Aspergillus awamori was isolated from a diseased banana fruit, Musa acuminata cv. Ambul. The fungus was fermented in potato dextrose broth and on potato dextrose agar media and the fungal media were extracted with EtOAc. Chromatographic separation of the EtOAc extracts furnished 4-methoxybenzyl 7-phenylacetamido-3-vinyl-3-cephem-4-carboxylate (1), along with three naphtho-γ-pyrones, flavasperone (2), foncesinone A (3) and aurasperone A (4), and three alkaloids, aspernigrin A (5), pestalamide C (6) and nigragillin (7). Compound 1, a known key intermediate in the chemical synthesis of cepham antibiotics, was isolated from a natural source for the first time. Compound 1 is the first 3-vinyl cephem derivative of microbial origin.
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease state characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. COPD is the umbrella term used to include three different respiratory conditions defined clinically as chronic bronchitis and pathologically as Emphysema and it also includes small airway disease. COPD patients mostly present with the features of acute respiratory infectionsbut there may be a number of metabolic derangements arising out of the disease process or as a consequence of the therapy instituted like hyponatremia, hypokalemia, elevated liver enzymes and blood urea. These abnormalities are very often missed and may contribute to morbidity and mortality, if overlooked. Objectives: To study the levels of hypoxemia and serum electrolytes like sodium and potassium in cases of acute exacerbation of COPD and to assess the significance of dyselectrolytemia, as a prognostic marker in these patients. Materials and methods: The study was undertaken from November 2014 to October 2016 among the patients attending, Victoria hospital and Bowring and Lady Curzon hospital attached to Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, with acute exacerbation of COPD diagnosed clinically and by the pulmonary function tests. 50 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD and 50 disease free healthy controls were included in the study. The Statistical software SAS 9.2, SPSS 15.0, were used for the analysis of the data and Microsoft word and excel have been used to generate graphs, tables etc. Conclusion: Electrolyte abnormalities are most commonly seen in patients with COPD with acute exacerbation and carry very poor prognosis in this group of patients. Thus, overlooking of coexistant metabolic abnormalities may contribute to a great deal of mortality and morbidity in COPD patients during their acute exacerbation episodes. Keywords: pulmonary disease; COPD; dyselectrolytemia; acute exacerbation
Background: Multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a major threat for successful control of TB. Early diagnosis and drug sensitivity testing helps in improving disease prevalence. This study was undertaken to determine clinical profile and risk factors for MDR-TB and factors differentiating it from non MDR-TB. Materials and methods: This is a prospective study conducted at a TB hospital attached to Vijayanagara institute of medical sciences, Bellary, Karnataka in South India over a period of 2 years. All patients diagnosed with MDR-TB were studied for clinical parameters and another cohort of non MDR-TB in same study period were included for comparison. Clinical and radiological characteristics, and risk factors were compared between two groups. Results: A total of 59 MDR-TB and 72 non MDR-TB patients were studied in this period. Males were predominant in both groups. Body mass index (BMI) was significantly low in MDR-TB group (18.5 vs 20.3 kg/m2). Among clinical symptoms, breathlessness was significantly seen in MDR-TB group. Defaulter, failure and relapse were seen in 6.8%, 54.3% and 37.3% respectively. Cavitary lesions and reticulonodular patterns in imaging were significantly seen in MDR group. Eight patients in non MDR group had human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection compared to one patient in MDR. Conclusion: Presence of cavity and reticulonodular patterns in imaging, significant breathlessness and lower BMI are significantly common in MDR TB patients. These parameters maybe considered for early suspicion and monitoring for drug resistance in index presentation. Keywords: multidrug resistant TB; breathlessness; human immunodeficiency virus; cavity lesion; reticulonodular patterns
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