Contemplating the role of zinc-solubilizing bacteria in crop biofortification: An approach for sustainable bioeconomy

Modern agriculture pays attention to improving agricultural production by producing zinc-enriched crops through zinc-solubilizing bacteria to strengthen the bioeconomy. Zinc deficiency in the soil reduces plant growth and also leads to less uptake of zinc in the edible portion of plants. Therefore, the zinc content in the edible parts of plants can be increased through the biofortification approach. However, most of the biofortification approaches are laborious and need expensive input in routine practices. Therefore, the microbiological biofortification approach may be beneficial in increasing the zinc concentration in plants and improving crop quality with the ultimate benefit of a greener path. The use of microbes may thus be favorable for elevating zinc content in plants and enhancing crop quality, ultimately providing a summation of the role of microorganisms for a greener strategy. In addition, the application of zinc-solubilizing bacteria as a potential biosource represents a cost-effective and alternate biofortification strategy. Zinc-solubilizing bacteria act as natural bio-fortifiers that can solubilize the unavailable form of zinc by secreting organic acids, siderophores, and other chelating compounds. This review thus focuses on zinc-solubilizing bacteria for plant biofortification and their contribution to enhance crop yield and the bioeconomy in a more sustainable manner

Global burden of chronic respiratory diseases and risk factors, 1990–2019: an update from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Updated data on chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are vital in their prevention, control, and treatment in the path to achieving the third UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a one-third reduction in premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2030. We provided global, regional, and national estimates of the burden of CRDs and their attributable risks from 1990 to 2019. Methods: Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we estimated mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), prevalence, and incidence of CRDs, i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, pneumoconiosis, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis, and other CRDs, from 1990 to 2019 by sex, age, region, and Socio-demographic Index (SDI) in 204 countries and territories. Deaths and DALYs from CRDs attributable to each risk factor were estimated according to relative risks, risk exposure, and the theoretical minimum risk exposure level input. Findings: In 2019, CRDs were the third leading cause of death responsible for 4.0 million deaths (95% uncertainty interval 3.6–4.3) with a prevalence of 454.6 million cases (417.4–499.1) globally. While the total deaths and prevalence of CRDs have increased by 28.5% and 39.8%, the age-standardised rates have dropped by 41.7% and 16.9% from 1990 to 2019, respectively. COPD, with 212.3 million (200.4–225.1) prevalent cases, was the primary cause of deaths from CRDs, accounting for 3.3 million (2.9–3.6) deaths. With 262.4 million (224.1–309.5) prevalent cases, asthma had the highest prevalence among CRDs. The age-standardised rates of all burden measures of COPD, asthma, and pneumoconiosis have reduced globally from 1990 to 2019. Nevertheless, the age-standardised rates of incidence and prevalence of interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis have increased throughout this period. Low- and low-middle SDI countries had the highest age-standardised death and DALYs rates while the high SDI quintile had the highest prevalence rate of CRDs. The highest deaths and DALYs from CRDs were attributed to smoking globally, followed by air pollution and occupational risks. Non-optimal temperature and high body-mass index were additional risk factors for COPD and asthma, respectively. Interpretation: Albeit the age-standardised prevalence, death, and DALYs rates of CRDs have decreased, they still cause a substantial burden and deaths worldwide. The high death and DALYs rates in low and low-middle SDI countries highlights the urgent need for improved preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures. Global strategies for tobacco control, enhancing air quality, reducing occupational hazards, and fostering clean cooking fuels are crucial steps in reducing the burden of CRDs, especially in low- and lower-middle income countries

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Distribution of Anopheles culicifacies and Detection of its Sibling Species E from Madhya Pradesh: Central India.

Background: Anopheles culicifacies is an important vector of malaria in Southeast Asia, contributing to almost 70%of malaria cases in India. It exists as a complex of five morphologically indistinguishable species A, B, C, D and E with varied geographical distribution patterns. In India, 8% of the total population of Madhya Pradesh (Central India) contributes about 30% of total malaria cases, 60% of total falciparum cases and 50% of malaria deaths. An. culicifacies is the major malaria vector in this state. Vector control mainly relies on the proper identification and distribution of vector species exists in a particular area. The present study was carried out to identify the distribution of An. culicifacies sibling species in certain endemic district of Central India, Madhya Pradesh. Methods: The An. culicifacies mosquitoes collected from the study districts were identified morphologically. The genomic DNA was isolated from the mosquitoes and subjected to Allele specific PCR targeting D3 domain of 28S ribosomal DNA. Results: The mean prevalence of An. culicifacies during the study period was in the range of 8–120 per man per hour (PMH). From the study areas species B was identified from Jabalpur, Chindwara and Hoshangabad, Species C from Hoshangabad only, Species D from Narsinghpur and Khandwa and sibling species E from Mandla, Chindwara and Hoshangabad respectively. Conclusion: This  is  the  first  report  to  detect  species  E  from  Madhya  Pradesh  region  which  necessitate  for reconsideration of species distribution of each An. culicifacies sibling species that would enable to develop required vector control strategies

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Not AvailableContext: Soil–tool interaction modelling and optimisation reduce manufacturing costs and energy requirements for precision tillage equipment design. Diverse tillage tools have been designed to reduce draft requirements and desirable soil disturbance, but this is not fully understood. Aims: The current study investigated the effects of tool width, cone index, depth, and forward speed on draft with corresponding rupture width in order to develop response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) models and compared them to other models in order to predict draft and rupture width. Methods: Experiments were carried out in a soil bin with a vertisol, and rupture width was measured using an image processing technique. Key results: Using RSM, the optimum values for minimum draft with maximum rupture width within a range of independent variables were found to be 100 mm tool width, 600 kPa cone index, 141.63 mm tillage depth, and 3 km/h forward speed. For predicting the draft, the coefficients of determination (R2) for ANN and RSM models were 0.997 and 0.987, respectively; for rupture width prediction, R2 were 0.921 and 0.976. Conclusions: Developed ANN and RSM models of draft and rupture width were better than other analytical or numerical models, and both models’ predictions were in good agreement with experiment values within the range of ±5% uncertainty. Implications: The developed models can be used to predict the draft and soil disturbance requirements of tillage tools and design precision tillage tools.Not Availabl

Prediction of health monitoring with deep learning using edge computing

Today's modern computing environment provides a smart healthcare monitoring system for early prediction of fall detection. The Internet of Things-based health model plays a significant role in the health care service area and helps to improve the processing of data and its prediction. Transferring reports or data from one place to another takes too much time and energy, and it will cause high latency and energy issues. To handle these kinds of hazards, edge computing provides solutions. In this paper w presents smart healthcare system issues, services, and applications. Furthermore, propose a CNN-based prediction model with the use of edge computing and IoT paradigms. Edge computing is a distributed environment framework that enables rapid resource availability and response time through local edge servers computed at the end of IoT devices. The CNN model is used to analyse the health data collected by IoT devices. Furthermore, the role of edge devices is to provide doctors and patients with timely health-prediction reports via edge servers. The proposed mechanism can be analysed using accuracy and error rate performance parameters. In the proposed mechanism, the accuracy is 99.23% in comparison with other techniques

Intracranial Rosai-Dorfman disease in a child mimicking bilateral giant petroclival meningiomas: a case report and review of literature

Objectives and importance: Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare but distinctive entity of unknown etiology; isolated intracranial RDD is uncommon. Of 37 reported intracranial RDD cases, only three were reported in children. Clinical presentation: We report an unusual case of a 15-year-old boy presenting with 4 months history of raised intracranial pressure with visual deterioration. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed bilateral petroclival enhancing lesions with cavernous sinus extension mimicking meningioma. However, histological examination was diagnostic of RDD. Intervention: The patient underwent extended right-sided middle fossa approach and near-total tumor removal from petroclival region and cavernous sinus on both sides in two stages 6 weeks apart. Conclusion: Ours is the first case of pediatric isolated intracranial RDD presenting with giant bilateral petroclival masses successfully managed with bilateral extended middle fossa approach in two stages. An optimal treatment for RDD is not established, but complete surgical resection alone seems effective