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Byline: Waseem. Hajjar, Iftikhar. Ahmed, Sami. Al-Nassar, Rawan. Alsultan, Waad. Alwgait, Hanoof. Alkhalaf, Shekhar. Bisht Background: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical decortication (VATSD) is widely applicable in fibrinopurulent Stage II empyema. While, [...]

Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB)Pseudomonas lurida-NPRp15 andPseudomonas putida-PGRs4 possessing multiple plant growth-promoting traits were isolated from rhizoplane of pea and rhizosphere of garlic, respectively. The effects of individuals and combinations ofPseudomonasspp. with effective root nodulating symbiotic nitrogen fixingRhizobium leguminosarum-FB1 on plant growth, nutrient uptake and yield of the rajmash plant were studied under greenhouse conditions. Bacterial inoculation resulted in significantly higher values for plant dry biomass, N, P, K, Zn and Fe contents as compared to the uninoculated control. Furthermore, dual inoculation ofP. lurida-NPRp15 withR. leguminosarum-FB1 significantly increased root and shoot dry weight, nodulation, nutrient uptake, pod yield, and nutrient content of pods of rajmash VL63 compared to controls, single and triple inoculation. The results of the study indicate the potential of harnessing the benefit of plant growth-promoting and nitrogen-fixing microorganisms to improve the growth and yield of rajmash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A psychrotolerant, Gram negative, rod shaped, plant growth promoting bacterium (PGPB) was isolated from high altitude of North Western Indian Himalayas. The identity of the bacterium was confirmed by morphological, biochemical and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The sequence analysis revealed maximum similarity with Pseudomonas vancouverensis. It exhibited tolerance to a wide pH range (5–12; optimum 7.0) and salt concentrations up to 5% (w/v). The isolate produced 8.33 and 1.38 μg/ml of IAA at 15°C and 4°C respectively, on the third day after incubation. It solubilised 42.3, 66.3 and 74.1 μg/ml of tricalcium phosphate at 4, 15 and 28°C respectively after seven days of incubation. The strain also possessed HCN and siderophore production abilities at 4°C. It exhibited inhibitory activity against several phytopathogenic fungi in three different bioassays. The maximum relative growth inhibition was recorded against Sclerotium rolfsii and Rhizoctonia solani (100%), followed by Pythium sp. (73.1%) and Fusarium oxysporum (19.7%), in volatile compound assays. Seed bacterization with the isolate enhanced the germination of wheat seedlings grown at 18±1°C by 20.3%. Bacterized seeds also recorded 30.2 and 27.5% higher root and shoot length respectively, compared to uninoculated controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Public universities in Saudi Arabia today are making substantial investments in e-learning as part of their educational system, especially in the implementation of learning management systems (LMS). To our knowledge, this is the first study conducted in Saudi Arabia exploring medical students' experience with an LMS, particularly as part of a medical informatics course. Objective: This study investigates students' use of various features of the LMS embedded in a recently implemented medical informatics course. Methods: A mixed methodology approach was employed. Survey questionnaires were distributed to all third year medical informatics students at the end of the course. In addition, two focus group sessions were conducted with twelve students. A thematic analysis of the focus group was performed. Results: A total of 265 third year medical student surveys (167/265, 63% male and 98/265, 37% female) were completed and analyzed. Overall, 50.6% (134/265) of the students agreed that the course was well planned and up-to-date, had clearly stated objectives and clear evaluation methods, appropriate course assignment, and that the LMS offered easy navigation. Most of the students rated the course as good/fair overall. In general, females were 10.4% more likely to prefer the LMS, as revealed by higher odd ratios (odds ratio [OR] 1.104, 95% CI 0.86-1.42) compared to males. Survey results showed that students' use of LMS tools increased after taking the course compared to before taking the course. The full model containing all items were statistically significant (Due to image rights restrictions, multiple line equation(s) cannot be graphically displayed, P<.001, n=243), indicating that the model was able to distinguish between students who had positive attitudes towards LMS and those who did not. The focus group, however, revealed that the students used social networking for general use rather than learning purposes, but they were using other Internet resources and mobile devices for learning. Male students showed a higher preference for using technology in general to enhance learning activities. Overall, medical student attitudes towards the LMS were generally positive. Students also wanted a reminder and notification tool to help them stay updated with course events. Interestingly, a subset of students had been running a parallel LMS of their own that has features worth exploring and could be integrated with an official LMS in the future. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this was the first time that an LMS was used in a medical informatics course. Students showed interest in adapting various LMS tools to enhance their learning and gained more knowledge through familiarity with the tool. Researching an official LMS also revealed the existence of a parallel student-created LMS. This could allow teacher-led and student-led platforms to be integrated in the future for an enhanced student-centered experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14) gene is an important component of the human innate immune system and its role in tuberculosis (TB) has been sparsely documented. The enhanced plasma CD14 levels in TB patients as compared to healthy controls are associated with CD14 gene promoter (C-159T) polymorphism. In the past few years, the relationship between CD14 -159 C>T (rs2569190) polymorphism and risk of TB has been reported in various ethnic populations; however, those studies have yielded contradictory results. In this study systemic assessment was done for the published studies based on the association between CD14 -159 C>T polymorphism and TB risk retrieved from PubMed (Medline) and EMBASE search. A total number of 1389 TB cases and 1421 controls were included in this study and meta-analysis was performed to elucidate the association between CD14 -159 C>T polymorphism and its susceptibility towards TB. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated for allele contrast, homozygous comparison, heterozygous comparison, dominant and recessive genetic model. It was found that T allele carrier was significantly associated with increased TB risk (T vs. C: p-value = 0.023; OR = 1.305, 95% CI = 1.038 to 1.640). Similarly, homozygous mutant TT genotype also revealed 1.6 fold increased risk of TB (TT vs. CC; p-value = 0.040; OR = 1.652, 95% CI = 1.023 to 2.667). Additionally, dominant genetic model demonstrated increased risk of developing TB (TT vs. CC+CT: p-value = 0.006; OR = 1.585, 95% CI = 1.142 to 2.201). The study demonstrates that CD14 gene (-159 C>T) polymorphism contributes increased susceptibility for TB. Moreover, this meta-analysis also suggests for future larger studies with stratified case control population and biological characterization for validation studies.