Some novel bioactivities of Virgibacillus halodenitrificans carotenoids, isolated from Wadi El-Natrun lakes

Carotenoids come in second among the most frequent natural pigments and are utilized in medications, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, food pigments, and feed supplements. Based on recent complementary work, Virgibacillus was announced for the first time as a member of Wadi El-Natrun salt and soda lakes microbiota, identified as Virgibacillus halodenitrificans, and named V. halodenitrificans DASH; hence, this work aimed to investigate several in vitro medicinal bioactivities of V. halodenitrificans DASH carotenoids. The carotenoid methanolic extract showed antioxidant activity based on diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging capacity with a half-maximal concentration (IC50) of 1.6 mg/mL as well as nitric oxide (NO) scavenging action expressed by an IC50 of 46.4 µg/mL. The extract showed considerable inhibitory activity for alpha-amylase (α-amylase) and alpha-glucosidase (α-glucosidase) enzymes (IC50 of 100 and 173.4 μg/mL, respectively). Moreover, the extract displayed selective anticancer activity against Caco-2 (IC50 = 138.96 µg/mL) and HepG-2 cell lines (IC50 = 31.25 µg/mL), representing colorectal adenocarcinoma and hepatoblastoma. Likewise, the extract showed 98.9 % clearance for human hepatitis C virus (HCV) using reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), HCV-NS5B polymerase activity inhibition (IC50 = 27.4 µg/mL), and selective inhibitory activity against human coronavirus (HCoV 229E) using the plaque reduction assay (IC50 = 53.5 µg/mL). As far as we can tell, the anticancer, antiviral, and antidiabetic attributes of Virgibacillus carotenoids are, de novo, reported in this work which accordingly invokes further exploration of the other medicinal, biotechnological, and industrial applications of Virgibacillus and haloalkaliphilic bacteria carotenoids.

Maternal caffeine consumption and fetal behavior in normal third-trimester pregnancy

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to perform a longitudinal cohort study of 20 normal third-trimester pregnancies to observe whether the level of long-term maternal caffeine ingestion influenced fetal behavior.

STUDY DESIGN

By dietary history 10 normal pregnant women were categorized as "high" caffeine consumers (> 500 mg/day, group H) and 10 as "low" caffeine consumers (> 200 mg/day, group L). Between 30 and 40 weeks biweekly 2-hour continuous ultrasonographic observations of fetal heart rate; breathing activity; and eye, trunk, and extremity movements were conducted. Maternal caffeine levels were determined at each session, and fetal states were identified and their duration quantified. Data were compared by analysis of variance by means of repeated measures or t tests.

RESULTS

When compared with group L fetuses, group H fetuses spent similar mean time in state 1F (quiet sleep), less mean time in state 2F (active sleep), and much greater mean time in state 4F (arousal). The mean time spent in no state decreased significantly in group L, was unchanged in group H, and was similar for both groups at term. Both groups had similar mean numbers of state changes at all gestational ages studied. Mean maternal serum caffeine levels in group H were always significantly higher than those in group L.

CONCLUSION

Evolving fetal behavior may be influenced by the level of maternal caffeine consumption during the last trimester.

Surgical management of parapharyngeal cystic hygroma causing sudden airway obstruction

Parapharyngeal cystic hygroma is a rare tumor of the neck. This report describes two cases in which surgical resection was necessary to overcome sudden airway obstruction and details the surgical technique. These cases were considered "near misses" for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and were revealed by computed tomography (CT) and echography to be parapharyngeal cystic hygroma. The location of this malformation could have produced sudden airway collapse and be erroneously diagnosed as SIDS. The postoperative follow-up was satisfactory and no recurrence was detected. We believe CT and echography should be included in the evaluation of such cases.