Improvement of Salt Tolerance in Trigonella foenum-graecum L. var. PEB by Plant Growth Regulators

The crop yield is reduced under saline conditions and this hampers agricultural productivity. The incorporation of plant growth regulators (PGRs) during presoaking treatments in many crops has improved seed performance under saline conditions. In order to study the ameliorative effect of plant growth regulators, experiments were conducted to study the variation in organic constituents in the leaves of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. var.PEB, where the seeds were primed with different plant growth regulators and grown under NaCl salinity. After a pre-soaking treatment of six hours in 20 mg L-1 solutions of gibberllic acid (GA3), 6-furfuryladenine (Kinetin) and benzyl adenine (BA), the seeds were allowed to germinate and grow for forty-five days under saline conditions. On the analysis of mature leaves, it was observed that chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll and protein showed an increase in PGR-treated plants compared to the untreated set. The accumulation of the stress metabolite such as proline and sugars, which increase under saline conditions, showed a significant decrease in the plants pretreated with PGRs

Low platelet counts in pregnancy: an alarm signal for abruption!

Background: Thrombocytopenia, defined as a platelet count less than 150 million/mm3, affects 6% to 10% of all pregnant women and other than anemia is the most common hematologic disorder in pregnancy.Methods: We studied all patients with thrombocytopenia in pregnancy from June 2012 to May 2013. There were 86 patients recruited into the study. Pregnant women with preeclampsia and suspected connective tissue disorder were also screened for thrombocytopenia. All women with platelet count of <1.50,000/µl during the study period were included.Results: Patients were grouped in to mild thrombocytopenia (platelet 100,000-149,999/µl), moderate thrombocytopenia (platelet 50,000-99,999/µl) and severe thrombocytopenia (platelet <49,999/µl. Pregnancy specific cause of thrombocytopenia was in 63 (73.2%) women and non-pregnancy specific were in 23(26.7%) patients.Conclusions: Preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome is more common cause of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy. Abruption can occur in patients with severe thrombocytopenia. Though platelet count is not routinely done in pregnancy it is advisable to do so as it may help in detecting gestational thrombocytopenia or other immune related condition

Influence of placental position on obstetric morbidity in placenta previa

Background: In placenta previa, the placenta occupies lower uterine segment and is likely to separate during pregnancy, resulting in significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. It has been well studied as the degree of placenta previa increases, the risk of bleeding also increases. However, there are few studies regarding configuration of placenta in relation to uterine wall (anterior, posterior or lateral) and associated complications. The primary purpose of this retrospective cohort study is to examine the whether the location of placenta in relation to lower uterine segment during caesarean delivery influences development of bleeding complications necessitating various surgical interventions. The secondary objective was to study various factors such as preterm delivery, fetal growth restriction, perinatal deaths and postpartum haemorrhage in relation to location of placenta.Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 89 patients with placenta previa with ultrasonographically mapped placenta over a period of 5 years. The subjects were further categorized into anterior, posterior and lateral group depending upon location of placenta in relation to uterine wall. Differences between age, parity, history of previous caesarean delivery, antepartum haemorrhage, preterm deliveries, foetal growth restriction, perinatal deaths, operative complications and surgical interventions, placenta accreta and postpartum haemorrhage were studied and also were compared to traditional classification of placenta previa in relation to internal cervical ostium. The statistical analysis of the data was performed according to Pearson Chi-square test, one way ANOVA test using SPSS Software.Results: The overall incidence of placenta previa was 1.01%. Placental location was anterior in 23 women (25.8%), posterior in 49 women ((55%) and lateral in 17 (19.1%). No significant differences were found in these groups regarding age, gestational age at delivery, parity, previous history of caesarean delivery, incidence of antepartum and postpartum haemorrhage. Need for surgical interventions such as uterine artery ligation, internal iliac artery plication, caesarean hysterectomy was not specific any type of placenta previa. 39.1% of anterior, 40% of posterior and 35.2% of lateral placenta previa received blood component therapy and this variation was not statistically significant. The overall perinatal mortality was 45/1000 live births and mortality rate did not vary significantly in any of the groups.Conclusions: It is difficult to assign a maternal or perinatal morbidity risk to a particular type of placental location. The need for specialized surgical intervention such as uterine / internal iliac artery ligation, peripartum hysterectomy can arise irrespective of placental location, whether underneath the surgical incision (anterior), proximity to main uterine trunks (lateral) or encountered after the delivery of the baby (posterior). Pregnancies complicated by placenta previa must be delivered in the hospitals having expertise of senior and skilled surgeons and well equipped blood bank and good neonatal intensive care unit

Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19.

Host-mediated lung inflammation is present1, and drives mortality2, in the critical illness caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Host genetic variants associated with critical illness may identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic development3. Here we report the results of the GenOMICC (Genetics Of Mortality In Critical Care) genome-wide association study in 2,244 critically ill patients with COVID-19 from 208 UK intensive care units. We have identified and replicated the following new genome-wide significant associations: on chromosome 12q24.13 (rs10735079, P = 1.65 × 10-8) in a gene cluster that encodes antiviral restriction enzyme activators (OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3); on chromosome 19p13.2 (rs74956615, P = 2.3 × 10-8) near the gene that encodes tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2); on chromosome 19p13.3 (rs2109069, P = 3.98 ×  10-12) within the gene that encodes dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9); and on chromosome 21q22.1 (rs2236757, P = 4.99 × 10-8) in the interferon receptor gene IFNAR2. We identified potential targets for repurposing of licensed medications: using Mendelian randomization, we found evidence that low expression of IFNAR2, or high expression of TYK2, are associated with life-threatening disease; and transcriptome-wide association in lung tissue revealed that high expression of the monocyte-macrophage chemotactic receptor CCR2 is associated with severe COVID-19. Our results identify robust genetic signals relating to key host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage in COVID-19. Both mechanisms may be amenable to targeted treatment with existing drugs. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials will be essential before any change to clinical practice

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Prepare and prevent rather than repair and repent: Study of maternal mortality in tertiary care hospital

Context: Maternal death signifies the quality of healthcare provided in the population. It is the young, relatively healthy women who die of various reasons. Audit of such mortality would prevent the recurrence by taking appropriate measures. Aims: To find the causes of maternal mortality. Settings and Design: Retrospective observational study. Materials and Methods : All maternal deaths in a tertiary care referral center from January 2007 to September 2012 were studied for their demographic profile and causes of death. Results: All 62 women were referred from other healthcare units. Twenty-nine patients died within 24 h of admission and 33 women died after 24 h of admission. Death of 34 patients was due to direct obstetric causes and of 26 patients due to indirect obstetric causes. There were 2 maternal deaths due to accidental causes. Conclusions: The corrective action to prevent the recurrence of such deaths should be taken. Sepsis was found to be the commonest cause for maternal mortality followed by hemorrhage. It important to note that, in the present study, all mothers received antenatal care, had hospital delivery (none had home delivery), no teenage pregnancy or grand multigravidas, and no obstructed labor or rupture uterus, and yet they died. There is a change in the trend of causes of maternal mortality. Strengthening of the first referral units with equipment, blood bank, and adequately competent staff should be of prime importance. Continued medical education of the medial personnel at the periphery is required. Maternal deaths occur in inspite of atenatal care and hospital delivery which is alarming. Contributing factors may be delay in referral or the travel which should be looked in to inorder to minimize such death of young women

Reaction of ethyl cyanoacetate with benzal-4-acetylanilines: An unexpected result

778-780Reaction of ethyl cyanoacetate with benzal-4-acetylanilines 1a-10a, the compounds containing both azomethine and ketone linkages, in equimolar ratio, in the presence of pyridine yields solid products, which have been characterized as ethyl benzalcyanoacetate and its derivatives 1b-10b on the basis of elemental analysis and spectral studies. The reaction of 1a-10a with two moles of ethyl cyanoacetate also results in the formation of the same products 1b-10b, by an unexpected attack of ethyl cyanoacetate on azomethine linkage only rather than on both the reactive centres i.e. carbon-nitrogen double bond and carbon-oxygen double bond

Salinity Induced Changes in β-carotene, Thiamine, Riboflavin and Ascorbic Acid Content in Spinacia oleracea L. var. All Green

Vitamins are the functional components of various enzyme-regulated biochemical reactions occurring to create energy. Vitamin contents of plants are known to show altered metabolism under the influence of salinity. Not much of work has been done on the influence of salinity on the vitamin content in higher plants. Present study was carried out to study the influence of NaCl salinity on vitamin content in the leaves of Spinacia oleracea. Spinacia oleracea plants were grown in earthen pots and were subjected to different concentrations of saline water (NaCl) treatment. Control plants were irrigated with tap water. Treatments started after the seedling emergence and continued till the plants were 45 day old. Mature leaves of these plants were harvested and used for studies. Thiamine and riboflavin content were found to increase with increase in NaCl concentration, however, β-carotene was found to decrease with increasing level of NaCl in the growth medium