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Starting from the end of 2019 the new SARs-CoV-2 virus, in the period of a few months, had spread to 210 countries and its territories. The Wuhan wild animal market, in Hubei province, China is considered the epicenter of this pandemic. WHO declared the name COVID-19 to designate the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is the third coronavirus pandemic after SARS in 2002–2003 and MERS-CoV in 2012. Genome sequencing of this new COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 virus shows slight genetic diversity when compared to other coronaviruses. Owing to its pathogenesis, and less known replication cycle, no universal antiviral treatment can be applied and vaccine preparation is still a larger challenge. The present article will highlight transmission, pandemic status, genetic diversity current antiviral therapy, and vaccine trials for COVID-19.

Background: Typhoid fever is a fatal disease in humans that is caused by Salmonella typhi. S. typhi infections need immediate antibiotic therapy, and their extensive use has led to multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. The use of bacteriophages is becoming a new way to treat these resistant bacteria. This research was directed to bacteriophage isolation against S. typhi and to determine phage-antibiotic synergism. Aims: To isolate bacteriophages targeting S. typhi, the causative agent of typhoid fever, and investigate their potential synergistic effects when combined with antibiotics. Study design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: The Widal test was positive; twenty diarrheal stool samples were taken, and for confirmation of S. typhi, different biochemical tests were performed. The disc-diffusion technique was used to determine antimicrobial resistance, and the double agar overlay method was used for bacteriophage isolation from sewage water against S. typhi. To test antibiotic-phage synergism, the S. typhi bacteria was treated by phages together with varying antibiotic concentrations. Results: Eleven samples were positive for S. typhi with black colonies on SS-agar. These were catalase and MR positive with alkali butt on TSI. Clear plaques were observed after the agar overlay. Isolated phages were stable at various pH and temperature levels. Synergism was observed on agar plate. The zone was enlarged when phages were combined with bacterial lawn culture and ciprofloxacin disk. Bacterial growth inhibition had a significant p-value of 0.03 in titration plates, with the phage-ciprofloxacin combination being more effective than the phage and antibiotic alone. Conclusion: The study highlights the synergistic effects of isolated bacteriophages with antibiotics, which are not only effective against S. typhi infection but also decrease antibiotic resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the end of 2019 the new SARs-CoV-2 virus, in the period of a few months, had spread to 210 countries and its territories. The Wuhan wild animal market, in Hubei province, China is considered the epicenter of this pandemic. WHO declared the name COVID-19 to designate the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is the third coronavirus pandemic after SARS in 2002-2003 and MERS-CoV in 2012. Genome sequencing of this new COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 virus shows slight genetic diversity when compared to other coronaviruses. Owing to its pathogenesis, and less known replication cycle, no universal antiviral treatment can be applied and vaccine preparation is still a larger challenge. The present article will highlight transmission, pandemic status, genetic diversity current antiviral therapy, and vaccine trials for COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

aima Muzammil,2 Nafeesa Yasmeen,4 Muhammad Aamir Aslam,3 Mohsin Khurshid,2 Muhammad Hidayat Rasool,2 Zulqarnain Baloch11Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou 730030, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Microbiology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan; 3Institute of Microbiology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan; 4College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Bilal Aslam; Zulqarnain Baloch Email drbilalaslam@gcuf.edu.pk; znbalooch@yahoo.com Introduction: Intense livestock farming practices enforcing the farmers to use antibiotics as food supplements on a routine basis. Aberrant use of antibiotics is associated with the emergence of antibiotics resistance and resistant superbugs. Keeping in view the current scenario, the present study was designed for the first time from Pakistan with a specific aim to estimate the prevalence of the carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in veterinary settings and the waste in Pakistan. Methods: A total of 138 samples from various veterinary sources were collected by employing a nonprobability sampling technique. Isolation and phenotypic identification of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae were performed according to the CLSI standard. Molecular detection of various antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) was done through PCR by using specific primers against each ARG. According to the pasture scheme, the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was performed to characterize the K. pneumoniae sequence types (STs). Results: According to the results of the study, overall 9.4% (13/138) isolates were confirmed carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae. Among various carbapenem ARGs particularly, the blaNDM-1 was found in 92.3% (12/13) isolates followed by blaOXA-48 84.6% (11/13). MLST results revealed that overall 3 STs were found in the study which includes ST29, ST11, and ST258. Taking together, this is the first study to our best knowledge which demonstrated the prevalence of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae and its various STs prevalent in veterinary settings and the waste of Pakistan. Conclusion: Based on the above-mentioned facts, we suggested that veterinary settings and waste are the potential source and reservoir of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae, which may be disseminated to the environment and ultimately can affect the public and companion livestock health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study utilized SERS to characterize and identify Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa which were collected from pus and confirmed using 16S rRNA sequencing. These bacteria are typically cultured and isolated from human wounds. SERS peaks at 575, 629, 930, 1008, 1038, 1099, 1134, 1221, 1283, 1294, 1374, 1589, and 1707 cm−1 were shown to be distinguishing features of these strains. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares – discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied to SERS spectral datasets. This study demonstrates that combining SERS with PCA and PLS-DA is effective for recognizing and distinguishing these bacterial isolates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractSurface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an effective technique for identifying the biochemical composition of biofilm forming bacterial strains which exhibit strong antibiotic resistance and present major challenges in healthcare settings. Klebsiella pneumoniae, an opportunistic pathogen known for its ability to form biofilms, is responsible for a variety of nosocomial and community-infections, highlighting the critical need for its precise detection. In this study, nine different strains of K. pneumoniae were selected and categorized according to their biofilm forming capacity (non-biofilm, medium biofilm, and strong biofilm). The silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) based SERS approach was used to analyze the biochemical differences between the cell mass (pellets) of these strains. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis were applied to classify and differentiate the SERS spectral datasets, achieving 100% specificity and 81.82% sensitivity. This approach enables the accurate and rapid identification of K. pneumoniae strains, along with detailed biochemical profiling of their biofilm matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella pullorum (S. pullorum) seroprevalence was determined, followed by isolation and molecular characterization in commercial poultry in district Faisalabad, Pakistan. The bacterin vaccine was prepared from the local isolate of S. pullorum and its efficacy was evaluated in broiler chicks. For seroprevalence, a total of 384 boiler farms were screened. Seroprevalence of S. pullorum in broiler was 11.72%. The collected tissue samples (liver, spleen, and intestine) from seropositive birds were processed on different media (Xylose lysine deoxycholate agar, Salmonella shigella agar and MacConkey agar) for bacterial isolation of S. pullorum. Molecular detection was done with the help of polymerase chain reaction followed by bacterin preparation. An experimental trial was done to compare the efficacy of bacterin with the commercial vaccine (Poulvac ®, USA). A total of 120 broiler birds were divided into four groups (G1-G4) designed as G1 (negative control), G2 (infected with S. pullorum, G3 (bacterin + S. pullorum infection), and G4 (commercial vaccine (Poulvac®) + S. pullorum infection). Higher morbidity (80%) and mortality rates (60) were in group G2 as compared to the group (G3 and G4). Gross and histopathological lesions were highest in group G2 as compared to other groups. In conclusion, the locally prepared bacterin provides better protection in terms of mortality and morbidity and enhances humoral immune response in broiler birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Intense livestock farming practices enforcing the farmers to use antibiotics as food supplements on a routine basis. Aberrant use of antibiotics is associated with the emergence of antibiotics resistance and resistant superbugs. Keeping in view the current scenario, the present study was designed for the first time from Pakistan with a specific aim to estimate the prevalence of the carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in veterinary settings and the waste in Pakistan., Methods: A total of 138 samples from various veterinary sources were collected by employing a nonprobability sampling technique. Isolation and phenotypic identification of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae were performed according to the CLSI standard. Molecular detection of various antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) was done through PCR by using specific primers against each ARG. According to the pasture scheme, the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was performed to characterize the K. pneumoniae sequence types (STs)., Results: According to the results of the study, overall 9.4% (13/138) isolates were confirmed carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae . Among various carbapenem ARGs particularly, the bla NDM-1 was found in 92.3% (12/13) isolates followed by bla OXA-48 84.6% (11/13). MLST results revealed that overall 3 STs were found in the study which includes ST29, ST11, and ST258. Taking together, this is the first study to our best knowledge which demonstrated the prevalence of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae and its various STs prevalent in veterinary settings and the waste of Pakistan., Conclusion: Based on the above-mentioned facts, we suggested that veterinary settings and waste are the potential source and reservoir of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae , which may be disseminated to the environment and ultimately can affect the public and companion livestock health., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare for this work., (© 2020 Chaudhry et al.)

2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have received widespread interest by virtue of their excellent electrical, optical, and electrochemical characteristics. Recent studies on TMDs have revealed their versatile utilization as electrocatalysts, supercapacitors, battery materials, and sensors, etc. In this study, MoS 2 nanosheets are successfully assembled on the porous VS 2 (P-VS 2 ) scaffold to form a MoS 2 /VS 2 heterostructure. Their gas-sensing features, such as sensitivity and selectivity, are investigated by using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique. The QCM results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the impressive affinity of the MoS 2 /VS 2 heterostructure sensor toward ammonia with a higher adsorption uptake than the pristine MoS 2 or P-VS 2 sensor. Furthermore, the adsorption kinetics of the MoS 2 /VS 2 heterostructure sensor toward ammonia follow the pseudo-first-order kinetics model. The excellent sensing features of the MoS 2 /VS 2 heterostructure render it attractive for high-performance ammonia sensors in diverse applications., (© 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Female birds have been shown to manipulate offspring sex ratio. However, mechanisms of sex ratio bias are not well understood. Reduced feed availability and change in body condition can affect the mass of eggs in birds that could lead to a skew in sex ratio. We employed feed restriction in laying chickens (Gallus gallus) to induce a decrease in body condition and egg mass using 45 chicken hens in treatment and control groups. Feed restriction led to an overall decline of egg mass. In the second period of treatment (Days 9-18) with more severe feed restriction and a steeper decline of egg mass, the sex ratio per hen (proportion of male eggs) had a significant negative association with mean egg mass per hen. Based on this association, two groups of hens were selected from feed restriction group, that is, hens producing male bias with low egg mass and hens producing female bias with high egg mass with overall sex ratios of 0.71 and 0.44 respectively. Genomewide transcriptome analysis on the germinal disks of F1 preovulatory follicles collected at the time of occurrence of meiosis-I was performed. We did not find significantly differentially expressed genes in these two groups of hens. However, gene set enrichment analysis showed that a number of cellular processes related to cell cycle progression, mitotic/meiotic apparatus, and chromosomal movement were enriched in female-biased hens or high mean egg mass as compared with male-biased hens or low mean egg mass. The differentially expressed gene sets may be involved in meiotic drive regulating sex ratio in the chicken., (© 2015 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.)

In various studies, chronic elevation of corticosterone levels in female birds under natural or experimental conditions resulted in female biased offspring sex ratios. In chicken, one study with injected corticosterone resulted in a male sex ratio bias. In the current study, we chronically elevated blood plasma corticosterone levels through corticosterone feeding (20 mg/kg feed) for 14 days using 30 chicken hens in each of treatment and control groups and studied the primary offspring sex ratio (here defined as the proportion of male fertile eggs determined in freshly laid eggs, i.e., without egg incubation). Mean plasma corticosterone concentrations were significantly higher in the treatment group but were not associated with sex ratio, laying rate, and fertility rate. Corticosterone treatment by itself did not affect egg sex but affected sex ratio as well as laying rate and fertility rate in interaction with hen body mass. Body mass had a negative association with sex ratio, laying rate, and fertility rate per hen in the corticosterone group, but a positive association with sex ratio in untreated hens. These interactions were already seen when taking the body mass at the beginning of the experiment, indicating intrinsic differences between light and heavy hens with regard to their reaction to corticosterone treatment. The effects on laying rate, fertility rate, and sex ratio suggest that some factor related to body mass act together with corticosterone to modulate ovarian functions. We propose that corticosterone treatment in conjunction with hen body mass can interfere with meiosis, which can lead to meiotic drive and to chromosomal aberrations resulting in postponed ovulation or infertile ova.