Streptomyces deserti sp. nov., isolated from hyper-arid Atacama Desert soil.

Santhanam, Rakesh,Okoro, Chinyere K,Rong, Xiaoying,Huang, Ying,Bull, Alan T,Andrews, Barbara A,Asenjo, Juan A,Weon, Hang-Yeon,Goodfellow, Michael N.V. Swets en Zeitlinger 2012 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Vol.101 No.3

<P>The taxonomic position of a Streptomyces strain isolated from a hyper-arid desert soil was established using a polyphasic approach. The organism had chemical and morphological properties typical of the genus Streptomyces and formed a phyletic line at the periphery of the Streptomyces coeruleorubidus subcluster in the 16S rRNA gene tree. DNA:DNA relatedness values between the isolate and its nearest phylogenetic neighbours, Streptomyces lomondensis NRRL 3252(T) and Streptomyces lusitanus NRRL B-12501(T) were 42.5 (±0.48)% and 25.0 (±1.78)%, respectively. The isolate was readily distinguished from these organisms using a combination of morphological and phenotypic properties. On the basis of these results, it is proposed that isolate C63(T) (CGMCC 4.6997(T),??=??KACC 15425(T)) be classified as the type strain of Streptomyces deserti sp. nov.</P>

Streptomyces atacamensis sp. nov., isolated from an extreme hyper-arid soil of the Atacama Desert, Chile

Santhanam, Rakesh,Okoro, Chinyere K.,Rong, Xiaoying,Huang, Ying,Bull, Alan T.,Weon, Hang-Yeon,Andrews, Barbara A.,Asenjo, Juan A.,Goodfellow, Michael Microbiology Society 2012 International journal of systematic and evolutiona Vol.62 No.11

<P>The taxonomic position of a <I>Streptomyces</I> strain isolated from an extreme hyper-arid soil sample collected from the Atacama Desert was determined using a polyphasic approach. The strain, isolate C60<SUP>T</SUP>, had chemical and morphological features typical of members of the genus <I>Streptomyces</I> and formed a distinct phyletic line in the <I>Streptomyces</I> 16S rRNA gene tree, together with the type strain of <I>Streptomyces radiopugnans</I><I>.</I> The two strains were distinguished readily using a combination of phenotypic properties and by a DNA-DNA relatedness value of 23.17 (±0.95) %. On the basis of these genotypic and phenotypic data, it is proposed that isolate C60<SUP>T</SUP> ( = CGMCC 4.7018<SUP>T</SUP> = KACC 15492<SUP>T</SUP>) be classified in the genus <I>Streptomyces</I> as <I>Streptomyces atacamensis</I> sp. nov.</P>

Pedigree Analysis and Audiological Investigations of Otosclerosis: An Extended Family Based Study

Santhanam Rekha,Ravi Ramalingam,Madasamy Parani 대한청각학회 2018 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.22 No.4

Background and Objectives: To analyse the audiometric profile and the pedigree of a large family with otosclerosis to understand the inheritance pattern and its implication in clinical management of the disease. Subjects and Methods: Pedigree analysis was performed on the basis of family history and audiometric tests. Pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, and acoustic reflexes were evaluated for the family members. Audiometric analysis was also carried out for the individuals who have already underwent corrective surgery at the time of study. Results: Out of 112 family members, 17 were affected individuals, and 11 of them were surgically confirmed. Hearing loss (HL) started unilaterally and progressed to bilateral form. Otosclerosiswas presented in early 20’s in the first and second generations but it was delayed to mid-late 30’s in the fourth generation. An affected female was diagnosed with otosclerosisduring her pregnancy. Though the disease was familial, a mother of four affected offspring in this family did not develop otosclerosis until she died at the age of 84. Conclusions: Thefive-generation family, which was analysed in the present study, exhibited autosomal dominant inheritance of otosclerosis with reduced penetrance. Bilateral HL and pregnancy-aggravatedotosclerosis were observed in this family. It was found for the first time that the age of onset of the disease delayed in the successive generations. The current study indicated the importance of detailed pedigree analysis for better clinical management of otosclerosis.

Native root-associated bacteria rescue a plant from a sudden-wilt disease that emerged during continuous cropping

Santhanam, Rakesh,Luu, Van Thi,Weinhold, Arne,Goldberg, Jay,Oh, Youngjoo,Baldwin, Ian T. National Academy of Sciences 2015 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF Vol.112 No.36

<P><B>Significance</B></P><P>Plant roots associate with the diverse microbial community in soil and can establish mutualistic relationships with microbes. The genetic characterization of the plant microbiome (total microbiota of plants) has intensified, but we still lack experimental proof of the ecological function of the root microbiome. Without such an understanding, the use of microbial communities in sustainable agricultural practices will be poorly informed. Through continuous cropping of a seed-sterilized native plant, we inadvertently recapitulated a common agricultural dilemma: the accumulation of phytopathogens. Experimental inoculations of seeds with native bacterial consortium during germination significantly attenuated plant mortality, demonstrating that a plant’s opportunistic mutualistic associations with soil microbes have the potential to increase the resilience of crops.</P><P>Plants maintain microbial associations whose functions remain largely unknown. For the past 15 y, we have planted the annual postfire tobacco <I>Nicotiana attenuata</I> into an experimental field plot in the plant’s native habitat, and for the last 8 y the number of plants dying from a sudden wilt disease has increased, leading to crop failure. Inadvertently we had recapitulated the common agricultural dilemma of pathogen buildup associated with continuous cropping for this native plant. Plants suffered sudden tissue collapse and black roots, symptoms similar to a <I>Fusarium</I>–<I>Alternaria</I> disease complex, recently characterized in a nearby native population and developed into an in vitro pathosystem for <I>N</I>. <I>attenuata</I>. With this in vitro disease system, different protection strategies (fungicide and inoculations with native root-associated bacterial and fungal isolates), together with a biochar soil amendment, were tested further in the field. A field trial with more than 900 plants in two field plots revealed that inoculation with a mixture of native bacterial isolates significantly reduced disease incidence and mortality in the infected field plot without influencing growth, herbivore resistance, or 32 defense and signaling metabolites known to mediate resistance against native herbivores. Tests in a subsequent year revealed that a core consortium of five bacteria was essential for disease reduction. This consortium, but not individual members of the root-associated bacteria community which this plant normally recruits during germination from native seed banks, provides enduring resistance against fungal diseases, demonstrating that native plants develop opportunistic mutualisms with prokaryotes that solve context-dependent ecological problems.</P>

A Retrospective Analysis of the Management of Postoperative Discitis: A Single Institutional Experience

R. Santhanam,K. Lakshmi 대한척추외과학회 2015 Asian Spine Journal Vol.9 No.4

Study Design: Retrospective study. Purpose: The aim of the study was to study the impact and outcome of conservative management and surgical intervention in cases of postoperative discitis. Overview of Literature: Postoperative discitis is a rare but often misdiagnosed cause of failed back syndrome. There is paucity of literature regarding management guidelines of postoperative discitis. Methods: The study was carried out over a period of 6 years. Eighteen patients with postoperative discitis were included in the study. Results: Conservative management with antibiotics, analgesics and bed rest were started in all the study cases. Posterior transpedicular fixation after re-exploration debridement and curettage of disc space granulation tissue was conducted in five patients in whom conservative management failed. Conclusions: Early diagnosis and appropriate management is the key to effective treatment of postoperative discitis. Conservative management leads to excellent results in majority of cases. Surgical intervention with posterior interbody fusion and debridement is helpful when conservative treatment fails.

Serving Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Clients: A Review of Changing Trends in Speech-Language Pathologists’ Self-efficacy and Implications for Stakeholders

Siva Priya Santhanam,Sabiha Parveen 한국언어재활사협회 2018 Clinical Archives of Communication Disorders Vol.3 No.3

With the rapid rise in our culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) clientele, it is essential to understand the clinical self-efficacy of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) serving these clients and to examine the efforts we have taken as a field to better prepare our future clinicians. Studies from the past 25 years that examine SLPs’ clinical self-efficacy in CLD service delivery were located using electronic databases and manual searchers. A total of 13 articles were identified. A review of the existing studies indicated that reports on clinical self-efficacy among SLPs working with CLD clients has not markedly improved during the last two decades. Nevertheless, there is a positive trend in two areas: (1) the availability and access to training and resources for SLPs, and (2) the willingness to work with more CLD clients. Factors that are barriers to bilingual service delivery still need to be addressed. Future implications for stakeholders are discussed.

Parallelized multi-graphics processing unit framework for high-speed Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy

Tankam, Patrice,Santhanam, Anand P.,Lee, Kye-Sung,Won, Jungeun,Canavesi, Cristina,Rolland, Jannick P. SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineeri 2014 JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL OPTICS Vol.19 No.7

<P>Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy (GD-OCM) is a volumetric high-resolution technique capable of acquiring three-dimensional (3-D) skin images with histological resolution. Real-time image processing is needed to enable GD-OCM imaging in a clinical setting. We present a parallelized and scalable multi-graphics processing unit (GPU) computing framework for real-time GD-OCM image processing. A parallelized control mechanism was developed to individually assign computation tasks to each of the GPUs. For each GPU, the optimal number of amplitude-scans (A-scans) to be processed in parallel was selected to maximize GPU memory usage and core throughput. We investigated five computing architectures for computational speed-up in processing 10001000 A-scans. The proposed parallelized multi-GPU computing framework enables processing at a computational speed faster than the GD-OCM image acquisition, thereby facilitating high-speed GD-OCM imaging in a clinical setting. Using two parallelized GPUs, the image processing of a 110.6??mm3 skin sample was performed in about 13 s, and the performance was benchmarked at 6.5 s with four GPUs. This work thus demonstrates that 3-D GD-OCM data may be displayed in real-time to the examiner using parallelized GPU processing.</P>

Antigenic Proteins of Helicobacter pylori of Potential Diagnostic Value

Khalilpour, Akbar,Santhanam, Amutha,Lee, Chun Wei,Saadatnia, Geita,Velusamy, Nagarajan,Osman, Sabariah,Mohamad, Ahmad Munir,Noordin, Rahmah Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.3

Helicobacter pylori antigen was prepared from an isolate from a patient with a duodenal ulcer. Serum samples were obtained from culture-positive H. pylori infected patients with duodenal ulcers, gastric ulcers and gastritis (n=30). As controls, three kinds of sera without detectable H. pylori IgG antibodies were used: 30 from healthy individuals without history of gastric disorders, 30 from patients who were seen in the endoscopy clinic but were H. pylori culture negative and 30 from people with other diseases. OFF-GEL electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE and Western blots of individual serum samples were used to identify protein bands with good sensitivity and specificity when probed with the above sera and HRP-conjugated anti-human IgG. Four H. pylori protein bands showed good (${\geq}$ 70%) sensitivity and high specificity (98-100%) towards anti-Helicobacter IgG antibody in culture-positive patients sera and control sera, respectively. The identities of the antigenic proteins were elucidated by mass spectrometry. The relative molecular weights and the identities of the proteins, based on MALDI TOF/TOF, were as follows: CagI (25 kDa), urease G accessory protein (25 kDa), UreB (63 kDa) and proline/pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase (118 KDa). These identified proteins, singly and/or in combinations, may be useful for diagnosis of H. pylori infection in patients.

Bioremediation of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) cultured effluent using copepod (Oithona rigida) and microalgae (Picochlorum maculatam & Amphora sp.)—An integrated approach

Dinesh Kumar, S.,Santhanam, P.,Nandakumar, R.,Ananth, S.,Nithya, P.,Dhanalakshmi, B.,Kim, Mi-Kyung Taylor Francis 2016 Desalination and water treatment Vol.57 No.54

Junction properties of Schottky diode with chemically prepared copolymer having hexylthiophene and cyclohexylthiophene units

VibhaSaxena,K.S.V.Santhanam 한국물리학회 2003 Current Applied Physics Vol.3 No.2, 3

A Schottky diode has been constructed from chemically synthesised copolymer of cyclohexyl and hexyl substituted thiopheneunits, and various metals such as In, Ag, Al, Sn, etc. The polymer lm was deposited on SnO2 coated glass substrate using spincasting technique. The electrical properties of the diode have been investigated by currentvoltage and capacitancevoltage mea-surements. These characteristics were compared with those of poly(3-cyclohexylthiophene) (P3cHT) and poly(3-n-hexylthiophene)(P3nHT) based diode. Junction parameters, such as, ideality factor (n) and barrier height (v) have been calculated by applyingthermionic emission theory. The values ofn and v values for P3cHT/metal and P3nHT/metal junctions. Poor performance of the copolymer/metal diode, compared to P3cHT wasattributed to the steric eects produced by hexyl substituents present in the copolymer.. 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.