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Graphical abstract:

The changes in various physicochemical and mechanical properties after harvesting wild banana (Musa balbisiana) were investigated by storing the fruit at room temperature (22 ± 2 °C). During ripening, physical changes such as pulp to peel ratio and fruit with seed to peel ratio increased and the changes in the colour of the fruits from green to red while yellowness occurred in the peel. The maximum colour difference (ΔE) of pulp and peel increased up to the 5th stage and decreased thereafter. Textural softening occurred till the end of the ripening stages; the peak force of penetration decreased from 16.6 to 5.8 N for banana samples with the peel. At the end of ripening, a non-significant difference was observed that may be due to equalized mucilaginous peel tissue structure. During the ripening process, moisture content, titratable acidity, pectin, fat, total sugar, pH and the total soluble solids were increased, and decreased starch content, ascorbic acid and protein were observed. The sensory assessment at the 6th stage of the banana received the highest rating. Thus, the present study determined the best ripening stage of wild banana variety to be suitable for processing during the postharvest phase and quality control of processed products.

ObjectivePrimary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a genetically complex, inflammatory bile duct disease of largely unknown aetiology often leading to liver transplantation or death. Little is known about the genetic contribution to the severity and progression of PSC. The aim of this study is to identify genetic variants associated with PSC disease progression and development of complications.DesignWe collected standardised PSC subphenotypes in a large cohort of 3402 patients with PSC. After quality control, we combined 130 422 single nucleotide polymorphisms of all patients—obtained using the Illumina immunochip—with their disease subphenotypes. Using logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models, we identified genetic variants associated with binary and time-to-event PSC subphenotypes.ResultsWe identified genetic variant rs853974 to be associated with liver transplant-free survival (p=6.07×10–9). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a 50.9% (95% CI 41.5% to 59.5%) transplant-free survival for homozygous AA allele carriers of rs853974 compared with 72.8% (95% CI 69.6% to 75.7%) for GG carriers at 10 years after PSC diagnosis. For the candidate gene in the region, RSPO3, we demonstrated expression in key liver-resident effector cells, such as human and murine cholangiocytes and human hepatic stellate cells.ConclusionWe present a large international PSC cohort, and report genetic loci associated with PSC disease progression. For liver transplant-free survival, we identified a genome-wide significant signal and demonstrated expression of the candidate gene RSPO3in key liver-resident effector cells. This warrants further assessments of the role of this potential key PSC modifier gene.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare progressive disorder leading to bile duct destruction; ∼75% of patients have comorbid inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We undertook the largest genome-wide association study of PSC (4,796 cases and 19,955 population controls) and identified four new genome-wide significant loci. The most associated SNP at one locus affects splicing and expression of UBASH3A, with the protective allele (C) predicted to cause nonstop-mediated mRNA decay and lower expression of UBASH3A. Further analyses based on common variants suggested that the genome-wide genetic correlation (rG) between PSC and ulcerative colitis (UC) (rG= 0.29) was significantly greater than that between PSC and Crohn's disease (CD) (rG= 0.04) (P = 2.55 × 10−15). UC and CD were genetically more similar to each other (rG= 0.56) than either was to PSC (P < 1.0 × 10−15). Our study represents a substantial advance in understanding of the genetics of PSC.

Hepatorenal syndrome is a distinctive complication of cirrhosis. Advances in understanding its pathogenesis have lead to new treatments with improved outcomes. This article focuses on evidence-based management of renal failure in cirrhosis including hepatorenal syndrome, in the context of pathophysiological changes that occur.

The Oxazolidinones are a promising novel chemical synthetic class of antibiotics identified in the last two decades and have been subjected to intensive discovery efforts. They possess impressive antibacterial activity against Grampositive pathogens. Oxazolidinones act through a unique mechanism of inhibitory bacterial protein biosynthesis. Linezolid (ZyvoxTM) has been the only drug of oxazolidinone class to reach the market after USFDA approval. Here we review our efforts directed to the discovery of novel oxazolidinone antibacterials evolved through structure-activity relationship (SAR) and an overview of contemporary on going efforts.

A set of substituted piperazinyloxazolidinone derivatives has been studied for their antibacterial activity in a few gram-positive bacteria. The structural modifications have provided a superior compound than linezolid, the only drug of this class in the market at present.

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