Rupinder Tewari

Quantitated Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) H37Rv DNA was used to analyse the sensitivity and the specificity was assessed using DNA isolated from the reference strain H37Rv, 12 non‐tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) species and 5 non‐mycobacterium species. Further, performance of the assay was evaluated on the sputum samples and compared with smear microscopy, culture, and PCR. mpt64 (also called mpb64 or Rv1980c) LAMP successfully detected 1 pg DNA within 40 min and successfully rejected NTMs and other bacterial species tested. It specifically detected all the 119 confirmed TB cases and 100 of the 104 control cases. The resulting sensitivity and specificity of LAMP assay was found to be 100% (95% CI; 96·79‐100%) and 96·15% (95% CI; 90·44‐98·94%), respectively.

The novel strain IHBB 11108T was a psychrotolerant and alkaliphilic bacterium isolated from the subsurface water of Chandra Tal Lake in the Lahaul-Spiti valley located in the Indian trans-Himalayas. Cells were Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, non-motile, catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. The strain grew at 5–37 °C (optimum 28 °C), pH 5.0–12.0 (optimum pH 7.0) and with up to 8 % NaCl (optimum 1 %). The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed the highest relatedness of strain IHBB 11108T with Psychromicrobium silvestre DSM 102047T (97.5 %), Arthrobacter russicus DSM 14555T (97.4 %) and Renibacterium salmoninarum ATCC 33209T (97.4 %). The strain contained a quinone system with 57.2 % MK-9(H2), 39.1 % MK-10(H2), 3.0 % MK-8(H2) and 0.7 % MK-7(H2). The polar lipids detected were diphosphatidylglycerol, dimannosylglyceride, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, one unidentified glycolipid and four unidentified lipids. The cell-wall peptidoglycan structure type was A3α l-Lys–l-Thr–l-Ala with substitution of the α-carboxyl group of d-Glu by alanine amide. Anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0 were the predominant fatty acids. The genomic DNA G+C content was 59.0 mol%. The DNA–DNA relatedness of strain IHBB 11108T was 46.7±2.2, 43.1±2.5 and 19.1±2.4 % with P. silvestre DSM 102047T, A. russicus DSM 14555T and R. salmoninarum ATCC 33209T, respectively. On the basis of the results of the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses, IHBB 11108T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Psychromicrobium for which the name Psychromicrobium lacuslunae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is IHBB 11108T (=MTCC 12460T=MCC 2780T=JCM 31143T=KACC 19070T).

Due to emergence of multidrug resistance in pathogens, the attention of the scientific community is now directed towards strengthening the reservoir of antimicrobial compounds. Prior to in vivo studies, the interaction and penetration of a hybrid peptide K11 in bacterial cells using confocal microscopy was assessed which was observed as early as 10 min after incubation with the peptide. Cell lysis along with leakage of cytoplasmic content was confirmed by electron microscopy. To evaluate the in vivo performance of the peptide, it was contained in carbopol hydrogel. Efficacy of the hydrogel formulation was then evaluated against Acinetobacter baumannii-infected wounds using a murine excision model. Treatment resulted in restoration of body weight, complete clearance of infection from the wound by day 7 and 99% wound enclosure by day 21, in contrast to the persistence of infection and 70% wound enclosure in the infected group. Further, this treatment resulted in a 2.6-fold decrease in the levels of malondialdehyde along with a 4.5-fold increase in the levels of catalase on day 3. Appearance of normal histo-architecture was observed in the treatment group. Based on these results, the peptide hydrogel can be exploited in future as one of the strategies for developing a topical anti-infective therapeutic agent.

Purpose: This paper represents a comparative study of five Asian countries, namely, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, China and India, based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2015-2016 published by the World Economic Forum. The purpose of this study is to assess India’s position vis-a-vis the various comparator Asian economies and to identify areas for improvement so as to enhance India’s competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on the comparisons and analysis of the ranks of each country. These ranks are based on the indicators related to three categories, i.e. “Basic Requirements”, “Efficiency Enhancers” and “Innovation and Sophistication” Factors. The GCI included data from internationally recognised agencies such as the IMF, the WHO and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Findings: On the basis of the aforementioned comparisons among these five Asian economies, it was found that Singapore (Rank-2) has made stupendous economic progress and is amongst the top five successful economies of the world. Taiwan, South Korea and China also have taken significant economic strides and are ranked globally at 15, 26 and 28, respectively. India, on the other hand, is ranked 55 out of 140 nations. Research limitations/implications: In this paper, the countries were compared on the basis of their rank in the GCI Report 2015-2016. For an in-depth and more holistic study, comparison can be done by taking into consideration other important reports and analysis in this regard. Originality/value: This is an original study where the developments that have taken place in the five Asian economies have been analysed based on the GCI. Most importantly, this study identifies the area/indicator in which India needs to improve to be placed among the developed nations.

The effect of silver nanoparticle anisotropy on the antibacterial properties has been studied against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus, Vibrio cholerae, and Streptococcus pyogenes. Anisotropic silver nanoparticles have been synthesized by solvothermal process. The UV-visible absorption, X-ray diffraction, and TEM studies show the anisotropic nature of silver nanoparticles. The results demonstrate that the anisotropic silver nanoparticles undergo a shape-dependent interaction with the bacteria, and the nanoparticles with higher anisotropy exhibit the superior antibacterial activity. Silver nanoparticles with sharp edges and corners displayed the stronger biocidal action, in comparison to the anisotropic nanoparticles with round edges and corners. The sharpness of the corners has been quantified using degree of truncation method. The variation in degree of truncation and the antibacterial activity follows the same pattern.