Microbial pigments: Learning from Himalayan perspective to industrial applications.

Pigments are an essential part of life on earth, ranging from microbes to plants and humans. The physiological and environmental cues induce microbes to produce a broad spectrum of pigments, giving them adaptation and survival advantages. Microbial pigments are of great interest due to their natural origin, diverse biological activities, and wide applications in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and textile industries.

Effectiveness of planned teaching program among primary school teachers regarding awareness of learning disabilities in children.

Purpose: To assess the awareness of learning disabilities of children before and after the planned teaching program among primary school teachers.

Research Design: A pre-experimental, nonrandomized, one group pretest and post-test design were used.

Materials And Methods: The accessible populations were all teachers working in private primary schools at Montfort Matriculation School, Chennai.

Wound Healing Activity of Plants from the Convolvulaceae Family.

Compounds derived from plants are gaining importance for the treatment of several diseases. Many plants from the Convolvulaceae family contain compounds that have demonstrated wound healing and antidiabetic activity. Such compounds can be effectively used as a part of treatments to promote wound healing in diabetics and used in combination with antimicrobial therapy to reduce the likelihood of drug resistance and allergic reactions.

Are WHO approved nucleic acid amplification tests causing large-scale "false identification" of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis?: Programmatic experience from south india.

Introduction: The nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs): Line probe assay and GeneXpert (Xpert) have evolved as the primary tool for identification of rifampicin (RIF)-resistant (RR) tuberculosis (TB) worldwide, primarily because of the ease and speed. We rechecked RR isolates identified by NAATs from presumptive RR TB cases belonging to South India by the Revised National TB Control Program, India using multiple RIF concentrations on Bactec MGIT system and compared the mutation patterns with the resistance levels.

Methodology: Standard protocol for Bactec MGIT system as given by the manufacturer modified for the multiple RIF concentrations was used.

Remotely sensed high resolution irrigated area mapping in India for 2000 to 2015.

India is among the countries that uses a significant fraction of available water for irrigation. Irrigated area in India has increased substantially after the Green revolution and both surface and groundwater have been extensively used. Under warming climate projections, irrigation frequency may increase leading to increased irrigation water demands.