obtained was characterized by Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS). N-AcCOS obtained, was evaluated for in vitro anti-radical, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative activity and its role in cell migration. The results showed that the N-AcCOS extract has free radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory activities and down regulation of proliferation of human breast cancer cells in a dose dependent manner. Cell migration assay showed that N-AcCOS extract promoted effective migration of HEK293 cell at a concentration of 750 μg/mL and 1000 μg/mL.

Graphical abstract, An extracellular thermo-alkali stable chitinase was obtained from Streptomyces chilikensis RC1830, a novel actinobacterial strain isolated from the sediments of Chilika lake, India. Purification of the enzyme was carried out by concentrating the enzyme with centrifugal device followed by chromatographic separation by DEAE Sepharose ion exchange resin.The molecular weight of the enzyme was 10.5 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. The optimum pH and temperature for the partially purified chitinase was pH 7 and 60 °C. The chitinase showed 40% activity at pH 11 after 24 h exposure at room temperature. The chitinase exhibited Km and Vmax values are 0.02 mM and 3.184 mol/min/mg of enzyme respectively. The 6 residue N-terminal sequence of the enzyme was not found similar to any of the reported chitinase enzyme. Based on the SDS PAGE, zymogram analysis, activity assays and other characteristics, it is proposed that the purified enzyme from S.chilikensis RC1830 is a chitinase.

Background: Hepatic diseases are common among chronic kidney disease patients and liver function tests particularly serum liver enzymes play an important role in diagnosing and monitoring these patients. Serum aminotransferase levels commonly fall near the lower end of the range of the normal values in patients of chronic kidney disease (CKD). High-levels of serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) can occur in these patients due to renal osteodystrophy. Thus, the recognition of liver damage in these patients is challenging. Aim: To compare the levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and ALP among three groups - CKD patients without end stage renal disease (ESRD), patients with ESRD and healthy controls. Materials and Methods: A retrospective, hospital-based study was carried out from 100 patients' records from each group and serum AST, ALT and ALP values were noted. Results: Our study showed that serum AST and ALT levels were significantly lower in CKD patients both without and with ESRD compared to controls. Further, these two enzyme levels were also significantly lower in CKD patients with ESRD compared to CKD patients without the condition. Serum ALP levels were significantly higher in patients with and without ESRD as compared to the controls. However, the values did not differ significantly between patients with and without ESRD. Conclusion: Levels of serum aminotransferases were low in CKD with and without ESRD and the levels become lower as the severity of CKD increases. Thus, the study established the need for separate reference ranges of serum aminotransferase in different stages of CKD.

Needle and syringe sharing is common among people who inject drugs and so is unprotected sex, which consequently puts their sex partners at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and other blood-borne infections, like hepatitis. We undertook a nested study with the regular female partners of men who inject drugs participating in a longitudinal HIV incidence study in Delhi, India. In-depth interviews were conducted with female partners of 32 men. The interviews aimed to gather focused and contextual knowledge of determinants of safe sex and reproductive health needs of these women. Information obtained through interviews was triangulated and linked to the baseline behavioural data of their partner (index men who injected drugs). The study findings illustrate that women in monogamous relationships have a low perception of STI- and HIV-related risk. Additionally, lack of awareness about hepatitis B and C is a cause of concern. Findings also suggest impact of male drug use on the fertility of the female partner. It is critical to empower regular female partners to build their self-risk assessment skills and self-efficacy to negotiate condom use. Future work must explore the role of drug abuse among men who inject drugs in predicting fertility and reproductive morbidity among their female partners.

At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the international community de-clared sustainable development to be the new guiding principle for the twenty-first century. This was followed in the late 1990s by a resolution that every country should develop a national sustainability strategy by the year 2002. This was to be updated in the following years (continuous development). It was clear that sustain-able development is a long range process for individual countries like India. This paper begins with a discussion of the general requirements to be addressed by a national sustainability strategy. It goes on to discuss the Indian national sustainabil-ity strategy as an example of how these can be properly integrated. In this regard, the fact must be taken into account that since 1991 the Indian economy – as measured by GDP – has been very successful. However, as a perform-ance measure, pure economic success is inadequate in the context of a national sus-tainability strategy. A true evaluation of India’s sustainability strategy demands that environmental and social indicators are also considered. Under this condition, India exhibits deficits that are evident on the basis of selected indicators, particularly in the area of environmental and social progress. This paper will analyze several se-lected indicators in support of this conclusion., Internationales Asienforum, Bd. 44 Nr. 1-2 (2013): Internationales Asienforum

moderately halophilic spore forming, motile, Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterial strain designated as KGW1T was isolated from water sample of Chilika Lake and characterized taxonomically using polyphasic approach. The strain grew in the presence of 0-25% (w/v) NaCl in marine salt agar media, hydrolyzes casein, and gelatin and shows presence of alkaline proteases. The major cell wall menaquinone was MK7 and major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15:0 (44.89%), anteiso-C17:0 (6.18%), isoC15:0 (19.38%), and iso-C16:0 (7.39%). Several chemotaxonomic features conform the isolate be a member of genus Halobacillus. The isolate KGW1T contained A1γ meso-Dpm-direct type of peptidoglycan which is different from its phylogenetically closest neighbours. The 16S rRNA gene sequence based phylogenetic analysis also revealed the strain KGW1T was affiliated to the genus Halobacillus and sequence similarity between the isolated strain and the type strains of Halobacillus species were found closest to, H. dabanensis D-8 DSM 18199T (99.08%) and H. faecis IGA7-4 DSM 21559T (99.01%), H. trueperi SL-5 DSM 10404T (98.94%). The in silico DDH showed that the values in a range of 14.2-17.5% with the most closest strain H. dabanensis D-8 DSM 18199T and other type strains of the genus Halobacillus for which whole genome sequence is reported. DNA-DNA relatedness between strain KGW1T and the closest type strain Halobacillus trueperi DSM 10404T was 11.75% (± 1.15). The draft genome sequence includes 3,683,819 bases and comprises of 3898 predicted coding sequences with a G + C content of 46.98%. Thus, the significant distinctiveness supported by phenotypic and genotypic data with its closest neighbors and other closely related species confirm the strain KGW1T to be classified as a novel species within the genus Halobacillus, for which the name Halobacillus marinus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KGW1T (= DSM 29522 = JCM 30443).

Background: One of the risk factors for the development of coronary heart disease is high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. National Cholesterol Education Program ATP III guidelines suggest drug therapy to be considered at LDL-cholesterol levels >130 mg/dl. This makes accurate reporting of LDL cholesterol crucial in the management of Coronary heart disease. Estimation of LDL cholesterol by direct LDL method is accurate, but it is expensive. Hence, We compared Friedewald's calculated LDL values with direct LDL values. Aim: To evaluate the correlation of Friedewalds calculated LDL with direct LDL method. Materials and Methods: We compared LDL cholesterol measured by Friedewald's formula with direct LDL method in 248 samples between the age group of 20-70 years. Paired t-test was used to test the difference in LDL concentration obtained by a direct method and Friedewald's formula. The level of significance was taken as P < 0.05. Pearsons correlation formula was used to test the correlation between direct LDL values with Friedewald's formula. Results: There was no significant difference between the direct LDL values when compared to calculated LDL by Friedewalds formula (P = 0.140). Pearson correlation showed there exists good correlation between direct LDL versus Friedewalds formula (correlation coefficient = 0.98). The correlation between direct LDL versus Friedewalds calculated LDL was best at triglycerides values between 101 and 200 mg/dl. Conclusion: This study indicates calculated LDL by Friedewalds equation can be used instead of direct LDL in patients who cannot afford direct LDL method.

Background WHO, UNODC, and UNAIDS recommend a comprehensive package for prevention, treatment, and care of HIV among people who inject drugs (PWID). We describe the uptake of services and the cost of implementing a comprehensive package for HIV prevention, treatment, and care services in Delhi, India. Methods A cohort of 3774 PWID were enrolled for a prospective HIV incidence study and provided the comprehensive package: HIV and hepatitis testing and counseling, hepatitis B (HB) vaccination, syndromic management of sexually transmitted infections, clean needles-syringes, condoms, abscess care, and education. Supplementary services comprising tea and snacks, bathing facilities, and medical consultations were also provided. PWID were referred to government services for antiretroviral therapy (ART), TB care, opioid substitution therapy, and drug dependence treatment/rehabilitation. Results The project spent USD 1,067,629.88 over 36 months of project implementation: 1.7% on capital costs, 3.9% on participant recruitment, 26.7% for project management, 49.9% on provision of services, and 17.8% on supplementary services. Provision of HIV prevention and care services cost the project USD 140.41/PWID/year. 95.3% PWID were tested for HIV. Of the HIV-positive clients, only 17.8% registered for ART services after repeated follow-up. Reasons for not seeking ART services included not feeling sick, need for multiple visits to the clinic, and long waiting times. 61.8% of the PWID underwent HB testing. Of the 2106 PWID eligible for HB vaccination, 81% initiated the vaccination schedule, but only 29% completed all three doses, despite intensive follow-up by outreach workers. PWID took an average of 8 clean needles-syringes/PWID/year over the project duration, with a mid-project high of 16 needles-syringes/PWID/year. PWID continued to also procure needles from other sources, such as chemists. One hundred five PWID were referred to OST services and 267 for rehabilitation services. Conclusions A comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, and care package is challenging to implement. Extensive efforts are needed to ensure the uptake of and retention in services for PWID; peer educators and outreach workers are required on a continuous basis. Services need to be tailored to client needs, considering clinic timing and distance from hotspots. Programs may consider provision of ART services at selected drop-in centers to increase uptake.

BACKGROUND: India has an estimated 177000 injection drug users (IDU) with a national HIV prevalence of 7.14%. Reliable estimates of HIV incidence are not available for this population. METHODS: We report HIV incidence in a cohort of male HIV-negative IDUs recruited through peer-referral targeted outreach and as walk-in clients in Delhi from May to October 2011. Fourth-generation Antigen-Antibody tests were used to diagnose new infections and results were confirmed using Western blot tests. HIV incidence based on HIV seroconversion was calculated as number of events/person-years. Cox regression was used to identify significant (p

Halobacillus sp. strain KGW1 is a moderately halophilic, rod shaped, Gram-positive, yellow pigmented, alkaline protease-producing bacterium isolated from a water sample from Chilika Lake, Odisha, India. Sequencing of bacterial DNA assembled a 3.68-Mb draft genome. The genome annotation analysis showed various gene clusters for tolerance to stress, such as elevated pH, salt concentration, and toxic metals.

We report the 4.51 Mb draft genome of Pseudomonas sp. strain BMS12, a Gram-negative bacterium in the class of Gammaproteobacteria, isolated from the rhizospheric sediment of Phragmites karka , an invasive weed in Chilika Lake, Odisha, India. The Pseudomonas sp. strain BMS12 is capable of producing proteases and is also an efficient plant growth promoter that can be useful for various phytoremedial and industrial applications.

Halobacillus sp. strain KGW1 is a moderately halophilic, rod shaped, Gram-positive, yellow pigmented, alkaline protease-producing bacterium isolated from a water sample from Chilika Lake, Odisha, India. Sequencing of bacterial DNA assembled a 3.68-Mb draft genome. The genome annotation analysis showed various gene clusters for tolerance to stress, such as elevated pH, salt concentration, and toxic metals.

We report the 3.16 Mb draft genome of Acinetobacter sp. strain BMW17, a Gram-negative bacterium in the class of Gammaproteobacteria , isolated from the rhizospheric region of Phragmites karka , an invasive weed in Chilika Lake, Odisha, India. The strain BMW17 T is capable of degrading cellulose and is also an efficient plant growth promoter that can be useful for various phytoremedial and commercial applications.

A novel actinobacterial strain RC1832T was isolated from the sediment of a fish dumping yard at Balugaon near Chilika Lake. The strain is halotolerant (15 % NaCl, w/v), alkali-tolerant (pH 7-10) and hydrolyzes chitin, starch, gelatin, cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, Tween 80, tributyrin, lecithin and casein. Apart from showing typical genus-specific morphological and chemotaxonomic features, the comparision and analysis of the near complete 16S rRNA gene sequence clearly revealed that the strain RC1832T represented a member of the genus Streptomyces. It exhibited the highest sequence similarities with the strains Streptomyces fenghuangensis GIMN4.003T (99.78 %), Streptomyces nanhaiensis DSM 41926T (99.07 %), Streptomyces radiopugnans R97T(98.71 %), Streptomyces atacamensis DSM 42065T (98.65 %) and Streptomyces barkulensis DSM 42082T (98.25 %). The DNA-DNA relatedness of strain RC 1832T with the closest phylogenetic neighbours S. fenghuangensis GIMN4.003T and S. nanhaiensis DSM 41926T were 20±2 % and 21±2 %, respectively. Thus, based on a range of phenotypic and genotypic properties, strain RC1832T was suggested to represent a novel species of the genus Streptomyces for which the name Streptomyces chitinivorans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is RC1832T (=JCM 30611=KCTC 29696).

A negative perspective has emerged on rural-urban migrants in the development literature, characterizing them as impoverished people, forced out of livelihoods, absorbed into slums, manifesting in a host of civic, and health problems, implicitly endorsing a view that slowing down migration would be desirable not only for the wellbeing of the population receiving them but for the migrants as well. Has this perspective on migration and the stresses and strains in the labour market impacted on labour mobility adversely, when several global institutions are advocating reshaping of economic geography by organising movement of labour force from backward regions to select urban agglomerations? The issue becomes extremely important in Indian context wherein the development process has resulted in accentuation of spatial inequalities in economic and social dimensions. The present paper analyses the trends and pattern of internal migration in India, considering the gender, rural urban categories and durations of mobility, using the latest information from Population Census and National Sample Survey. The general conclusion is that the mobility of men, which is often linked to the strategy of seeking livelihood, has gone down systematically over the past few decades, as it has become increasingly difficult for the poor to shift to urban centres in pursuit of survival. Urban labour market has shown preference for skilled and educated persons which has changed the composition of migrants in urban areas, discounting the proposition that the mobility of labour in the environment of globalization would lead to emergence of inclusive cities.