Evidence of prenatal toxicity of herbal based indigenous formulations for sex selection in rat models.

Unlabelled: Indigenous preparations(IPs) for a male child is reported from some parts of India. The present study aims to explore the effects of IPs for sex selection or sex selection drugs (SSDs) on pregnancy outcomes in rat models. SSDs contain along with other ingredients.

Global sex selection techniques for family planning: a narrative review.

Objective: To document the varying methods of sex selection, both primitive (traditional) as well as advanced forms available around the world.

Context: With the increasing desire of couples to choose the gender of their offspring, scientific sex-selection methods and techniques have evolved over time; unfortunately, the medical and social consequences have remained poorly emphasised.

Methods: We searched electronic search engines and grey literature that included research articles from journals, books, websites and news articles in English until August 2016.

Heavy Metals in Indigenous Preparations Used for Sex Selection During Pregnancy in India.

Indigenous preparations (IPs) have evoked a considerable interest in alleviating infections and chronic diseases and improving wellbeing. While such formulations have been a part of traditional practice in several countries and many have been reviewed scientifically for their claims, several of them until date remain to be investigated. A class of IPs for sex selection by Indian pregnant women exists with an aim of begetting a male offspring.

Consumption of indigenous medicines by pregnant women in North India for selecting sex of the foetus: what can it lead to?

Background: Sex ratio is an important indicator of development. Despite all the measures undertaken for improvement, it remains an issue of concern in India, with Haryana having a very low sex ratio in the country. Studies have been conducted indicating that consumption of indigenous drugs used for sex selection (SSD) could be strongly associated with adverse effects on the foetal development, including congenital malformations.

Lactobacillus casei stimulates phase-II detoxification system and rescues malathion-induced physiological impairments in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Malathion, an organophosphorus insecticide, is renowned for its inhibitory action on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme that eventually leads to widespread disturbance in the normal physiological and behavioral activities of any organism. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are still an underexploited and inexhaustible source of significant pharmaceutical thrust. In the present study, Caenorhabditis elegans was employed to identify and characterize the indigenous LAB isolated from different traditional food against malathion-induced toxicity.

Indigenous Medicine Use for Sex Selection During Pregnancy and Risk of Congenital Malformations: A Population-Based Case-Control Study in Haryana, India.

Introduction: Congenital malformations (CMFs) are a major public health problem in India. Consanguineous marriages, infections during pregnancy, folic acid deficiency during the periconceptional period, exposure to pesticides and a history of intake of drugs during pregnancy have been hypothesized as risk factors. Drugs include oral contraceptive pills, progesterone analogues, medications for ailments and indigenous drugs to bear male offspring.

Defect detection around rebars in concrete using focused ultrasound and reverse time migration.

Experimental and numerical investigations have been performed to assess the feasibility of damage detection around rebars in concrete using focused ultrasound and a Reverse Time Migration (RTM) based subsurface imaging algorithm. Since concrete is heterogeneous, an unfocused ultrasonic field will be randomly scattered by the aggregates, thereby masking information about damage(s). A focused ultrasonic field, on the other hand, increases the possibility of detection of an anomaly due to enhanced amplitude of the incident field in the focal region.

Antimicrobial efficacy and in vivo toxicity studies of a quaternized biopolymeric flocculant.

This study evaluated the antibacterial spectrum and safety of a chemically modified biopolymeric flocculant (TMB) against waterborne pathogens. The biopolymer previously characterized as polysaccharide with flocculating activity is produced extracellularly by the bacterium Klebsiella terrigena. The amino sugars on the polymer were chemically modified by quaternization, which resulted in N,N,N trimethyl biopolymer (TMB).

Development of exobiopolymer-based biosensor for detection of phosphate in water.

The present study was conducted to develop a biosensor by exploiting phosphate-binding capacity of exobiopolymer (EBP) produced by Acinetobacter sp. An environmental isolate of EBP-producing Acinetobacter sp. was subjected to transposon (Tn5) mutagenesis to overproduce EBP and afford improved phosphate selectivity.

Interpretation of Indian orthodox tea using multi-sensing impedometric technique.

Twelve different orthodox Indian tea samples were collected from tea growing and processing sites of Kangra (Valley), India. The percentage of major chemical constituents responsible for the tea quality has been determined by HPLC and UV-vis spectrophotometer. Impedance response using Platinum (Pt), Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Glassy Carbon (GC), Polyaniline (PANI) (emraldine salt) and Poly Pyrrole (PPY) working electrodes in tea infusions in the frequency range of 1 Hz to 100 kHz has been measured for 30 days on each tea sample.

Probiotic characterization of potential hydrolases producing Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis isolated from pickled yam.

The aim of this study was to characterize potential probiotic strain co-producing α-amylase and β-galactosidase. Sixty-three strains, isolated from pickle samples were screened for their hydrolase producing capacity by utilizing different starches as carbon source. One out of 63 strains, isolated from traditionally fermented pickled yam showing maximum hydrolase activity (α-amylase (36.

Beneficial effect of a symbiotic preparation with S. boulardii lysate in mild stress-induced gut hyper-permeability.

Increased intestinal permeability has been advocated as one of the likely causes of various pathologies, such as allergies and metabolic or even cardiovascular disturbances. Thus, the aim of the present study was to test a symbiotic preparation containing microbial lysates (KC-1317, Named, Italy) against stress-induced derangement of gut mucosa permeability. Sprague Dawley rats were allocated into control (n=20) and stress (n=20) group.

Modeling in vitro cholesterol reduction in relation to growth of probiotic Lactobacillus casei.

Lactobacillus casei LA-1 isolated from a nondairy fermented source was evaluated for its in vitro ability to reduce cholesterol. The bacterium tested positive for bile salt deconjugation in relation to cholesterol removal. Tested growth-associated physiological variables such as pH, temperature and inoculum size were all found to have significant effects on in vitro cholesterol reduction and biomass production (both P < 0.

Impedance study of tea with added taste compounds using conducting polymer and metal electrodes.

In this study the sensing capabilities of a combination of metals and conducting polymer sensing/working electrodes for tea liquor prepared by addition of different compounds using an impedance mode in frequency range 1 Hz-100 KHz at 0.1 V potential has been carried out. Classification of six different tea liquor samples made by dissolving various compounds (black tea liquor + raw milk from milkman), (black tea liquor + sweetened clove syrup), (black tea liquor + sweetened ginger syrup), (black tea liquor + sweetened cardamom syrup), (black tea liquor + sweet chocolate syrup) and (black tea liquor + vanilla flavoured milk without sugar) using six different working electrodes in a multi electrode setup has been studied using impedance and further its PCA has been carried out.

Industrial Whey Utilization as a Medium Supplement for Biphasic Growth and Bacteriocin Production by Probiotic Lactobacillus casei LA-1.

The ability of probiotic Lactobacillus casei LA-1 for bacteriocin production using industrial by-products, such as whey, as supplement in growth medium has been demonstrated for the first time. Whey was investigated as a sole carbon source in cooperation with other components to substitute expensive nutrients as MRS for economical bacteriocin production. Industrial whey-supplemented MRS medium was then selected as to determine the effect of four variables (temperature, initial pH, incubation time, and whey concentration) by response surface methodology on bacteriocin production.

Mitogenic response and probiotic characteristics of lactic acid bacteria isolated from indigenously pickled vegetables and fermented beverages.

Lactic acid bacteria from indigenous pickled vegetables and fermented beverages (fermented rice and Madhuca longifolia flowers) were isolated and investigated for their functional characteristics in vitro as potential new probiotic strains. Four isolates (all Lactobacillus spp.) selected on the basis of high tolerance to bile (0.

Use of Lactococcus lactis to enrich sourdough bread with γ-aminobutyric acid.

Fried sourdough bread (bhatura) with an elevated amount of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) was produced using lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The LAB starter was screened and isolated from pickled yam showing highest GABA content and was identified as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis.

Modeling of permeabilization process in Pseudomonas putida G7 for enhanced limonin bioconversion.

A facile process of enhanced whole cell biotransformation to debitter the triterpenoid limonin in citrus juices was optimized in this work. To maximize bioconversion, permeabilization conditions were modeled using response surface methodology. A central composite rotatable design with four significant variables (concentration, temperature, pH, and treatment time) was employed.

Enhancement of bioconversion efficiency of limonin by Pseudmonas putida G7.

The biocatalytic activity of periplasmic dehydrogenase of Pseudomonas putida G7 strain to catalyse limonin was enhanced when whole cells were permeabilized with EDTA (1 μM) lysozyme (100 μg/ml). The treated cells were entrapped in dialysis membranes to increase the stability. Permeabilized cells (1 g dry weight) entrapped in dialysis membrane could biotransform 73.

Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for studying Cronobacter sakazakii ATCC BAA-894 pathogenesis.

Cronobacter sakazakii is occasionally associated with food-borne illness seen in neonates and infants with weakened immune system. It can cause meningitis, local necrotizing enterocolitis and systemic bacteremia leading to infant mortality rates upto 33-80%. With the aim of investigating whether C.

Evaluation of sanitizing efficacy of acetic acid on Piper betle leaves and its effect on antioxidant properties.

The sanitizing efficacy of acetic acid and its effect on health beneficial properties of Piper betle leaves were determined. Betel leaves artificially inoculated with Aeromonas, Salmonella and Yersinia were subjected to organic acid (citric acid, acetic acid and lactic acid) treatment. Pathogen populations reduced by 4 log upon individual inoculation and up to 2 log in a mixed cocktail following treatment with 2% acetic acid during storage up to 20 h at 28 degrees C, indicating a residual antimicrobial effect on pathogen during storage.

Application of a novel biopolymer for removal of Salmonella from poultry wastewater.

This study evaluated the potential of an extracellular, novel biopolymeric flocculant produced by a strain of Klebsiella terrigena for removal of Salmonella, a potent pathogen prevalent in poultry wastewater. The purified biopolymer was applied to poultry wastewater containing 3 log CFU cells of Salmonella. An optimized dosage of 2 mg L(-1) of the purified bioflocculant was sufficient to remove 80.

Effective removal of Cryptosporidium by a novel bioflocculant.

Extracellular biopolymer produced from Klebsiella terrigena was found to have excellent flocculating ability over a wide range of colloid particles (0.5 to 25micro). The biopolymer was thermostable, with an optimum temperature for flocculation of 30 degrees C.