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The pea leafminer, Chromatomyia horticola (Goureau) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) is a polyphagous and serious pest of peas. In India, this pest is attacked by many parasitoids and among them Diglyphus horticola Khan (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is an important one, however, demographics and pest-kill potential of this parasitoid has not been studied so far. This study presents the first report on its demographics and pest-kill potential on C. horticola. The parasitoid showed three modes of host-killing behaviour viz. host-feeding, parasitism and host-stinging. The parasitoid females killed more number of hosts by parasitism than host-feeding or host-stinging. The pre-adult survival, net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and finite rate of increase (λ) were higher on the 5-days old host larvae than those reared on the 3-days old larvae. Demographics and pest-kill parameters of D. horticola were also better on 5-days old host larvae than on 3-days old host larvae. Based on the study, D. horticola appeared to be a promising biocontrol agent for the suppression of C. horticola in peas and could be promoted through conservation biological control. Further studies are required to standardize the mass production protocol and release rates to use the parasitoid by augmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional response is one of the most informative ways to study the density responsiveness of a natural enemy to the target pest. Tuta absoluta (Meyrick), one of the most destructive pests of tomato, has recently invaded India. In the present study, we investigated the functional response of Trichogramma achaeae Nagaraja and Nagarkatti, Trichogramma pretiosum Riley, Trichogramma chilonis (Ishii) and Trichogramma pieridis Nagaraja and Prashanth to the pest. All the parasitoids exhibited type II functional response to T. absoluta eggs. The handling time was minimum for T. achaeae (1.6 h) followed by T. pretiosum (1.86 h) T. chilonis (2.16 h) and T. pieridis (2.65 h). Theoretical maximum number of host eggs that could be parasitized in 24 h by each female of these parasitoids was estimated to be 16.23, 13.24, 11.05 and 8.97, respectively. Functional response parameters indicate that T. achaeae and T. pretiosum were more efficient parasitoids than the other two species against T. absoluta. It is, therefore, important to consider these tested egg parasitoids for biological control based integrated pest management programmes for this invasive pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The binarian model views melancholia as a distinct depressive class, whereas the unitarian model views it as a more severe expression of depression. This study aims to investigate the sociodemographic, clinical, and course differences between melancholic and non-melancholic depression. Methods: This prospective observational study was carried out at Kasturba Hospital, Manipal, India from November 2010 to September 2011. We recruited consecutive inpatients aged 18 to 60 years who have a diagnosis of depressive disorder (based on ICD-10), with or without any psychiatric or physical comorbidities. Patients were categorised into melancholia and non-melancholia using the CORE questionnaire, with scores of >8 indicating the presence of melancholic depression. In addition, patients were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Somatoform Symptom Checklist, Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, Clinical Global Impression, and Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale at baseline and at 1,3, and 6 months. Results: Of 87 inpatients with a diagnosis of depression, 50 met the inclusion criteria and 37 were excluded. Compared with patients with non-melancholic depression, patients with melancholic depression had higher depression score (30.8 vs 23.8, p < 0.001), had higher number of patients with psychotic depression (39.1% vs 7.4%, p = 0.007), had higher overall illness severity score (5.9 vs 4.8, p < 0.001), and had higher number of patients with suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviour. Regarding the course of melancholia, the number of melancholic patients decreased from 23 at baseline to eight at 1 month, three at 3 months, and three at 6 months. Scores of non-interactiveness, retardation, and agitation decrease significantly over 3 months. Conclusions: The construct and course of melancholia may be viewed as a part of depression, more in line with severe depression. Melancholia increases the risk for suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living mindfully helps one gain a deeper understanding into realities of life. It enables people to witness suffering, desire, attachments, and impermanence without any fear, anxiety, anger, or despair. This is considered the hallmark of true psychological insight. As a skill, mindfulness can be inculcated by anyone. Mindfulness helps in attending, getting aware and understanding experiences in a compassion and open-minded way. Research suggests that applying mindfulness in daily life has been known to tame our emotional mind and enabled people to perceive things "as they are" without ascribing expectations, judgments, cynicism, or apprehensions to them. This review unravels the therapeutic power of mindfulness meditation in the context of infertility distress. It serves to integrate the evidence on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based psychological interventions to improve the emotional well-being and biological outcomes in Infertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The potential impact of concomitant iron deficiency on hemoglobin A2 (HbA2)-based identification of β-thalassemia trait (β TT) is a worrisome issue for screening laboratories. This is especially true for resource-constrained settings where iron deficiency is widespread and molecular confirmatory tests for borderline low HbA2 values may be unavailable. Methods Obligate β TT carrier individuals ( n = 752) were identified during screening studies on the parents of thalassemia major patients. HbA2%, complete blood counts and serum iron, ferritin and transferrin saturation were studied. Iron-deficient individuals ( n = 135) with normal range HbA2% were taken as controls. Results Concomitant iron deficiency (defined as ferritin ≤15 ng/mL and/or transferrin saturation ≤15%) was present in 20.7% (156/752) βTT cases, that is, 33.3% females (122/366) and 8.8% males with βTT (34/386). Mean HbA2 in iron-replete βTT was 5.4 ± 0.8 (range 3.1-7.9) and in iron-deficient βTT was 5.4 ± 0.9 (range 3.3-7.6). HbA2 < 4.0% was found in 23/752 (3.1%) βTT: 13/595 iron-replete (2.2%) and 10/157 (6.4%) iron-deficient βTT individuals. However, five of the 10 iron-deficient βTT cases carried the silent CAP+1 (A>C) β-thalassemia allele accounting for the borderline HbA2%. On a separate analysis, all five severely anemic βTT (Hb < 80 g/L) and 16/17 βTT with severe hypoferritinemia (<5 ng/mL) had HbA2 > 4.5%. The single case with serum ferritin 4.8 ng/mL and HbA2 3.3% showed a CAP+1 (A>C) mutation. Conclusions Iron deficiency was prevalent among north Indian β TT individuals, especially women. After adjusting for other causes of low HbA2 in β TT, iron deficiency, even when very severe, was very unlikely to interfere significantly with HbA2-based identification of β TT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid reconnaissance soil survey of Markapur mandal of Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh was carried out in 2009-10 using geo-referred false colour composite image (IRS-P6, LISS-III) and Survey of India (SOI) topo-maps (1:50,000 scale) set. The soils of hill side slope and undulating pediments developed over quartzite, sandstone and shale complex was shallow to moderately deep, brown (7.5 YR 4/4) to dark brown (7.5 YR 3/4) in colour, well drained with poor fertility. These soils are under forest, open scrub and rainfed farming in patches. The soils of pediplains and stream bank from shale was yellowish red (5 YR 4/6) to dark reddish brown (5 YR 3/3), deep to very deep low fertility and cultivated (rainfed) in pediplains but waste land in stream bank. The soils of undulating pediments and hill side slope were grouped under land capability class IV and VII whereas soils of pediplains and stream bank were placed under land capability class II and III respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the spider mites are the most economically important group of mites which cause considerable loss of yield on different crops. It mentions that future work seeks to incorporate discharge-dependent roughness coefficient which will minimize the error in discharge estimation. It also mentions the simple workflow approach with an intuitive graphical interface will help researchers to estimate hydrological hydraulic parameters with ease.

Background: A survey made in 1991-92, reported Sahariya, a primitive tribe of India (M. P.), having high prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis. No follow-up study was undertaken thereafter. Objective: The present study was aimed to know the current status of tuberculosis (TB) in Sahariya after more than a decade of the last survey of 1991-92, as compared to that in Bhil, another primitive tribe living in the same area but never investigated for TB incidence. Materials and Methods: A total of 763 random sputum smears from Sahariya and 169 sputum smears from Bhil were screened for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M..tb) in order to evaluate the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis in both the tribes. Chi square (χ²) statistics was performed to study the correlation between age, sex on the one hand and with the prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary TB on the other hand, if any. Results: In Sahariya, the prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary TB was found increased significantly (P<0.005) to 0.454 as against 0.274 estimated in the earlier survey (1991-92). Males, particularly, appeared most affected (P<0.005; 0.382), especially adults (0.260). In contrast, among Bhil, the prevalence was very low. Conclusion: The observed increase in TB prevalence and its gender bias in Sahariya tribe indicate the high incidence rate and faster transmission of infection, especially in male sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Worldwide, the case notification rate of tuberculosis has been reported to be higher for men than women. In India also, the prevalence of TB is higher among males as compared to females but it is important to study the trend of gender gap in the prevalence of tuberculosis over the years. Objective: To examine the trend in gender gap in the prevalence of TB over the years. Materials and Methods: The unit level data of NFHS-2 (1998-99) and NFHS-3 (2005-06) has been utilized. Gender gap in the prevalence of TB has been estimated for the two rounds of the surveys. The delta (δ), the difference in gender gap in two surveys, has been estimated and decomposed by background characteristics such as place of residence(urban/rural), religion (Hindus/Muslims/others), caste(SC/ST/OBC/others) and standard of living(SLI) (low/medium/high) categories. Main Findings: Overall, the prevalence of TB has remained almost same in the two surveys [432/lakh in NFHS-2 and 418/lakh in NFHJS-3; Z=1.19, P=0.275. The gender gap has increased to 217/lakh in NFHS-3 in comparison to 145 per lakh in NFHS-2. The increase in gender gap is significantly higher in rural areas [of 98 per lakh;167/ lakh in NFHS-2 vs 265/lakh in NFHS-3; P<0.05] as compared to corresponding increase in urban areas [of 30 per lakh; 88/ lakh in NFHS-2 vs 118/ lakh in NFHS-3, P>0.05]. The increase in delta (δ) (difference in gender gap in two surveys) is accounted for as 88% by the rural areas and 12% by the urban areas. Conclusion: The increase in gender gap in the prevalence of TB is more in rural areas as compared to urban areas. The increase in rural areas is mainly contributed by Hindus, SC and ST and low and medium SLI categories and in urban areas, the contribution is mainly by Hindus, other castes and high SLI categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on satellite imagery for 1988 and 2001, land-use cover change and associated carbon stock and flux as a result of changes were estimated in Mamlay watershed of Sikkim Himalaya, India. The total area of forest was decreased by 28%, whereas open cropped area increased by more than 100%. The conversion of forests into other land uses resulted in a remarkable decline in the C densities. Across the land-use cover, total mean C densities ranged from 46 Mg ha−1 in open cropped area temperate to a high of 669 Mg ha−1 in temperate natural dense forest. The heavily converted areas lost an estimated 55% of their total 1988 C pools, whereas the low-impacted areas lost only 0.12%. Changes in land use released 7.78 Mg C ha−1 yr−1, demonstrating that land-use changes significantly affected C flux. Therefore, the conversion of forest to agriculture land should be reversed. Agroforestry systems should be included in agricultural land in mountainous regions. The policy relevance of this work is immediate. The results of this study will provide direct input to industrialized countries to meet their Kyoto Protocol emission-reduction obligations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Seventeen azide resistant mutants were isolated from six strains (103, HT-54, HT-54 (2), 10P, E-12 and MSX 9) of Azotobacter chroococcum. All the parent strains were tested for their minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) by growing cells in liquid medium containing different concentrations of sodium azide (5 μ gml1 to 200 μ gml1). The strains showed different MIC values indicating that the resistance pattern varied with each individual strain. These azide resistant mutants were assessed for their performance on two cotton cultivars- Gossypium hirsutum, var. H- 117 and Gossypiun herbaceum var. HD-123 under pothouse conditions for various plant parameters. Inoculation of cotton seed with Azotobacter mutants showed better results than inoculation with their respective parental strains. Azide resistant mutants showed increased plant height, early flowering, more yield, high biomass and high total nitrogen content. Better performance by these mutants might be due to high indole acetic acid, ammonia excretion and high nitrogenase activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimicrobial susceptibility was done as per CLSI guidelines (2019) for amoxicillin, chloramphenicol, co-trimoxazole, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone and azithromycin. B Background: b Antimicrobial resistance in enteric fever is a major therapeutic challenge and there is a need to monitor the pattern of resistance to the antityphoidal agents and detection of molecular mechanisms of resistance. [Extracted from the article]

A 6-year study on the treatment of typhoid fever in children from India - Are we running out of options? So, to know the actual practices of antibiotics in the treatment of typhoid fever we designed the current study in a tertiary care hospital. In the hospitalized patients the antibiotics given were measured as days of therapy per 1000 patient days and in OPD as per the antibiotic were prescribed. [Extracted from the article]

B Background: b Emerged antimicrobial resistance in typhoidal salmonellae has left us with a limited treatment options for enteric fever. The concept of ECOFFs was introduced by EUCAST as a way of distinguishing bacteria without resistance (wild type, WT) from those with acquired resistance (Non wild type, NWT). [Extracted from the article]

The present experiment was conducted at a constant temperature of 25 ± 0.5 °C, 70 ± 5 per cent relative humidity and 14L: 10D photoperiod on French bean, Phaseolus vulgaris cv. contender plants in the Biocontrol Laboratory of the Department of Entomology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India. The study revealed that Encarsia formosa exhibited a Type II functional response both on the bases of parasitism and host kill with third and fourth nymphal instars of greenhouse whitefly. The functional response parameters i.e. handling time (Th), attack rate (a), effectiveness of parasitoid (a/Th) and the maximum parasitization rate (K) on total host kill by the parasitoid on third nymphal instar was 0.575 h, 0.037 h−1, 0.064 and 41.684, respectively whereas with fourth nymphal instar, handling time (Th), attack rate (a), effectiveness of parasitoid (a/Th) and the maximum parasitization rate (K) was 0.518 h, 0.044 h−1, 0.086 and 46.317, respectively. The area of discovery of the parasitoid with third nymphal instars decreased from 0.12 to 0.09 and with fourth instar it decreased from 0.14 to 0.09 with the increase in the density of the parasitoid from 2 to 8 for both the nymphal instars (third and fourth), respectively. The mutual interference coefficient with fourth instar was highest (m = 0.285) as compared to third instar nymphs (m = 0.166). It shows its effectiveness against the greenhouse whitefly. Hence, it can be utilized as one of the component of an integrated pest management programme of greenhouse whitefly, T. vaporariorum under protected cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute pancreatitis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among gastrointestinal disorders. But little is known about etiology and clinical profile in Indian population. Objective: To know clinicopathological profile, etiology and outcome of acute pancreatitis in study patients. Material and methods: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care and research hospital in New Delhi India from May 2018 to November 2018. Total 30 established cases of acute pancreatitis were included in the study. Data were collected and processed by using SPSS version20 and result was obtained in tables and diagrams. Results: Among 30 patients, 21(70%) were male and 9(30%) female; 18 to 89 yrs of aged patients were included in the study with mean age 41.6±17.5 years, of 18-30 years of aged patients were more affected (10, 33.3%); patients of different occupation were studied;26(86.7%)patients were non-smoker and 4(13.3%) smoker; 16(53.3%) were non-alcoholic and 14(46.7%) patients had a habit of alcoholism of whom, all were male; patients who used to take e"5 units of alcohol per day were frequently affected (10, 71.4%) by acute pancreatitis, though it did not spared occasional drinkers (2, 14.3%);22(73.3%) patients had interstitial pancreatitis and 8(26.7%) had acute necrotizing pancreatitis;14(46.7%) patients had acute pancreatitis due to alcohol, 10 (33.3%) patients had gall stone, 2(6.7%) patients developed pancreatitis after ERCP;29(96.7%) patients presented with abdominal pain, 28 (93.3%) had vomiting, 21 (70%) patients had jaundice, 10 (33.3%) had fever, 18 (60%) patients had anemia, 17 (56.7%) patients develop ascites, 19 (63.3%) patients develop pleural effusion, 7(23.3%) patients developed ileus, and 3(10.0%) patients developed circulatory shock; 25(83.3%) patients developed organ dysfunction during in hospital care, of whom 11(36.7%) patients had transient and 14(46.7%) had persistent organ dysfunction; 5(16.7%) patients were complicated with pseudocyst, 6(20%) had walled of necrosis (WON), 7(23.3%) developed sepsis, 14(46.7%) developed renal dysfunction, 23(76.7%) developed hepatic dysfunction, 8(26.7%) developed respiratory dysfunction, 6(20%) developed pneumonia; 8(26.7%) patients had been suffering from different comorbidity; ultrasound of abdomen were abnormal in all 30(100%) patients; As per CTSI score, severe pancreatitis 14(46.7%), moderate pancreatitis 14(46.7%) and mild pancreatitis 2(6.7%); 24(80%) patients received only medical treatment and 6(20%) patients needed surgical or radiological intervention; 19(63.3%) patients were improved symptomatically, 8(26.7%) patients were cured and 3(10%) patients died during in hospital care. Conclusion: Alcohol was the predominant etiology of acute pancreatitis, mostly affecting young and middle aged male, but mortality was more in gall stone related pancreatitis. Hepatic dysfunction was observed frequently that may attribute to effect of chronic alcohol abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pea leafminer, Chromatomyia horticola is one of the serious pests of pea in the major pea-growing regions of India. The effect of different cultivars on the biology and fertility parameters of pea leafminer was studied at 25 ± 1°C, 60–65% relative humidity and 12:12 h photoperiod during 2022. The development time for immature stages was significantly different between cultivars as follows: Azad P-1 < Pusa Pragati < Him Palam Matar-1. Population parameters like the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) (0.1752 day-1), the net reproductive rate (R0) (85.25 female eggs/female) and finite rate of increase (ℷ) (1.1915 females/day) were observed to be highest on Azad P-1 cultivar. The highest fecundity of 227 eggs per female was also observed on Azad P-1 cultivar. No significant differences were observed in the mean generation time and doubling time of leafminer on all three cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Inappropriate Use of Protein C, Protein S, and Antithrombin Testing for Hereditary Thrombophilia Screening: an Experience from a Large University Hospital," by Tientadakul and colleagues in the December 2011 issue.

A new foliar disease was observed on sissoo in Jaipur and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan, India. The disease occurred in approximately 30% of the trees surveyed. Leaf spots were mostly irregular and these start from leaf margin to inwards. The fungus was identified as Curvularia affinis Boedijn and Koch's postulates fulfilled. On the basis of the literature, this is the first report of C. affinis causing leaf spot of Dalbergia sissoo from India as well as worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis is a rapidly progressive disease with high mortality rates of about 60 per cent. The increasing incidence of rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis in coronavirus disease 2019 patients in India and worldwide has become a matter of concern owing to the case fatality rate. This study explored the use of low dose aspirin in decreasing the mortality rate of coronavirus disease 2019 associated mucormycosis. Method: This was a retrospective observational study. Patients suffering from post-coronavirus disease 2019 mucormycosis were included in the study. Each patient was treated with surgical debridement and systemic amphotericin B. Low dose aspirin was added, and mortality rates were compared with the patients who did not receive aspirin. Results: The demographic data and rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis staging between the two groups were not significantly different. There was a statistically significant difference in mortality outcomes between the two groups (p = 0.029) and a 1.77 times higher risk of dying for patients not receiving aspirin. Kaplan–Meier survival indicated that patients receiving aspirin had better survival rates (p = 0.04). Conclusion: Low dose aspirin improves survival rates in coronavirus disease 2019 associated mucormycosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive tillage operations, indiscriminate use of irrigation water, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides and crop biomass burning have made the conventional rice–wheat (RW) system highly energy-intensive and inefficient. In the recent past, portfolios of climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAP) have been promoted as a potential alternative to improve the energy efficiency in conventional RW system. Therefore, to evaluate the energy input–output relation, energy flow and economic efficiency in various combinations of crop management options, a 3-year (2014–2017) on-farm study was conducted at Karnal, India. Various portfolio of management practices; Sc1-Business as usual (BAU) or Conventional tillage (CT) without residue, Sc2-CT with residue, Sc3-Reduce tillage (RT) with residue + recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), Sc4-RT/Zero tillage (ZT) with residue + RDF, Sc5-ZT with residue + RDF + GreenSeeker + Tensiometer, Sc6-Sc5 + Nutrient expert were investigated. Present study results revealed that net energy, energy use efficiency and energy productivity were 11–18, 31–51 and 29–53% higher under CSAP (mean of Sc4, Sc5 and Sc6) in RW system than Sc1, respectively. However, renewable and non-renewable energy inputs were 14 and 33% higher in Sc1 compared to CSAP (4028 and 49,547 MJ ha−1), respectively, it showed that BAU practices mostly dependents on non-renewable energy sources whereas CSAP dependents on renewable energy sources. Similarly, the adoption of CSAP improved the biomass yield, net farm income and economic efficiency by 6–9, 18–23 and 42–58%, respectively compared to Sc1. Overall, the adoption of CSAP could be a viable alternative for improving energy use efficiency, farm profitability and eco-efficiency in the RW system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eightyfive isolates of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (bean anthracnose) collected from different kidney bean growing areas of a hilly state (Himachal Pradesh) of India, were characterized on the basis of their reaction types on International and CIAT differentials. On international differentials, 12 races viz., Alpha-Brazil, Beta, Gamma and Ind I to Ind IX were characterized. The races designated as Ind I to Ind IX were different from those identified in Europe and USA, thus forming a new race group from the Indian subcontinent. On the CIAT differential set the 85 isolates have been grouped into 19 races. Of these, only races 65 and 73 resembled the North American races. Exotic accessions AB 136 and G 2333 were resistant to all the Indian races. However, race specific resistance has been found in a number of indigenous and exotic genotypes of Phaseolus vulgaris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A begomovirus was isolated from tomato plants showing leaf curl and stunting symptoms in farmers' fields near the district of Kalyani, West Bengal, India. Viral genomic components amplified by rolling-circle amplification were cloned and sequenced. The genome organization of this virus was found to be similar to those of Old World monopartite begomovirus, with DNA A and a betasatellite component. Neither alphasatellite nor DNA B component was detected. The begomovirus showed highest sequence identity of 93.6% to tomato leaf curl Joydebpur virus (ToLCJoV-[IN:Kal:Chi:06]) and was thus identified to be an isolate of ToLCJoV. The betasatellite isolated from these samples was identified as tomato leaf curl Joydebpur betasatellite. ToLCJoV-[IN:Kal:Tom:08] alone induced severe symptoms in Solanum lycopersicum, N. benthamiana and N. glutinosa plants, and its severity was enhanced when co-inoculated with the cognate betasatellite. ToLCJoV-[IN:Kal:Tom:08] trans-replicated four more non-cognate betasatellites and induced severe symptoms in N. benthamiana and tomato. Since DNA A replicated efficiently and caused systemic symptom expression, it is hypothesized that ToLCJoV is essentially a monopartite virus, which could have acquired a betasatellite from an unknown source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: Preliminary trials reflected the low prevalence of diabetes in Raica community consuming camel milk habitually. Our objective was to describe the prevalence and clinical factors associated with impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and diabetes (DM) among adults (≥20 years) in large population group. Design: Population based, cross sectional study Methods: 2099 participants from different villages of north-west Rajasthan were selected using stratified sampling of a representative Raica and non-Raica Community, consuming or not consuming camel milk. Demographic, clinical, anthropometric parameters were obtained and oral glucose tolerance tests were performed in all individuals to diagnose IFG, IGT and DM. Associations were investigated using multivariate logistic regression using SPSS Version 10.0. Results: In the present study, the prevalence of diabetes in Raica community consuming camel milk (RCCM, n =501) was 0%; Raica community not consuming camel milk (RCNCM, n =554) was 0.7%; non-Raica community consuming milk (NRCCM, n =515) was 0.4% and non-Raica community not consuming camel milk (NRCNCM, n =529) was 5.5%. Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that consumption of camel milk was statistically highly significant as protective factor for diabetes. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that camel milk consumption and community factor were associated with decreased prevalence of diabetes. Conclusion: Camel milk consumption and lifestyle have definite influence on prevalence of diabetes. Hence, adopting such life pattern may play protective role in preventing diabetes to some extent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Ramsar Convention of IUCN held in 1971 in Iran raised global awareness of the conservation and management of wetlands. Wetlands, the transitional zones that occupy an intermediate position between dryland and open water, regulate the flow of water and nutrients, thereby facilitating optimum functioning of the physical and biological cycles of nature. Harike wetland in the Indian State of Punjab has been declared a wetland of international importance. Thus it is felt necessary to reclaim and develop Harike wetland for its optimum potential use, but a reliable and accurate wetland database is not available. This study aimed at the generation of a database in terms of landuse/landcover, extent of waterspread and its seasonal variation, aquatic vegetation status and turbidity levels of lake water, using multidate satellite data. The threats of the Harike wetland have been identified and adequate measures for its conservation and management suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In common wheat, genes/QTL for a number of traits including grain quality and resistance against all the three rusts were pyramided in the background of an erstwhile elite Indian wheat cv. PBW343. For this purpose, two improved lines (P1 and P2) each in the background of PBW343 were crossed; these two lines were earlier developed using marker-assisted selection (MAS). The genes carried by line "P1" included Yr70/Lr76 + Lr37/Yr17/Sr38, and the genes carried by line "P2" included Gpc-B1/Yr36+QPhs.ccsu-3A.1+QGw.ccsu-1A.3+Lr24/Sr24+Glu-A1-1/Glu-A1-2. Following foreground MAS in F2 and F3 and SDS-PAGE analysis in F5, 23 lines were selected, each carrying all the genes/QTL for grain quality and resistance to three rusts in homozygous condition. Eleven of the selected lines had relatively higher grain protein content (along with one or more other traits) and were also resistant to five pathotypes of Puccinia triticina (Pt), seven pathotypes of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), and two pathotypes (78S84 and 47S103) of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) that occur in major wheat-growing areas of India. One line (CCSU-7) out of these 11 selected lines had significantly higher grain yield as well as grain protein content compared with check cv. PBW343, which should prove useful in future wheat breeding programs for improving not only the grain quality but also the durability of resistance against all three rusts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degradation of soil quality caused by conventional tillage practices is a major concern for the sustainability of rice-wheat cropping systems in South Asian region. Therefore, suitable conservation agriculture (CA) practices are required. This study investigates the stratification and storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) as affected by eight years of different CA practices in the North-West Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. There were four treatments: (1) conventionally tilled rice-wheat cropping system, (2) reduced-till CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system, (3) no-till CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system, and (4) no-till CA-based maize-wheat-mungbean system. The mean stratification ratio (SR) (i.e. a ratio of the concentrations of SOC and TN in the soil surface to those in a deeper layer) of SOC and TN for 0–5:5–10, 10–15, 15–20, 20–25 and 25–30 cm were found higher (> 2) under CA practices compared to intensive tillage-based conventional agricultural practice (< 2). No-till CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system stored the highest amount of SOC (25.32 Mg ha−1) whereas reduced till CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system stored highest amount of TN (3.21 Mg ha−1) at 0–30 cm soil depth. This study shows that CA stratifies SOC and TN and helps to enhance SOC sequestration and soil quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon (C) mineralization of crop residues is an important process occurring in soil which is helpful in predicting CO2 emission to the atmosphere and nutrient availability to plants. A laboratory experiment was conducted in which C mineralization of residues of rice (Oryza sativa), wheat (Triticum aestivum), maize (Zea mays), mungbean (Vigna radiata) and their mixtures was applied to the soil surface or incorporated into an Alfisols from Northwest India. C mineralization was significantly affected by residue placement and type and their interactions. Rice residue had a higher decomposition rate (k = 0.121 and 0.076 day−1) than wheat (0.073 and 0.042 day−1) and maize residues (0.041 day−1) irrespective of placements. Higher decomposition rates of rice and wheat were observed when placed on soil surface than incorporated in the soils. Additive effects of the contribution of each residue type to C mineralization of the residue mixture were observed. When mungbean residue was added to the rice/wheat or maize/wheat mixture, decomposition of the residue mixture was enhanced. Crop residues with low N and high C/N ratio such as maize, wheat, rice and their mixtures can be applied on the soil surface for faster C and N mineralization, thereby helping to manage high volumes of residues under conservation agriculture-based practices in northwest India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipoarabinomanan (LAM) antigen which is secreted actively by Mycobacteria at the diseased site and in urine of the infected patient serves as an attractive biomarker to diagnose Tuberculosis (TB). Given the limitations of current diagnostic modalities for Pleural TB which the second most common form of extrapulmonary TB in India, current study evaluated LAM's potential to serve as a point-of-care test to diagnose pleural TB. A pleural fluid specimen was subjected to LAM antigen detection using the lateral flow assay (LAM-LFA; make - Alere/Abott diagnostics) in addition to biochemical and microbiological assays, in a cross-sectional study on suspected pleural TB patients attending a tertiary care hospital in Chhattisgarh, India. The LAM-LFA test was also performed on an early morning urine sample from the same patient. LAM-LFA results were compared to microbiological reference standards/MRS (defined as Pleural TB confirmed by Mycobacterial culture or CBNAAT) and composite reference standards/CRS (Definite plus Probable TB – Clinico-radiologically diagnosed). Out of 170 evaluable subjects, 26 had Definite TB, 22 had Probable TB, and 122 had No TB. When compared to MRS and CRS, pleural LAM-LFA testing was found to be less sensitive (61.54% & 45.83%) with poor PPV (57.14% & 78.57%) but more specific (91.67% & 95.08%) with good NPV (92.96% & 81.69%). Except for having higher specificity (97.2% and 98.3%, respectively, against MRS and CRS), urinary LAM-LFA performed worse than pleural LAM-LFA. When the subgroup of patients with significant ADA levels (ROC derived cut off value = 40 IU/ml) was studied, the specificity and PPV of pleural LAM detection increased to 100% each. Detection of LAM antigen by LFA directly from pleural fluid performed fairly accurate in diagnosing pleural TB and was highly predictive of the disease in a selected cohort of patients making it a valuable POCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cefiderocol is a siderophore cephalosporin and recently FDA-approved drug possessing potent activity against carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacilli (CR-GNB) (Enterobacterales, and Nil-fermenter) due to its modified structure, iron-chelation mechanism, stability to hydrolysis by nearly all β-lactamases (including Metallo beta-lactamases and AmpC), overcoming capacity against efflux pump overexpression and porin channels mutations. This is the first study from India evaluating in-vitro susceptibility of Cefiderocol against CRGNBs. A prospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in India during 2021-2022. CR-GNB isolates from patients with bloodstream infection, urinary tract infection, and pneumonia were tested for Cefiderocol in-vitro susceptibility using broth microdilution technique (BMD) as per CLSI 2022 guideline. Two Acinetobacter baumanii (AB) isolates observed resistant to Cefiderocol (MIC>32mg/ml) were further analysed by whole genome sequencing (WGS). Forty CR-GNB isolates were tested for BMD [5: Escherichia coli (EC), 7: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), 13: Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) and 15: Acinetobacter baumanii (AB)]. The susceptibility of EC, PA, KP and AB against Cefiderocol was observed as 60%, 43%, 100%, and 13.3% respectively. Approximately, 20% of EC isolates and 28.5% of PA isolates showed intermediate susceptibility using BMD. All the AB isolates from respiratory specimens were observed resistant to Cefiderocol (MIC > 32mg/ml). On WGS analysis, the two resistant AB isolates were found to harbour bla PER-7 in combination with bla OXA-23/ bla NDM- 1 along with other carbapenemase genes bla OXA-66 & bla OXA-68. In our study, Cefiderocol was found to have potent in-vitro activity against K. pneumoniae , in comparison to other CR-GNB. Higher resistance was seen in A. baumanii isolates, which might be attributed to the synergistic effect of PER-7 type of beta-lactamases in presence of bla OXA-23 and bla NDM-1 gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R. Br. (Anantmoola) is an important medicinal plant of India, which is being used in many pharmaceutical as well as ayurvedic preparations. The present study deals with the development of an efficient rapid shoot regeneration along with their biosynthetic potential. Shoot cultures were established from nodes of H. indicus using Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium fortified with sucrose (3%), different concentrations and combinations of cytokinins viz. benzyladenine (BA) and kinetin (Kn), auxins viz. indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Optimum number of shoots (11.00 ± 0.24 shoots/explant) were observed in MS medium supplemented with combination of BA (10 μM) and Kn (5 μM). These shoots were subcultured to IAA (2 μM) supplemented medium for another eight weeks, and shoots grown in cytokinin [BA (10 μM) and Kn (5 μM)] and auxin [IAA (2 μM)] based media were analyzed for their biosynthetic potential using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). Chemical fingerprinting and lupeol quantification was carried out to check biosynthetic potential. The fingerprints of the wild and in vitro samples showed similar bands in cytokinin fortified medium whereas variation in chemical constituents was observed in terms of number of peaks and band on HPTLC plate in shoots from auxin fortified medium. Maximum lupeol content (0.187 ± 0.01 mg/g) was estimated in shoots regenerated in BA (10 μM) and Kn (5 μM) which was slightly higher than wild shoots (0.185 ± 0.00 mg/g). This protocol can be utilized for mass propagation, conservation and production of lupeol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Laboratory diagnosis of hereditary spherocytosis ( HS) relies on increased incubated red cell osmotic fragility test for screening. We evaluated the diagnostic role of eosin-5′-maleimide ( EMA) binding test by flow cytometry in spherocytic and microcytic hypochromic hematological disorders in North Indians. Methods EMA binding test using flow cytometry was performed on 55 HS (40 families), 26 iron deficiency anemia ( IDA), 32 β-thalassemia trait (β TT), and 10 autoimmune hemolytic anemia ( AIHA) cases and 121 normals. Mean channel fluorescence ( MCF) and coefficient of variation ( CV) were studied. Different MCF parameters ( MCF, MCF ratio, percent decrease MCF) and percent increase in CV were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristics analysis was performed to determine best cutoff values, sensitivity, and specificity for discriminating HS from other red cell disorders. Results MCF ratio of HS group was significantly lower than normals (0.67 ± 0.07 vs. 1.01 ± 0.05, P < 0.001) and other cases. All patients with HS showed MCF ratio to be ≤0.79. Four postsplenectomy cases with near-normal hemograms also revealed low MCF ratio, showing the specificity of the test. Conclusions EMA assay was efficient to diagnose cases of HS including postsplenectomy cases and shows no overlap with IDA, β TT, and AIHA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted covering a total of one hundred chicken farmers in tribal dominated Boko Block of Kamrup district in Assam to assess different productive and reproductive traits of Desi, Vanaraja and Srinidhi birds under field condition. Information was obtained on mean body weight at various ages, age at first egg, annual egg production, fertility and hatchability and mortality rate. Body weight, egg production and egg weight were significantly(P<0.05) higher in Vanaraja and Srinidhi birds compared to Desi chicken. The age at first egg was significantly (P<0.05) higher in Desi chicken while compared with Vanaraja and Srinidhi under traditional system of management. However no significant (P<0.05) difference was found between Vanaraja and Srinidhi in their body weight and egg production at various ages. Higher mortality percent in Vanaraja (12.23'1.62) and Srinidhi (11.34'1.23) were recorded during 0 to 5 week. No significant (P<0.05) differences were found among all three groups of birds in fertility and hatchability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of N fertilization on uptake, accumulation/remobilization, use efficiency and yield of sunflower grown in alluvial plains of northwestern India comprising four hybrids (PSH 996, PAC 3789, PSH 569 and SH 3322) and five N levels (Control, 40, 80, 100 and 120 kg N ha-1) in split-plot design with three replications. Increased N fertilizer rates significantly prompted sunflower yield only up to 100 kg N ha-1. Every additional kilogram of N taken up increased sunflower yield by 26 kg ha-1. Significant genetic variation for seed yield and NUE traits explicated PSH 569 as the efficient one at sub-optimal N application while PSH 996 outperformed others at N80, N100 and N120. Dry matter accumulation pattern revealed average harvest index of 30% with 29% of the biomass as stalk, 19% as leaf and 22% as thalamus. Temporal changes in N acquisition indicated most of the total N uptake upto 50% flowering while maximum remobilization takes place during reproductive phase. Significant correlation between N uptake and N use efficiency parameters with yield indicate the importance of N nutrition in sunflower; LAI (r=0.841 **), N uptake (r=0.956**), NUpE (r= -0.814**), NUtE (r= -0.787**), NUE (r=-0.802**). Variation in NUE was more closely associated with NUpE (r=0.996**) than NUtE (r=0.812**) and linearly decreased with increasing leaf greenness (R²=0.70) and total leaf area (R²=0.81). This work will complement other studies to establish a baseline for breeding N efficient sunflower genotypes be grown under semi-arid tropical conditions in India and similar environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study design:Cervical spine tuberculosis is a relatively less frequent form of spinal tuberculosis. Cervical spine tuberculosis has a greater propensity to involve the spinal cord and results in major sensory motor deficit. In this prospective study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical and imaging predictors of outcome in conservatively managed patients.Methods:In this study, 42 patients of cervical spine tuberculosis were included. Patients were subjected to a detailed clinical evaluation and magnetic resonance imaging. Patients were treated with antituberculosis treatment and were followed up for 18 months. The Modified Barthel index (MBI) was used to assess the disability. Good outcome was defined as MBI >12 and poor outcome as MBI ⩽12. Clinical and imaging characteristics were used to analyze the predictors of outcome, using univariate and multivariate analysis.Results:Four (9.5%) patients required surgery. Data from 38 patients, who were conservatively managed, were analyzed for predictors of outcome. Among conservatively managed patients, at presentation, 29 patients had an MBI score of ⩽12. At 18 months, the majority of patients (81.6%) had a good outcome. On univariate analysis, a duration of illness >3 months, a major motor deficit, bladder involvement, flexor spasms, significant cord compression and spinal extension of the abscess were significantly associated with a poor outcome. However, on multivariate analysis significant cord compression (P=0.003) and spinal extension (P=0.02) showed a significant correlation with a poor outcome.Conclusion:Medical management was effective in cervical spine tuberculosis. Patients with significant cord compression and spinal extension of the abscess showed poorer outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article regarding elevated mean neutrophil volume+CRP is a highly sensitive and specific predictor of neonatal sepsis.

Introduction: Maternal anemia during pregnancy can lead to poor fetal outcome as risks of morbidity and mortality is increased. Materials and Methods: All Singleton pregnancies delivered in MMIMSR, Mullana, Ambala from 5 April 2012 to 5 October 2012 fulfilling the criteria were included. The pregnant mothers were grouped into 4 categories according to the corresponding hemoglobin concentration: normal (=or>11), mild (10.9-9.0g/dl), moderate (8.9-7.0 g/dl), and severe anemia (less than 7 g/dl). Results: Out of 334 pregnant women included in the study 249 (74.6%) were found to be anemic. Among anemic mothers 9 had severe (2.7%), 51 had moderate (15.3%) and 189 had mild (56.6) anemia. The anthropometric measurements (birth weight, length, chest circumference, head circumference) with decreasing severity of anemia showed statistically significant difference (p = 0.000, p = 0.000, p = 0.017, p = 0.001) respectively. It was seen that as the number of pregnancies (gravida) increases the severity of anemia increases with each pregnancy. Conclusion: Anemia during pregnancy negatively affected the anthropometric measurements of a newborn and severe anemia had significant negative effect on neonatal anthropometric measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a shortage of psychiatrists in India and psychiatry as a subject of specialization is not a preferred option among medical undergraduates. There is inadequate exposure to psychiatry during the medical undergraduate training in India which might contribute towards it. There are attempts to overcome the negative attitudes towards psychiatry and mental illness among medical undergraduates by changes in the curriculum. In this paper we attempt to review studies on attitudes of undergraduate students towards psychiatry and compare the results with findings from our own survey done as a part of International Study of Student Career Choice in Psychiatry (ISoSCCiP) project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a pilot project, Indian Psychiatric Society conducted the first multicentric study involving diverse settings from teaching institutions in public and private sectors and even privately run psychiatric clinics. Aim of the Study: To study the typology of functional somatic complaints (FSC) in patients with first episode depression. Materials and Methods: A total of 741 patients from 16 centers across the country participated in the study. They were assessed on Bradford Somatic Symptom inventory for FSC, Beck Depression Inventory for severity of depression, and Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale- anxiety index (CPRS-AI) for anxiety symptoms. Results: The mean age of the study sample was 38.23 years (SD-11.52). There was equal gender distribution (male - 49.8% vs. females 50.2%). Majority of the patients were married (74.5%), Hindus (57%), and from nuclear family (68.2%). A little over half of the patients were from urban background (52.9%). The mean duration of illness at the time of assessment was 25.55 months. Most of the patients (77%) had more than 10 FSCs, with 39.7% having more than 20 FSCs as assessed on Bradford Somatic Inventory. The more common FSC as assessed on Bradford Somatic Inventory were lack of energy (weakness) much of the time (76.2%), severe headache (74%) and feeling tired when not working (71%), pain in legs (64%), aware of palpitations (59.5%), head feeling heavy (59.4%), aches and pains all over the body (55.5%), mouth or throat getting dry (55.2%), pain or tension in neck and shoulder (54%), head feeling hot or burning (54%), and darkness or mist in front of the eyes (49.1%). The prevalence and typology of FSCs is to a certain extent influenced by the sociodemographic variables and severity of depression. Conclusion: Functional somatic symptoms are highly prevalent in Indian depressed patients and hence deserve more attention while diagnosing depression in Indian setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Begomoviruses cause a number of serious diseases of cultivated crops and are considered as the major constraint for the cultivation of several crops all over the world. During a survey in the years 2007 and 2008, the typical symptoms of Begomovirus (yellow mosaic and yellow vein) were observed on six cucurbitaceous crops, viz. bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.), pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica), pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima), sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica) and ridged gourd (Luffa acutangula) being cultivated in northern India. Begomovirus infection was suspected due to significant infestation of whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci, the known vector of Begomoviruses) on these species. The presence of Begomovirus was detected from the total DNA extracted from six infected leaf samples of these species by polymerase chain reaction using the specific primers of a well-characterised Begomovirus. The ∼800 bp amplicons of these isolates were cloned, sequenced and the data obtained were compared with each other and with sequence database available in GenBank for best sequence identities and phylogenetic relationships. Based on highest 97–99% sequence identities and closest phylogenetic relationships, four representative Begomovirus species were identified as Ageratum enation virus (from T. dioica), Squash leaf curl China virus (from C. maxima), Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (from M. charantia, L. cylindrica and L. acutangula) and Tomato leaf curl Palampur virus (from C. pepo). These results suggested the existence of a high genetic diversity among Begomoviruses infecting cucurbitaceous crops. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A prospective study was carried out to establish normative data for splenic dimensions in North Indian population and their correlation with physical standard on abdominal CT of 21 patients aged between 20 and 70 years having no splenic disorders. Splenic volume was measured by two methods--volume and surface rendering technique of Able 3D doctor software and prolate ellipsoid formula. Volumes measured by both the techniques were correlated with their physical standards. Mean splenic volume was 161.57 ± 90.2cm3 and range 45.7-271.46cm3. The volume of spleen had linear correlation with body height (r = 0.512, P < .05). Splenic volume (cm3) = 7 × height (cm) - 961 can be used to generate normal standard volume of spleen as a function of body height in North Indian population (with 95% confidence interval). This formula can be used to objectively measure the size of the spleen in adults who have clinically suspected splenomegaly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to provide a review on the psychiatric comorbidity research in India based on the data published in the last six decades. The comorbidity data world over reflects that it is a much more common phenomenon than observed in routine clinical practice. In India, research into this domain of psychiatry has been limited, with comorbidity reported to be as high as 60%. In the few publications in this area, most of the authors have looked into substance related comorbidity. Small numbers of studies have looked into comorbid conditions in child psychiatry, especially mental retardation and very few studies have looked at other comorbidities. The landmarks in the studies in the area of psychiatric comorbidity have been highlighted in this review article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major crops subject to field burning of crop residue (FBCR) generated an estimated 284 Tg of residue in India, of which 40% was contributed by wheat in the year 2000. About 7.5% of this total generated wheat straw was subjected to on-site burning, that is expected to emit large amounts of trace gases and particulate matter (PM) to the atmosphere, whose country-specific estimates and emission factors (EFs) are presently not available. An in situ experiment for wheat straw burning was undertaken for developing India specific EFs. The EFs of , , CO, , , NO and were found to be , , , , , and , whereas those for organic carbon (OC), black carbon (BC) and total carbon (TC) were , , and , respectively. Although these EFs have been generated from a single field experiment nevertheless they address important information gap on FBCR in the region. Further, the total emissions of , , CO, , , NO, , OC, BC and TC from wheat straw burning in India for the year 2000 was estimated as , , , , , , , , and Gg, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A single T > C change at the 5′ promoter region of the CYP17 gene is reported to be associated with increased risk of breast cancer. This study evaluates the influence of genetic polymorphism of CYP17 on breast cancer susceptibility. Two hundred and forty-two patients with histopathologically confirmed breast cancer and 212 age-matched controls were included in the present study. Information relating to age at onset of the disease, family history and estrogen receptor status was elicited. Investigation for CYP17 polymorphism was carried out in 106 early onset, 80 late onset and 56 familial cases. The frequencies of two CYP17 alleles were also analyzed in 116 (47.9%) cases with known estrogen receptor (ER) status confirmed immunohistochemically. A polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used to detect the polymorphism, and the genotypes identified were assigned as homozygous wild type (A1A1), heterozygous variant (A1A2), and homozygous variant (A2A2). Associations between the various genotypes in patients and controls were investigated with Fisher’s exact test. All the tests were two tailed. The results showed that the frequency of heterozygous and homozygous CYP17 genotype was higher in early onset breast cancer patients (94.3%) than in controls (80.3%), and the difference was significant ( P = 0.001). A highly statistically significant increased risk in carriers of homozygous A2 allele was found in young patients ( P ≤ 0.001) in comparison with patients having late onset condition ( P = 0.260). However, no significant association between the genotype and breast cancer risk was observed among women with strong family history. Further, data had showed that patients (80.6%) with at least one A2 allele tended to exhibit ER-independent cell proliferation, although statistical significance could not be established ( P = 0.160). The present findings suggest that CYP17 A2 allele gene polymorphism might play a significant role in breast cancer development in young Indian women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysregulation of various miRNAs has been linked to the initiation and progression of several cancers including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, their role in pediatric cytogenetically normal AML (CN-AML) is still unclear. The objective of the present study was to identify deregulated miRNA expression patterns and their correlation with survival outcome in pediatric CN-AML. The study was approved by Institutional Ethical Committee. Informed written consent was taken from all the subjects. Bone marrow (BM) samples from 36 pediatric CN-AML patients and 20 pediatric controls (with solid tumors without BM involvement) were collected and used for isolation of mononuclear cells, genomic DNA and total RNA. Various clinical parameters were accessed and mutation status (NPM1 and FLT3-ITD) determined by PCR. Total RNA from 10 samples (5 CN-AML and 5 controls) was used for global miRNA profiling on Illumina HiSeq2500 platform and data were analysed using bioinformatic pipeline. For all 36 CN-AML patients, cDNA was prepared using TaqMan advanced miRNA cDNA synthesis kit followed by qPCR using TaqMan advanced miRNA assay for selected miRNAs. Global miRNA profiling revealed differential expression of 168 miRNAs of which 66 were upregulated and 102 were downregulated (fold change>1.5, p ≤ 0.05) in pediatric CN-AML patients. Interestingly, 40 miRNAs belonging to human 14q32 miRNA cluster were significantly downregulated in CN-AML patients. The expression of 11 miRNAs selected for qPCR-based validation based on their involvement in signalling pathways in AML (and other cancers), were found to be dysregulated in 36 patients. Most of these miRNAs were found to target genes involved in the initiation and progression of AML. Importantly, there was a significant correlation between expression levels of miR-75, miR-589, miR-4446, miR-889, and miR-654 and survival outcomes like Event-free, Disease-free, and Overall survival. Clinical parameters like TLC, ANC, LDH, Blast percentage were also significantly correlated with survival outcomes. Along with various genetic abnormalities, deregulation in the expression of miRNAs might be an important contributor to the development of pediatric CN-AML. The authors. Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coat protein (CP) sequences of elevenPapaya ringspot virus(PRSV) isolates originating from different locations in India were determined, analysed and compared with the sequences of other isolates of PRSV. The virus isolates from India exhibited considerable heterogeneity in the CP sequences. The CP-coding region varied in size from 840-858 nucleotides, encoding protein of 280-286 amino acids. Comparative sequence analysis revealed that the PRSV isolates originating from India were divergent up to 11%. Though the PRSV isolates were differentiated in to two clusters, yet the sequence variation could not be correlated with the geographical origin of the isolates. Implication of the sequence variation in the coat protein derived transgenic resistance in papaya is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]