Microgen (United States)

This article explores the use of biofertilizers over the traditional use of chemical fertilizers due to their potential benefits in sustainable agriculture. Studies on overuse of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides shows that these chemicals are major cause of cancer and other lethal diseases which are also discussed here. Biofertilizers have become an eco-friendly alternative of chemical fertilizers and comprises a variety of microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria, and symbiotic associations like mycorrhiza which aids in maintaining soil integrity and fertility. Current article thoroughly explains about the selection and production of biofertilizers. The selection of correct species of soil bacteria is important as the bacteria associates with the plant which could impact the yield of the crop. Recent modification in biofertilizer formulations is one of the applications of genetic engineering which aims to improve its efficacy, stability and shelf life in order to adapt to diverse environmental conditions. Additionally, genetically modified bacterial strains improve bacterial competitiveness and shelf life. These strains mainly include the species of Rhizobium, Azospirillum and Alcaligenes faecalis. By doing the thorough examination of current researches, case studies and practical application, the article highlights the ecological, socio-economical and agricultural advantages of biofertilizers. Ultimately, this article highlights the potential of biofertilizers and how they contribute to the health of farmers and support sustainable agricultural practices.

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs), particularly in vitro fertilization (IVF), have revolutionized livestock breeding by enhancing genetic gain, reproductive efficiency, and conservation efforts. This review article includes the recent advancements and applications of IVF across species like cattle, pigs, and horses. It aims to provide a role of complementary techniques like intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), gamete and zygote intrafallopian transfer (GIFT/ZIFT), cryopreservation, and genomic screening in improving embryo quality and animal reproduction. The integration of IVF with other technologies resulted in various advancements like optimized vitrification protocols, novel sperm capacitation methods and genomic tools to enable precise trait selection for disease resistance, productivity, and adaptability. The combination of IVF with ovum pick-up (OPU) and embryo transfer has enabled high yields in embryos for mass production of livestock animals to tackle the food crisis due to rising human population. Along with these technologies, challenges need to be answered which include polyspermy in porcine IVF, reduced embryo cytotolerance in goats, large offspring syndrome (LOS) linked to serum-based media, and species to species technical barriers. Innovations such as serum-based media, use of embryokines and gene editing tools like CRISPR-Cas9 technology present new opportunities to optimize IVF efficiency and reduce developmental anomalies. Livestock breeding strategies can be integrated with genomics and advanced reproductive technologies to meet global demands for food security, sustainability, and animal welfare. This review article also highlights the transformative impact of IVF in livestock biotechnology and outlines future directions to overcome current challenges and enhance practical application in animal reproductions.

(1) Background: Indwelling ureteral stents are commonly used urological devices to maintain ureteral patency, yet they have been associated with complications such as infections. Some studies have shown that bacteria adhere to and create an antimicrobial-resistant biofilm on stents. One factor that may impact biofilm formation is the original condition informing stent placement, such as kidney stones and renal allografts. Both kidney stones and renal allografts are independently associated with infection, yet the differential stent microbiomes of these populations remain poorly characterized. Our objective was to characterize these microbiomes in order to inform urological health practice and help prevent ureteral stent-associated infections. (2) Methods: Stents were collected from kidney stone and renal transplant recipients undergoing routine cystoscopic stent removal. Microbial DNA was extracted from stents and analyzed using 16S Next Generation Sequencing. Descriptive statistics, alpha diversity, and beta diversity methods were used for statistical analysis. (3) Results: The microbiome of ureteral stents in kidney stone and transplant patients is composed of unique species, each with different biofilm-forming abilities. (4) Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that the microbiome of stents differs based on preceding condition. It is important to conduct future studies that explore this microbiome further to understand what type of stent-associated infection someone may develop based on their initial condition.

Abstract Introduction Inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) is a third-line treatment for treating erectile dysfunction in men. However, complications in the prostheses can cause the patient to undergo secondary penile prostheses (PP) surgery. Infection is a feared complication of IPP surgery and has a higher risk at secondary surgery. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) compares DNA to identify species and report relative abundances. NGS is an established method of microbial detection and identification in Orthopedics, Otolaryngology, wound care, and infectious disease. In prosthetic urology, NGS has been shown to provide better and more acute information than traditional cultures. Objective This study aims to identify species richness (i.e., number of species occurring in a sample) in penile prostheses that needed revision surgery in comparison between infectious etiology and mechanical failure cases. We hypothesize that, during secondary surgery, mechanical failure IPPs will display a greater species richness than infectious caused. Methods This study comprised 126 patients from 2 different centers that underwent revision PP surgery for either infectious or non-infectious issues. Upon entering the pump space (wiped pump/tubing/capsule) during surgery, 2 swabs specimens were collected and sent to the institutional laboratory for routine culture and the other to MicrogenDx for NGS testing. During the specimen evaluation, the species richness of each specimen was recorded and sorted based on the reason for revision PP surgery. ANOVA was used to test effects of ethnicity, age, diabetes status, implant duration, and year of implant removal. Results The demographics of the 126 patients consisted of a median age of 69 (1st quartile= 61, 3rd quartile= 76), of which 84 were White, 41 were African American, and 1 was of unknown ethnicity. 104 patients (83%) needed revision PP surgery due to mechanical failure causes, and 22 patients (17%) needed revision PP surgery due to infectious causes. From the data collected and analyzed, patients who needed revision PP surgery due to mechanical failure showed a larger species richness in the collected biofilm than patients who needed surgery due to infectious reasons (Figure 1; p= 0.04). Conclusions NGS has been shown to accurately represent the characteristics of biofilm present in secondary PP surgery, supported by similar results in Ortho and ENT literature. When the PP was clinically infected, NGS identified less species richness in biofilm from revision PP surgery than non-infectious PP biofilm which is consistent with infections being caused by a few key pathogens per case. Disclosure Yes, this is sponsored by industry/sponsor: MicroGenDX. Clarification: Industry funding only - investigator initiated and executed study. Any of the authors act as a consultant, employee or shareholder of an industry for: MicroGenDX, Irrisept.

EDITORIAL article Front. Physiol., 13 October 2023Sec. Integrative Physiology Volume 14 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1303345

The mammary gland is a dynamic organ with various physiological processes like cellular proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis during the pregnancy-lactation-involution cycle. It is essential to understand the molecular changes during the lactogenic differentiation of mammary epithelial cells (MECs, the milk-synthesizing cells). The MECs are organized as luminal milk-secreting cells and basal myoepithelial cells (responsible for milk ejection by contraction) that form the alveoli. The branching morphogenesis and lactogenic differentiation of the MECs prepare the gland for lactation. This process is governed by many molecular mediators including hormones, growth factors, cytokines, miRNAs, regulatory proteins, etc. Interestingly, various signalling pathways guide lactation and understanding these molecular transitions from pregnancy to lactation will help researchers design further research. Manipulation of genes responsible for milk synthesis and secretion will promote augmentation of milk yield in dairy animals. Identifying protein signatures of lactation will help develop strategies for persistent lactation and shortening the dry period in farm animals. The present review article discusses in details the physiological and molecular changes occurring during lactogenic differentiation of MECs and the associated hormones, regulatory proteins, miRNAs, and signalling pathways. An in-depth knowledge of the molecular events will aid in developing engineered cellular models for studies related to mammary gland diseases of humans and animals.

HIV‐positive patients whose viral loads are successfully controlled by active antiretroviral therapy (ART) show no clinical signs of AIDS. However, their lifespan is shorter compared with individuals with no HIV infection and they prematurely exhibit a multitude of chronic diseases typically associated with advanced age. It was hypothesized that immune system aging may correlate with, and provide useful biomarkers for, this premature loss of healthspan in HIV‐positive subjects. Here, we tested whether the immune correlates of aging, including cell numbers and phenotypes, inflammatory status, and control of human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) in HIV‐positive subjects on long‐term successful ART (HIV+) may reveal increased “immunological age” compared with HIV‐negative, age‐matched cohort (HIV−) in participants between 50 and 69 years of age. Specifically, we expected that younger HIV+ subjects may immunologically resemble older individuals without HIV. We found no evidence to support this hypothesis. While T cells from HIV+ participants displayed differential expression in several differentiation and/or inhibitory/exhaustion markers in different T cell subpopulations, aging by a decade did not pronounce these changes. Similarly, while the HIV+ participants exhibited higher T cell responses and elevated inflammatory marker levels in plasma, indicative of chronic inflammation, this trait was not age‐sensitive. We did find differences in immune control of hCMV, and, more importantly, a sustained elevation of sCD14 and of proinflammatory CD4 and CD8 T cell responses across age groups, pointing towards uncontrolled inflammation as a factor in reduced healthspan in successfully treated older HIV+ patients.

Aspirin, as a routine venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis, is approved along with pneumatic compression pumps by the American College of Chest Physicians. We assessed compliance of aspirin and pump use after total joint arthroplasty. A randomized trial of aspirin alone or aspirin/mobile compression pumps after total joint arthroplasty was performed. Aspirin and pump compliance, VTE events, and satisfaction with pump use were collected. Compliance was assessed through an internal device monitor and drug log book. Patients were also contacted 90 days postoperatively for reported symptomatic VTEs. Each group had 40 patients and greater than 94% compliance with aspirin use, with no difference between groups (P = 0.55). Overall pump compliance during the first 14 days after hospital discharge was 51% (SD ± 33), which was significantly worse than aspirin compliance at 99% (SD ± 4.1) (P < 0.0001). Only 10 patients were compliant (>20 hr/d) with recommended pump use throughout the entire recommended period. There was no notable association between aspirin compliance and VTE within 90 days. There was no notable association between pump compliance and VTE at 90 days. However, average pump use compliance was 20% in patients with VTE and 54% in patients without VTE within 90 days. With the numbers available in this compliance study, there was no significant difference (P = 0.11). Aspirin compliance was notably greater than pump compliance. In this study, we found that pump compliance was not associated with lower VTE risk. In fact, no increased risk was recognized in patients with an average pump usage of >50%. Further study is warranted to define the duration of pump use required for clinical significance. The recommended use of compression pumps should continue to be examined.

Simple SummaryColorectal cancer being the third most frequently diagnosed cancer type, is creating enormous physical, financial, and emotional burden on individuals as well as on the health care system. Probiotics have been there in the limelight due to their numerous health benefits. In recent decades use of probiotics for the management of colorectal cancer is becoming increasingly popular owing to their positive and favourable outcomes in many in vitro, in vivo, and clinical investigations. The positive results are believed to be the manifestation of multiple beneficial effects exerted by probiotics acting constitutively. This review provides an overview of several mechanisms of probiotic activity supported by evidences from in vitro and in vivo investigations, establishing the promising role of probiotics as a candidate for colorectal cancer management.Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the World’s third most frequently diagnosed cancer type. It accounted for about 9.4% mortality out of the total incidences of cancer in the year 2020. According to estimated facts by World Health Organization (WHO), by 2030, 27 million new CRC cases, 17 million deaths, and around 75 million people living with the disease will appear. The facts and evidence that establish a link between the intestinal microflora and the occurrence of CRC are quite intuitive. Current shortcomings of chemo- and radiotherapies and the unavailability of appropriate treatment strategies for CRC are becoming the driving force to search for an alternative approach for the prevention, therapy, and management of CRC. Probiotics have been used for a long time due to their beneficial health effects, and now, it has become a popular candidate for the preventive and therapeutic treatment of CRC. The probiotics adopt different strategies such as the improvement of the intestinal barrier function, balancing of natural gut microflora, secretion of anticancer compounds, and degradation of carcinogenic compounds, which are useful in the prophylactic treatment of CRC. The pro-apoptotic ability of probiotics against cancerous cells makes them a potential therapeutic candidate against cancer diseases. Moreover, the immunomodulatory properties of probiotics have created interest among researchers to explore the therapeutic strategy by activating the immune system against cancerous cells. The present review discusses in detail different strategies and mechanisms of probiotics towards the prevention and treatment of CRC.