Mucormycosis, The Black Fungus alarming Coinfections in Covid-19 Patients

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a global pandemic causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It was firstly reported in Hubei province in the People’s Republic of China and spread worldwide quickly. The COVID-19 affects every person differently, from mild to life-threatening symptoms (Nawaz, 2020), along with other bacterial or fungal co-infections (CDC., 2021). The COVID-19 affected patients are prone to develop severe opportunistic infections (Salehi et al., 2020). The immune system of SARS-COV-2 infected patients becomes vulnerable to these opportunistic infections if some comorbidities (diabetes, pulmonary disease) or immunocompromised conditions (steroid therapy, hospital stay, and ventilation) are present. The development of infections such as Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, bloodstream candida, pulmonary aspergillosis, and oropharyngeal candidiasis have been reported in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients (Moorthy et al., 2021). A few case reports of rhino-orbital mucormycosis in COVID-19 have been reported (Mehta et al., 2020). One such study was reported by (Sen et al., 2021), in which they presented a series of six cases of COVID-19 disease with rhino-orbital mucormycosis. Only one patient in this series had concurrent COVID-19 and mucormycosis at hospital admission, while five patients developed mucormycosis during treatment for COVID-19. Recent studies in Pakistan have reported an increased number of cases of mucormycosis, also known as “black fungus” in COVID-19 patients (The News., 2021).

FOOD-BORNE BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH CONTAMINATED FISHES: A BRIEF REVIEW

Fish is considered a good source of protein and is consumed in many countries. Fish is a source of high protein giving approximately 16% of animal protein taken up by world’s population. Fish consist of high nutritional values like essential fatty acids, low saturated fat and omega-3 fatty acid which cannot be produced by human body. Majority of fish species resides in water, some burry themselves in mud and carry bacteria from into gut and skin. Microbiological contamination of fish is dependent on condition of water source. The normal flora of fish is constantly affected by bacterial contamination of water, contamination from wastewater and from sediments. The ingestion of contaminated fish and its products leads to foodborne infections, hence the occurrence of fish pathogens increase alarm about the product safety issue. These foodborne infections may arise from other sources like improper handling, storage, packaging and consumption of raw fish. Many people acquire infection by contact during handling of water, and by contact with other elements of fish living environment.

Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors (PPARS)

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors are a group (PPARs) of transcription factors whose differential distribution in different tissues, including adipocytes, hepatocytes, musclesand endothelial cells lead to different clinical outcomes. They are called lipid and insulin sensors due to the important role in lipid and glucose homeostasis. They are mainly of threetypes; 1) PPAR? which influences fatty acid metabolism and its activation lowers lipid levels,2) PPAR? causes fatty acid oxidation in skeletal and cardiac muscles, as well as regulatesblood glucose and cholesterol levels and 3) PPAR? which is mostly involved in the regulationof the adipogenesis, energy balance, and lipid biosynthesis. The expression of these receptorsis influenced by many natural and synthetic ligands. Realistic data on the expression andfunction of natural PPAR agonists on glucose and lipid metabolism are still missing, mostlybecause the same ligand influences several receptors and a number of reports have providedconflicting results. The current minireview focuses on the structure, functions, types andligands of the PPAR.

Safety of Street Foods in Developing Countries: An overview from Pakistan

Street food is one of the highlighted aspects in the cuisine of under developing countries.It contributes in the progress of socioeconomic improvement of nations. Howeverregardless of its inexpensiveness, flavor and aroma it is linked with the variety of risks toconsumers because of the way is it being prepared and served. There are noteworthynumber of individuals who consumes street food on regular basis regardless of thinkingabout its safety. This review concludes the findings of the studies on the trends in streetfoods with relation to its consumption by consumers, risks associated and how can we beovercome such risks. This review recommends the awareness and enforcement of laws andcommunity policies that should be helpful in minimizing the risks associated with streetfood along with the consumers and food vendors itself

Influence of Plant growth promoting Rhizobacteria on growth and Biochemical Parameters of Corn (Zea mays l.) Var. Seedlings

Impact of inoculations of eight individual strains (CN2, CSH4, Cu35, CMS7, CSH23, CSH27, CF18, and Cu47, two combinations (Comb 4A and Comb 4B) of four Bacillus strains and mixture of all strains (Mix) was studied. Various growth and biochemical parameters of maize plant were determined in pot trials. Strain Bacillus subtilis CN2 showed 49% maximum increase in shoot length. The blend of entire strains was observed to have their lenghth increased about 21 %. Bacillus subtilis CN2 showed maximum increase 155%, in fresh biomass and 233 % increase in dry weight. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (Cu47) and Comb 4A and showed maximum peroxidase content of 163 % and 94 % as compared to uninoculated control. Comb 4B was shown to have significant higher content of acidphosphatase (811 %). Increase in all other physical and biochemical parameters were noticed. Therefore, Bacillus strains exhibited characteristic increased potential of plant growth and can have great application in innovative agricultural practices.

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia in Patients with Disorders of Sexual Differentiation

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) is considered to be the most common cause of genital ambiguity in children. According to World’s literature, 90-95% of this disease is caused by 21-hydroxylase deficiency that impairs the synthesis of cortisol and aldosterone. The consequent excess in androgen production leads to virilization in the affected females. This study was aimed to find the number of cases with CAH (21-hydroxylase deficiency) in the children presented with disorders of sexual differentiation. For this purpose, 100 patients presented to The Children’s hospital for gender assessment were taken and their 17- OH progesterone levels were measured to confirm 21-hydroxylase deficiency, and chromosomal analysis was done to confirm chromosomal sex. Results indicated that out of 100 patients 49 were suffering from CAH. 63.2% of CAH patients were initially presented as males. Out of these, 44.8% were reassigned female gender on chromosomal analysis. So, it is concluded that the majority of patients presented with genital ambiguity in the tertiary care health facility have the ambiguity due to congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Colonization and Antibiotic Resistance Profiling of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (Mrsa) in Patients from Tertiary

The methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is affecting the economy worldwide contributing to the increased morbidity and treatment costs. The present cross sectional study was conducted to determine the association of MRSA with kidney and liver patients from Tertiary Care Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan and its antibacterialresistance patterns. The study was conducted for the period of one year; from April 2019 to April 2020. A total of 1984 different samples were obtained and examined for bacterial cultures using standard procedures. From total samples, 51.05% were collected from male and the rest 48.95% were collected from females including different age groups. Samples were inoculated on different culture media for isolation of S. aureus and susceptibility testing. A total of 253/1984 clinical samples exhibited S. aureus characteristics while 39 of 253 S. aureus (15.41%) were identified as MRSA. MRSA strains were found highly resistant to Amikacin (AK), Cefoxitin (FOX),Clindamycin (DA), Fusidic acid (FD), Gentamicin (CN) and Tobramycin (TOB) while highest sensitivity was noted against Vancomycin (100%) and Linezolid (100%). The presence of MRSA and multidrug resistance pose serious therapeutic burden to critically ill patients. A systematic and concerted effort is essential to identify high-risk patients rapidly and to reduce the burden of antimicrobial resistance.

Endocrinal Association of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis with Obesity

Obesity is a serious health condition that has been affecting individuals of all ages worldwide.Dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and chronic stress exposure are implicated as main contributing factors for obesity development. This study is a systematic review of the research, based on all possible pathways that are involved in obesity involving HPA. The arcuate nucleus (ARC) and paraventricular nucleus (PVN) are involved in the interaction of HPA activity and energy intake. Neuropeptide Y and corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) regulate the feeding behavior. Insulin and leptin levels also affect the HPA axis through different pathways and play a significant role in the pathogenesis of obesity. This review shows the relationship of the HPA axis with obesity. By decreasing the activation or by inhibition of different pathways the causes of obesity can be controlled. Recent therapies are being developed to decrease food intake and body weight regulations.

Role of Heavy Metal Resistant Bacteria for Bioremediation of Polluted Environment

Bioremediation refers to the use of microorganisms to reduce or eliminate contaminants from water and soil. In the current research, different bacterial strains were screened for their chromate and arsenate reduction potential. For the removal of arsenic, eight arsenic resistant bacterial strains AsK03, AsK04, AsK06, AsK07, AsK08, AsK09, AsK15 and AsK18 and for chromium removal, eight chromium resistant bacterial strains CrK02, CrK08, CrK12, CrK14, CrK16, CrK19, CrK20 and CrK21 were isolated and selected, respectively, from several contaminated soil and water samples taken from tanneries located in Kasur. Resistance to chromium and arsenic was shown by all the strains on nutrient agar at preliminary concentration of 500 µg ml-1 . The maximum tolerable concentration (MTC) of these isolates was also studied. It was found that for arsenic resistance, two strains AsK04 and AsK09 had highest MTC of 100 mg ml-1 , AsK18 had 75 mg ml-1 , AsK03, AsK06 and AsK15 had 50 mg ml-1 and AsK07 and AsK08 had 45 mg ml-1 of Na2HAsO4 concentration. Similarly, chromium resistant strains were also checked for their MTC against K2CrO4. Here MTC of CrK16 and CrK19 were highest (75 mg ml-1 ), CrK08 and CrK12 were 50 mg ml-1 , CrK02 and CrK20 were 25 mg ml-1 , CrK14 and CrK21 had least MTC of 7.5 mg ml-1 . Fifteen of the bacterial strains were genetically identified by sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. BLAST analysis revealed that the seven strains are homologous to genus Bacillus.

Plasmid Profiling and Effect of Different Physiological Parameters on the Chromium Reduction Potential of Microbes

Chromium is toxic for both human and aquatic life. It is recommended to eradicate from wastewaters or to alter its oxidation state to less toxic level The purpose of current research was to isolate heavy metal (Cr) resistant bacteria from different industrial effluents (soil and waste water), to determine their potential for chromium reduction (CRP) at different parameters (time period, pH, temperature and concentrations of chromium) and to determine the plasmid profiles of Cr (VI) resistant bacterial isolates. The growth of chromium resistant bacteria was determined by checking the influence of pH, concentration of chromium, time period and temperature on isolates using UV spectrophotometer, while chromium reduction potential was also investigated using Deleo and Ehrlich method. Plasmid profiling was performed and analyzed using agarose gel electrophoresis (0.8%) to determine the number, size and relationship of plasmid with heavy metal resistance. Results showed that the identified bacterial isolates (S. aureus and S. epidermidis) were resistant to heavy metal (Cr) confirmed by resistance profiling. The maximum growth of bacterial isolate was recorded after 24-hour incubation period (1.154), at pH 8 (1.512), temperature 37ºC (1.615) and 500 µg/mL chromium concentration (1.978), while suitable conditions observed for chromium reduction potential was 24-hour incubation period (57%), pH 7 (62.6%), temperature 30ºC (60%), and 500 µg/mL concentration of chromium (60%). The plasmid profiles revealed that plasmid were randomly distributed among the bacterial isolates with average plasmid number (2.9) ranging from 0-5 and molecular size (100-12000bps). Overall, no defined relationship was observed among resistance pattern and plasmid mediated profiles.