BackgroundMedicinal plants are rich source of traditional herbal medicine around the globe. Most of the plant’s therapeutic properties are due to the presence of secondary bioactive compounds.MethodsThe present study analyzed the High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) fractions of Puncia granatum (peel) extracts (aqueous, chloroform, ethanol and hexane) against multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens (Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus). All the fractions having antibacterial activity was processed for bioactive compounds identification using LC MS/MS analysis.ResultsAmong total HPLC fractions (n = 30), 4 HPLC fractions of P. granatum (peel) showed potential activity against MDR pathogens. Fraction 1 (F1) and fraction 4 (F4) collected from aqueous extract showed maximum activity against P. aeruginosa. Fraction 2 (F2) of hexane showed antibacterial activity against three pathogens, while ethanol F4 exhibited antibacterial activity against A. baumannii. The active fractions were processed for LC MS/MS analysis to identify bioactive compounds. Valoneic acid dilactone (aqueous F1 and F4), Hexoside (ethanol F4) and Coumaric acid (hexane F2) were identified as bioactive compounds in HPLC fractions.Conclusion Puncia granatum peel extracts HPLC fractions exhibited potential inhibitory activity against MDR bacterial human pathogens. Several bioactive compounds were identified from the HPLC fractions. Further characterization of these compounds may be helpful to conclude it as therapeutic lead molecules against MDR pathogens.

Purpose The purpose of this study is twofold: identifying important determinants for effective adoption of internet technologies in an organizational supply chain context and examining and classifying benefits yielded from internet adoption in supply chain. Design/methodology/approach A structured Web-based questionnaire was designed and administered to respondents to collect the primary data. With two reminders, this study managed to obtain 236 respondents from different industries in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the seven hypotheses. Findings Four of five factors were significant for successful implementation of internet technologies in organizations. In addition, results suggested that internet technologies contribute more to operational activities rather than strategic initiatives, which would be one of the main contributions of this study. Research limitations/implications This study is limited by its being based on organizational perception rather than absolute value for measuring the benefits of internet adoption. Moreover, this study applied the cross-sectional technique which may limit generalizability of the findings. Practical implications This study provides in-depth knowledge about internet adoption and benefits for the organization by combining both theoretical and empirical knowledge. It helps managers to understand the importance and process of internet adoption. Originality/value Organizations who are interested in adopting the internet in their supply chain may feel that these results will guide them in making their final decision.

Postoperative pneumonia increases morbidity, length of stay, and hospital readmission rates. Current data support the use of perioperative chlorhexidine gluconate in elective cardiac surgery patients to prevent postoperative pneumonia. The objectives of this study were to implement a resident-driven quality improvement project and determine the efficacy of an oral care bundle in preventing postoperative pneumonia among noncardiac surgical patients. A retrospective review of postoperative pneumonia occurrences at our hospital captured by the NSQIP database from 2014 to 2016 was conducted. A pre- and postoperative pulmonary care bundle was implemented in all surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia and outcomes were tracked by NSQIP for up to 90 days postoperatively for calendar year 2017. The NSQIP-reported incidence of postoperative pneumonia at our hospital was reduced from 0.8 to 0 per cent (P = 0). The risk-adjusted smoothed rate fell from 1.17 (95% confidence interval 0.77–1.66) in 2014 to 0.33 (95% confidence interval 0.03–0.98) in 2017. We encountered multiple systematic issues while conducting this study, which led to an imbalanced compliance to the preoperative (90%) and postoperative (31%) bundle; however, there was no significant difference between these two groups. Successful implementation of a resident-driven quality project resulted in a decreased rate of postoperative pneumonia.

Organellar biogenesis is mainly regulated by nucleus-encoded factors, which act on various steps of gene expression including RNA editing, processing, splicing, stabilization, and translation initiation. Among these regulatory factors, pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins form the largest family of RNA binding proteins, with hundreds of members in flowering plants. In striking contrast, the genome of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii encodes only 14 such proteins. In this study, we analyzed PPR7, the smallest and most highly expressed PPR protein in C. reinhardtii. Green fluorescent protein-based localization and gel-filtration analysis revealed that PPR7 forms a part of a high-molecular-weight ribonucleoprotein complex in the chloroplast stroma. RIP-chip analysis of PPR7-bound RNAs demonstrated that the protein associates with a diverse set of chloroplast transcripts in vivo, i.e. rrnS, psbH, rpoC2, rbcL, atpA, cemA-atpH, tscA, and atpI-psaJ. Furthermore, the investigation of PPR7 RNAi strains revealed that depletion of PPR7 results in a light-sensitive phenotype, accompanied by altered levels of its target RNAs that are compatible with the defects in their maturation or stabilization. PPR7 is thus an unusual type of small multifunctional PPR protein, which interacts, probably in conjunction with other RNA binding proteins, with numerous target RNAs to promote a variety of post-transcriptional events.