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Tuberculosis, one of the oldest recorded human afflictions, still one of the biggest killers among the infectious diseases, despite the worldwide use of a live attenuated vaccine and several antibiotics. The Aim of this study was to isolate Mycobacterium tuberculosis from various clinical samples using liquid culture (MGIT) and confirm the growth as MTB using Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Material and Methods: All 85 samples were received from clinically suspected cases of pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis from the various clinical departments of SGRRIM&HS, Dehradun over a period of one year. All samples were processed by ZN staining, culture in LJ medium & MGIT, rapid card (BD MGIT TBcID) test and PCR done by using IS6110gene. Result: Out of total 85 samples, 35 (41%) came out to be positive by PCR and 50 (59%) cases were found to be negative. Correlation of ZN smear with MGIT culture: 2 cases (2%) were positive in both ZN stain and MGIT culture but 24 (28%) cases showed positivity in MGIT culture. Correlation of MGIT culture with PCR: 24 cases (28%) showed positivity in both MGIT culture and PCR.11 cases (13%) showed positivity in PCR but negative in MGIT culture. The positivity rate was 28% (24/85) in MGIT culture & 41% (35/85) in PCR. Conclusion: Our study clearly reflects that PCR finding are more positive as compared to MGIT and ZN staining. Because of high specificity and sensitivity of PCR few MTB DNA can be easily detected which is not possible in MGIT and ZN staining. Techniques like PCR is highly valuable for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis but the limitation is that it can't differentiate between live and dead bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dengue fever is an arthropod-borne disease transmitted to humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and one of the leading causes of arthropod-borne viral disease in the world. Aims and Objectives: The present study aims to analyze any association between platelet count and immunochromatography -based dengue serology tests. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Government Doon Medical College and Hospital. A total of 19,208 clinically suspected cases of dengue who reported in various outpatient departments, emergency services, and inpatient departments of our hospital between June 2023 and November 2023 were included in this study. Samples were tested by rapid immunochromatographic test for dengue non-structural protein 1 (NS1) antigen, immunoglobulin M (IgM), IgG, and platelet count was also obtained and a comparison was made. Results: Out of total 19,208 samples tested, 4876 (25.38%) samples were positive for NS1, 589 (3.06%) samples were positive for IgM. Majority of the patients were in the age group of 21-40 years 9274 (48.28%). 11,753 (61.19%) were males and 7455 (38.80%) were females. A strong correlation was seen between NS1 and thrombocytopenia where a total of 2737/4876 (n=56.13%) patients showed positivity in NS1 with low platelet counts. Conclusion: Detection of NS1 antigen helps in early diagnosis of dengue to avoid complications significantly. In confirmed dengue cases with fever, thrombocytopenia is more consistently found and can be used as a predictor to reduce the morbidity and mortality of dengue disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extended spectrum b-lactamases (ESBLs) are one of the major enzymes responsible for antimicrobial drug resistance in bacterial isolates. The objective of this study was to find out the ESBL genes (blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M) in Enterobacteriaceae. This study was conducted from November 2013 to October 2015. The identification of Enterobacteriaceae isolates & antimicrobial drug resistance was done by conventional standard microbial methods. Further genotypic detection of ESBL was done by multiplex PCR. Results: Among 942 Enterobacteriaceae isolates, 332 (35.24%) isolates was ESBL producers. We observed high prevalence of ESBL enzyme in Klebsiella pneumonia (59.09%). These isolate revealed high resistance to co-trimoxazole, fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides. Out of 48 randomly selected isolates, ESBL genes were identified in 45 isolates which were found resistant to third generation cephalosporins. Single CTX-M gene noticed in 29 strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli), 02 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, and 01 strain of Proteus mirabilis. Occurrence of Combination of the genes e.g., (blaTEM+blaCTX-M), (blaSHV+blaCTX-M), (blaTEM+blaSHV+blaCTX-M) was detected in 08, 01 and 04 isolates respectively. Multiplex PCR in CTX-M carrying isolates revealed the presence of blaCTX-M group-1. The most common blaCTX-M group-1 was observed in all isolates of family Enterobacteriaceae. Antimicrobial drug resistance is a major problem of concern now a day. Studies like this will be helpful to knowing the burden of multi drug resistance as well as formulating antibiotics policy for a particular region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Multidrug resistant non-fermenters are continuously increasing in hospital and ICU settings. One of the mechanisms of developing drug resistance is possession of efflux pump through which bacteria extrude antimicrobial agents and other toxic substances. If these efflux channels are blocked or inhibited, increased drug concentration can be achieved in a bacterial cell with optimal drug dose. Present study was aimed to investigate role of curcumin as efflux pump inhibitor (EPI) and to compare its activity with a known EPI like phe-arg-beta-naphthylamide (PApN). Materials and Methods: A total of 170 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were taken, antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by disc diffusion test and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against selected drugs before and after adding known synthetic EPI, PApN (20mg/L). Out of these, 30 multidrug resistant strains were taken and MIC was performed with curcumin (50mg/L) with and without selected drugs. Results: Significant reduction in MIC was observed after adding curcumin (50mg/L) with selected antimicrobial agents in 9/30 (30%) of multi drug resistant (MDR) isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while no change in MIC was observed when curcumin (50mg/L) was used alone, indicating its efflux pump inhibitor activity. Conclusion: This study suggests role of efflux pump in development of drug resistance which can be overcome by use of an efflux pump inhibitor, with more emphasis on compound like curcumin which will have less or no adverse effects if used in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Otitis media is defined as inflammation of the middle ear due to any cause that may also involve any contiguous pneumatized portion of the temporal bone. It is also one of the most common diseases of childhood after viral upper respiratory tract infection. As a result of the widespread availability of over-the-counter topical antibiotics and the irrational use of these agents, there is a development of multidrug-resistant bacteria., Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the current bacteriological profile and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in clinically diagnosed cases of active chronic otitis media (COM) at a tertiary care center in Uttarakhand., Materials and Methods: The proposed observational cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery and Department of Microbiology of Government Doon Medical College Hospital, Dehradun, over a period of 18 months from August 2022 to January 2024. One hundred and thirty-seven cases of active COM fulfilling the inclusion criteria were recruited in the study. Under strict aseptic conditions, pus samples were collected from the middle ear using two sterile cotton swabs under microscopic examination and sent to the microbiology lab for pathogen identification and isolation. The isolated organisms were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing using VITEK-2 as per the latest Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines.  Results: In the present study, the most common age group affected by COM was between 18 and 30 years with female predominance. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (33.6%) was the predominantly isolated organism followed by Staphylococcus aureus (17.8%). Considering the antibiotic susceptibility, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was susceptible to piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem while least sensitive to levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Staphylococcus aureus was susceptible to linezolid, daptomycin, and vancomycin. The maximum resistance of Staphylococcus aureus was observed to ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin., Conclusion:  The study of changing clinico-bacteriological profile and antibiotic susceptibility pattern in cases of COM due to variations in the geography and environment of the study population can help to guide appropriate antibiotic treatment and thus prevent the development of multidrug-resistant bacteria., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Institutional Ethics Committee of Government Doon Medical College Hospital issued approval GDMC/IEC/2023/15. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Sammal et al.)

Background: Lichens are a composite consortium of a fungus and an alga. The symbiotic organisms are naturally equipped with distinct characteristics as compared to constituting organisms separately. Lichens, due to their peculiar anatomy and physiology, are the reservoir of more than 600 unique secondary metabolites, also known as 'lichen substances'. Since ancient times, many ethnic groups from various parts of the world have known about the applications of lichens as major provenance of food/fodder, medicine, dyes, spices, perfumes, etc. Lichen substances have shown impressive antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-tumor, and antiinflammatory activities under experimental conditions. Usnic acid, a well-known metabolite found in several species of lichens, possesses potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. It also has significant antiproliferative potential, as revealed through testing in different cancer cell lines. Atranorin, Lecanoric acid, Norstictic acid, Lobaric acid, Stictic acid, Ramalin, Gyrophoric acid, Salazinic acid, Protolichesterinic, and Fumarprotocetraric acid are some of the other purified lichen-metabolites with potent anti-cancer activities., Objective: This study presents an overview of lichen-derived extracts and compounds showing anti-cancer (or related) properties., Method: The review comprehends different studies (in vivo and in vitro) backing up the possibility of lichenextracts and metabolites towards their use as antioxidant, anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, and Epithelialmesenchymal transition (EMT) -inhibiting agents., Results: Various studies carried out to date show that lichen-extracts and metabolites have a range of anti-cancer and related properties that include anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic, and the potential of inhibition of cancer-associated EMT that is responsible for drug resistance and metastasis of cancer cells in a substantial proportion of cases., Conclusion: Lichens are the repertoire of a plethora of lichen-metabolites with significant anti-cancer potential. However, some of the critical 'anti-cancer related' properties, such as the ability of EMT-inhibition and the potential of induction of apoptosis, are relatively less studied for several lichen compounds. Additionally, many lichen compounds need to be purified at a larger scale to explore their anti-cancer potential., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)