Amongst the various microorganisms found as contaminants in food and water samples, Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of the most predominant bacteria observed. The presence of the various strains of E. coli, pathogenic or non-pathogenic, in either food or water samples serves as an indicator of faecal contamination and helps to determine the hygienic condition, potability and safety of a given water or food sample for consumption. Although several conventional microbial analytical methods and the more advanced biochemical and molecular biology based methods exist for detection of E. coli, these are laden with several limitations. Nanotechnology offers cheaper, more reliable, quicker and more sensitive detection platforms for screening and/or enumerating the load of E. coli in a given sample. The present review outlines in brief the conventional methods available for E. coli detection enlisting the drawbacks of the same. Against this background, nanotechnology-based sensing systems developed for detection and capturing of E. coli so far have been highlighted. The most commonly developed nanosensors employ gold or silver nanoparticles with magnetic nanobeads also being currently employed for sensor development. Further, the evolution of green nanoparticle technology and its application in E. coli sensing has been explored with various examples of carbon dots, graphitic carbon nitride, glycopolymers and rice husk ash being cited. Furthermore, the development of nanosensors for E. coli using bimetallic nanoparticles has also been reviewed. These nanobased sensors have proved to exhibit high sensitivities and low detection limits for E. coli. However, approaches to enhance the sensitivity to detection even further lower limits and provide nanosensors as multifunctionalized detection tools for multiple pathogenic strains are underway.
SummaryThe genus Ipomoea with about 500 species is distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The species are not only among the most beautiful ornamental plants, they are also important because of their medicinal value. The present study deals with the karyotype analysis of 10 species of Ipomoea growing in Maharashtra state of India. All the species analysed are diploid, showing 2n=30. I. aquatica has the smallest chromosomes, 1.25 to 2.67 μm, with a mean length of 1.99( 0.38), and the total length of the haploid component as 29.88 μm, while I. carnea has the longest chromosomes, at 2.13 to 4.79 μm, with mean length as 3.39( 0.74) and total length of the haploid component at 50.83 μm. The karyomorphological investigations revealed that none of the species had a symmetrical karyotype. The degree of asymmetry was, however, low. Amongst the several parameters studied, that of Stebbins (1971) and the AI values were found to be the most reliable for assessing asymmetry. The species falling under group 2B of Stebbins had higher AI values as compared to those of group 1B, proving that they are more evolved. The heterogeneity within the 10 species could be traced by AI values.
SummaryMicronuclei induction serves as an essential biomarker of radiation stress in a living system, and the simplicity of its detection technique has made it a widely used indicator of radiation damage. The present study was conducted to reveal the cytological dose-response of a few plant taxa, viz., Allium cepa var. aggregatum Linn., Allium sativum Linn., Chlorophytum comosum (Thunb.) Jacques and Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, to low LET gamma radiation with special emphasis on the pattern of micronuclei induced across low and high dose regimes. A tri-phasic nonlinear dose-response pattern was observed in the four taxa studied, characterised by a low dose linear segment, a plateau and a high dose linear segment. Despite a similar response trend, the critical doses where the phase transitions occurred varied amongst the plant taxa, giving an indication to their relative radiosensitivities. E. crassipes and A. sativum, with their lower critical doses for slope modifications of phase transitions, were concluded as being more radiosensitive as compared to C. comosum and A. cepa, which had relatively higher critical doses.
Recent research in rural workforce issues has identified professional isolation and barriers to further education as major impediments in attracting and retaining skilled staff in a range of professions in the rural health system (Brown 1992; Schofield 1992). The seminar, Planning to manage and managing to plan, organised by the Rural Health Special Interest Group of the NSWHIMA, provided an opportunity to address some of these issues for rural NSW HIMs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.