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Escherichia coli harbors various virulence factors responsible for diarrhea and other diseases in neonatal calves. The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among the diarrheagenic and non-diarrheagenic E. coli may impose a potential health hazard among the calves and make the antibacterial therapy ineffective. The virulence gene expression among AMR strains plays a crucial role in establishing diarrheal disease with therapeutic complications. This study investigates the diversity of E. coli isolates from neonatal calves. E. coli isolated from the fecal samples were subsequently subjected to pathotyping and virulotyping using the PCR technique. AMR profiling was done by phenotypic and genotypic methods. The ERIC pattern of E. coli pathotypes was compared and correlated with the pattern of AMR and virulence traits. 179 isolates were obtained from 158 fecal samples collected from neonatal calves. Forty-two isolates were pathotypable; predominated by shigatoxigenic E. coli. Seventy-four isolates were ESBL producers. Nineteen isolates were carbapenem resistant and 68 isolates exhibited quinolone resistance. blaAmpC, blaVIM and qnrS were the predominant genes detected among ESBL, carbapenem and quinolone resistance genes, respectively. The present study indicated diverse virulence profiles and the presence of significant ESBL, carbapenem and fluoroquinolone resistance among E. coli pathotypes from calves. The analysis of resistance profiling indicates the risks associated with the indiscriminate antibiotic use among farm animals, which may pose a potential health hazard to livestock owners.

IntroductionAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Brucella melitensis, the causative agent of brucellosis, is of growing concern, particularly in low and middle-income countries. This study aimed to explore the genetic basis of AMR in B. melitensis strains from India.MethodsTwenty-four isolates from humans and animals were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing.ResultsResistance to doxycycline (20.80%), ciprofloxacin (16.67%), cotrimoxazole (4.17%), and rifampicin (16.67%) was observed. Genome analysis revealed efflux-related genes like mprF, bepG, bepF, bepC, bepE, and bepD across all isolates, however, classical AMR genes were not detected. Mutations in key AMR-associated genes such as rpoB, gyrA, and folP were identified, intriguingly present in both resistant and susceptible isolates, suggesting a complex genotype–phenotype relationship in AMR among Brucella spp. Additionally, mutations in efflux genes were noted in resistant and some susceptible isolates, indicating their potential role in resistance mechanisms. However, mutations in AMR-associated genes did not consistently align with phenotypic resistance, suggesting a multifactorial basis for resistance.DiscussionThe study underscores the complexity of AMR in B. melitensis and advocates for a holistic multi-omics approach to fully understand resistance mechanisms. These findings offer valuable insights into genetic markers associated with AMR, guiding future research and treatment strategies.

In this article, a hybrid circularly polarized Multiple- Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna for multi-band operation from 2.3 to 9.2 GHz with an impedance bandwidth of 7 GHz is proposed and investigated experimentally. The designed MIMO antenna model has a compact size of 20mm×40mm×1.6mm on the FR-4 substrate. The microstrip feed of the proposed slot antenna consists of a tapered structure, and the radiating element consists of the inverted L- shaped slots, which were opened on both sides of the radiating elements to introduce notches at the sub-6 GHz frequencies. L-shaped stubs are also introduced on another side of the substrate in the common ground plane to attain high isolation between the radiating elements of the proposed antenna. In the operating band from 2.3 to 9.2 GHz, isolation of less than -20 dB is achieved by the proposed model. The performance of the circularly polarized MIMO antenna in terms of RHCP and LHCP radiation patterns, axial ratio, surface current distributions, isolation between the ports, diversity gain (DG), envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), total active reflection coefficient (TARC), and peak gain are studied and presented in this work. The obtained characteristics of the proposed antenna make it suitable for sub-6- GHz frequency applications.

Abstract Heatwaves are acknowledged to be the major meteorological disaster, causing a noticeable impact on humans and animals’ lives during the last few decades. The number, frequency, duration, intensity, and areal extent of the heatwaves are on the rise during recent years. The Maximum temperature data of 2013 is analyzed to assess the synoptic nature, intensity, frequency, and various significant facets of the heatwave over the south peninsular states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Indian subcontinent experienced a major heatwave during 2013, which claimed 1216 human lives. Even though the highest intensity of maximum temperatures is observed in May over major areas of India, the increasing (incidence, duration, number of spells, and the sweltering temperatures) number of heatwaves are observed over many parts of the country. The northwest and southeast coastal regions are the two heat wave prone regions. The advection of heat from the northwest with the aid of north-westerly winds causes heatwaves over northwest India to sweep or move towards India’s southeast and east coast. The heatwave record over south-eastern India, i.e, Andhra Pradesh and the adjoining Telangana state during May 22–24, 2013 were described in this study. Maximum temperatures above 40°C are observed with a sudden rise by 6 to 7°C over the study region. An attempt is made to predict the maximum temperatures 72 hours before the existence of a heatwave at 3 km horizontal resolution using the Advanced core of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Model predicted temperature values match with observations and the statistical metrics show a high index of the agreement, lower values for root-mean-square error and mean absolute error. Atmospheric circulation patterns associated with this heatwave are also presented. The arrest of sea breeze, the hovering of diabatic heat because of subsidence is the factor that abetted the heatwave blockade over the south-eastern part of the country. The WRF model forecasts could present the occurance of the heat wave over AP and Telangana region with 72 hour lead time with high accuracy.

Due to the increasing interest at present time in the field of wearable electronics, flexible composite films lead to immense research interest for the core researchers. In this context, we have presented the magnetoimpedance studies of 0.5 Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4. -0.5 polyvinylidene fluoride nanocomposite flexible film prepared through low temperature "pyrophoric reaction process" succeeded by casting method. The magnetoimpedance characteristics of the composite flexible film have been studied employing a magnetic field dependence impedance spectroscopy technique. The value of impedance is found to decrease in nature with increasing the strength of the applied magnetic field, as a cause of high interfacial polarization at the low field strength of the granular-like composite. Moreover, with the increasing strength of the applied magnetic field, the value of impedance was also found to be decreased in nature or the increasing value of magnetoimpedance, attributing the magnetostriction property, domain alignment of the piezo-magnetic phase, and transfer of stress to the piezoelectric phase from the magnetic phase of the composites. The peak magnetoimpedance value is found to be ~ 5.3% at a frequency of 2.2 kHz, at the applied magnetic field of 1800 Oe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Escherichia coli harbors various virulence factors responsible for diarrhea and other diseases in neonatal calves. The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among the diarrheagenic and non-diarrheagenic E. coli may impose a potential health hazard among the calves and make the antibacterial therapy ineffective. The virulence gene expression among AMR strains plays a crucial role in establishing diarrheal disease with therapeutic complications. This study investigates the diversity of E. coli isolates from neonatal calves. E. coli isolated from the fecal samples were subsequently subjected to pathotyping and virulotyping using the PCR technique. AMR profiling was done by phenotypic and genotypic methods. The ERIC pattern of E. coli pathotypes was compared and correlated with the pattern of AMR and virulence traits. 179 isolates were obtained from 158 fecal samples collected from neonatal calves. Forty-two isolates were pathotypable; predominated by shigatoxigenic E. coli. Seventy-four isolates were ESBL producers. Nineteen isolates were carbapenem resistant and 68 isolates exhibited quinolone resistance. blaAmpC, blaVIM and qnrS were the predominant genes detected among ESBL, carbapenem and quinolone resistance genes, respectively. The present study indicated diverse virulence profiles and the presence of significant ESBL, carbapenem and fluoroquinolone resistance among E. coli pathotypes from calves. The analysis of resistance profiling indicates the risks associated with the indiscriminate antibiotic use among farm animals, which may pose a potential health hazard to livestock owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Brucella melitensis, the causative agent of brucellosis, is of growing concern, particularly in low and middle-income countries. This study aimed to explore the genetic basis of AMR in B. melitensis strains from India. Methods: Twenty-four isolates from humans and animals were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing. Results: Resistance to doxycycline (20.80%), ciprofloxacin (16.67%), cotrimoxazole (4.17%), and rifampicin (16.67%) was observed. Genome analysis revealed efflux-related genes like mprF, bepG, bepF, bepC, bepE, and bepD across all isolates, however, classical AMR genes were not detected. Mutations in key AMR-associated genes such as rpoB, gyrA, and folP were identified, intriguingly present in both resistant and susceptible isolates, suggesting a complex genotype–phenotype relationship in AMR among Brucella spp. Additionally, mutations in efflux genes were noted in resistant and some susceptible isolates, indicating their potential role in resistance mechanisms. However, mutations in AMR-associated genes did not consistently align with phenotypic resistance, suggesting a multifactorial basis for resistance. Discussion: The study underscores the complexity of AMR in B. melitensis and advocates for a holistic multi-omics approach to fully understand resistance mechanisms. These findings offer valuable insights into genetic markers associated with AMR, guiding future research and treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Renal replacement therapy (RRT) is advised in end-stage renal disease, the last stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD). RRT includes maintenance hemodialysis (MHD)/peritoneal dialysis/renal transplant. The requirement for MHD is annually escalating in India. It is important to note that over 80% of patients receiving MHD have at least one cardiac disease at the time of dialysis initiation, such as ischemic heart disease, congestive cardiac failure, and arrhythmias. Aims and Objectives: The present study aimed to study high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) serum level as a marker of cardiovascular injury in patients receiving MHD. It was an attempt to envisage a correlation between serum hs-cTnI and hemodialysis (HD) vintage (duration since initiation of dialysis till date). Materials and Methods: We enrolled 40 patients. Group 1 included those who had received MHD for =24 months, and Group 2 included those who had received MHD for more than 24 months. Results: We found no significant difference between the two groups' clinical characteristics and demographic features. The pre-and post-HD serum hs-cTnI values of all patients were recorded. The serum hs-cTnI levels were found to be elevated in 34 out of 40 patients' post-dialysis, and the result was statistically significant (P=0.0001). Conclusion: The present study has encouraging results, with values of hs-cTnI raised in post-dialysis samples; however, the levels did not correlate with HD vintage. Further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-ups would provide more detailed information on hs-cTnI's role as a marker for HD-induced cardiac damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]