Antibiotic resistance against present antibiotics is rising at an alarming rate with need for discovery of advanced methods to treat infections caused by resistant pathogens. Silver nanoparticles are known to exhibit satisfactory antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against different pathogens. In the present study, the AgNPs were synthesized chemically and characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Antibacterial activity against MDR K. pneumoniae strains was evaluated by agar diffusion and broth microdilution assay. Cellular protein leakage was determined by the Bradford assay. The effect of AgNPs on production on extracellular polymeric substances was evaluated. Biofilm formation was assessed by tube method qualitatively and quantitatively by the microtiter plate assay. The cytotoxic potential of AgNPs on HeLa cell lines was also determined. AgNPs exhibited an MIC of 62.5 and 125 μg/ml, while their MBC is 250 and 500 μg/ml. The production of extracellular polymeric substance decreased after AgNP treatment while cellular protein leakage increased due to higher rates of cellular membrane disruption by AgNPs. The percentage biofilm inhibition was evaluated to be 64% for K. pneumoniae strain MF953600 and 86% for MF953599 at AgNP concentration of 100 μg/ml. AgNPs were evaluated to be minimally cytotoxic and safe at concentrations of 15-120 μg/ml. The data evaluated by this study provided evidence of AgNPs being safe antibacterial and antibiofilm compounds against MDR K. pneumoniae.

Newcastle disease (ND) is an important infectious disease of the poultry that is caused by virulent strains of Avian Paramyxovirus-1, which is a single strand non segmented negative sense RNA virus. The virus belongs to family Paramyxoviridae and it has 10 serotypes designated as APMV-1 to APMV-10. The Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is endemic in many countries of the world. The first outbreak of Newcastle disease was observed at Newcastle during 1926. Later, it was found in various parts of the world. NDV spreads mostly by the direct contact between healthy and diseased birds or also by the excretions of infected birds. This disease can vary in nature from mild to severe depending upon the type of the virus. NDV can infect both domestic and wild birds. This disease can have a devastating effect on poultry due to high morbidity and mortality rates. In unvaccinated chickens, the morbidity and mortality rates may reach up to 100% each, depending upon the virulence of the NDV. Live virus vaccines and killed oil based vaccines are used in many countries to prevent the disease in chickens. Despite the extensive use of vaccines, outbreaks are continuously occurring in various parts of the world resulting in huge losses since few years. Moreover, extensive use of vaccines has made the situation favorable for genetic modification of the pathogenic virus. Keeping these issues in mind, future challenges are highlighted in detail.

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In similarly injured DCL patients, increased post-op INR and IAP predicted inability to achieve primary fascial closure on first take-back, while use of the vacuum-assisted closure was associated with increased likelihood of early fascial closure. At a busy academic Level I trauma center, the current rate of DCL among those undergoing emergent laparotomy is 30%. Whether this represents optimal use or overutilization of this technique still needs to be determined.

To control agricultural pests and meet the increasing food demands, pesticides use has been increased substantially over time. Although pesticides are relatively specific to their targets, they can affect non-target organisms and are hazardous for the population around the application areas particularly to the individuals engaged in different types of agricultural activities. This situation is worse in developing and under-developed countries where personal protective equipment is merely used and regulatory guidelines are hardly practiced. In the present study, DNA damage in women exposed to pesticides while picking cotton with bare hands was assessed using single cell gel electrophoresis assay or comet assay. The presence of pesticides in blood serum of exposed individuals was also analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Blood samples were collected from 138 (69 exposed and 69 control) randomly selected females from a major cotton growing area (Bahawalpur District) of the Punjab province of Pakistan. DNA damage, as determined by the mean comet tail length, was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in the exposed group compared to the unexposed. A positive correlation of DNA damage with age and exposure time was also observed. Residues of three pesticides, cyhalothrin, endosulfan, and deltamethrin found significantly higher (p < 0.001) in the serum samples of the exposed group compared to the unexposed. It was observed that the groups with higher mean comet tail length also had a higher concentration of pesticides in their serum samples indicating a positive association of DNA damage and pesticide exposure. The present study suggests that exposure to pesticides leads to DNA damage.