THERMAL, PASTING AND RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF PROCESSED BUCKWHEAT (FAGOPYRUM ESCULENTUM) FLOUR

  Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of various processing treatments on thermal, pasting, and rheological properties of buckwheat flour.Methods: Buckwheat seeds were processed through different processing treatments including cooking, germination, and fermentation, and their flours were produced. The processed flours were analyzed for their thermal properties using differential scanning calorimeter, pasting properties using rapid visco-analyzer, and rheological properties using rotational rheometer.Results: Fermented buckwheat flour showed significantly (p≤0.05) higher onset temperature (To=66.6°C), peak temperature (Tp=71.15°C), conclusion temperature (Tc=78.03°C), and enthalpy of gelatinization (1.89 J/g). The peak viscosity ranged from 39 to 1299 cp, lowest for cooked buckwheat flour and highest for fermented buckwheat flour. The native buckwheat flour showed the highest value, whereas cooked buckwheat flour showed the lowest value for storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (Gâ€). The value of tan ∂ was lower than 1 for native and processed buckwheat dough.Conclusion: The changes observed in physicochemical properties of buckwheat flour after processing treatments provided a crucial basis for its potential applications on an industrial scale. Furthermore, buckwheat seeds are gluten-free; therefore, their flour or products can be used for persons suffering from celiac diseases

Renal markers in normal and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Indian women:a pilot study

Background:Altered renal function is an essential component of the pathophysiological process in pre-eclampsia. Kidneys play an important role in the turnover of low molecular weight substances such as creatinine, uric acid and cystatin C. The present study was undertaken if these serum markers were characteristically altered in Indian pregnant women.Methods: Serum levels were therefore determined in samples from 69 healthy women at term as well as in 27 samples of patients with Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and in 20 patients with pre-eclampsia (PE).Results: The levels of all three components were significantly higher in pre-eclamptic patients when compared to healthy controls with the mean ± SD being 1.47 ± 0.9 vs. 1.06± 0.2 for cystatin C, 0.95 ±0.2 vs. 0.67 ±0.1 for creatinine and 6.13± 1.8 vs. 4.28 ±1.1 for uric acid respectively. In PIH cystatin C was significantly higher, 1.25 ± 0.9 unlike creatinine, 0.67 ±0.14 and uric acid, 4.30 ±1.0. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plots demonstrated that the diagnostic accuracy of serum creatinine was superior to serum uric acid and serum cystatin C and serum uric acid was better than serum cystatin C.Conclusion:The maternal serum cystatin C, creatinine and uric acid were all significantly elevated at the end of pregnancy in pre-eclampsia compared to those of healthy pregnant women. If this rise in the above markers during early pregnancy could predict the onset of PIH/PE, needs to be investigated.

Thrombocytopenia in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Background: Thrombocytopenia is defined as a platelet count of less than 150×103 μl. It is commonly diagnosed and has attracted more interest from researchers during recent years, especially in Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. This study was done to estimate the incidence of thrombocytopenia in pregnant women diagnosed with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and to correlate its severity with the degree of thrombocytopenia.Methods: In the study 150 women admitted in the OBG Department at Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru during August 2015-August 2016 were included. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy cases were classified into: Gestational hypertension, mild preeclampsia, severe preeclampsia, haemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels, and low platelet levels (HELLP) syndrome and eclampsia. The incidence and severity of thrombocytopenia along with maternal and foetal complications encountered in the five groups were analysed. Data were arranged in Microsoft Excel version 2010, and statistically analysed by SPSS version 23.Results: Preeclampsia- mild (29.25%) and severe (22.5%), accounted for most of the cases followed by eclampsia (3%) and gestational HTN (1.5%). Among these hypertensive patients, mild thrombocytopenia was noted in 60 cases (40%), moderate thrombocytopenia 48 (32%), severe thrombocytopenia 12 (8%), and normal platelet counts 30 (20%) were noted. Poor maternal outcome was seen 10.67% cases due to HELLP syndrome and postpartum haemorrhage. Poor foetal outcome was seen in 16% cases due to intrauterine growth restriction and perinatal mortality.Conclusions: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is recognized as a major cause of gestational thrombocytopenia. Careful follow up during and after pregnancy is recommended

Common glass-forming spin-liquid state in the pyrochlore magnets Dy2Ti2O7 and Ho2Ti2O7

Despite a well-ordered pyrochlore crystal structure and strong magnetic interactions between the Dy3+ or Ho3+ ions, no long-range magnetic order has been detected in the pyrochlore titanates Ho2Ti2O7 and Dy2Ti2O7. To explore the actual magnetic phase formed by cooling these materials, we measure their magnetization dynamics using toroidal, boundary-free magnetization transport techniques. We find that the dynamical magnetic susceptibility of both compounds has the same distinctive phenomenology, which is indistinguishable in form from that of the dielectric permittivity of dipolar glass-forming liquids. Moreover, Ho2Ti2O7 and Dy2Ti2O7 both exhibit microscopic magnetic relaxation times that increase along the super-Arrhenius trajectories analogous to those observed in glass-forming dipolar liquids. Thus, upon cooling below about 2 K, Dy2Ti2O7 and Ho2Ti2O7 both appear to enter the same magnetic state exhibiting the characteristics of a glass-forming spin liquid

Persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms after COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The nature and extent of persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms after COVID-19 are not established. To help inform mental health service planning in the pandemic recovery phase, we systematically determined the prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in survivors of COVID-19. For this pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO ID CRD42021239750), we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO to 20 February 2021, plus our own curated database. We included peer-reviewed studies reporting neuropsychiatric symptoms at post-acute or later time-points after COVID-19 infection and in control groups where available. For each study, a minimum of two authors extracted summary data. For each symptom, we calculated a pooled prevalence using generalized linear mixed models. Heterogeneity was measured with I 2. Subgroup analyses were conducted for COVID-19 hospitalization, severity and duration of follow-up. From 2844 unique titles, we included 51 studies (n = 18 917 patients). The mean duration of follow-up after COVID-19 was 77 days (range 14-182 days). Study quality was most commonly moderate. The most prevalent neuropsychiatric symptom was sleep disturbance [pooled prevalence = 27.4% (95% confidence interval 21.4-34.4%)], followed by fatigue [24.4% (17.5-32.9%)], objective cognitive impairment [20.2% (10.3-35.7%)], anxiety [19.1% (13.3-26.8%)] and post-traumatic stress [15.7% (9.9-24.1%)]. Only two studies reported symptoms in control groups, both reporting higher frequencies in COVID-19 survivors versus controls. Between-study heterogeneity was high (I 2 = 79.6-98.6%). There was little or no evidence of differential symptom prevalence based on hospitalization status, severity or follow-up duration. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common and persistent after recovery from COVID-19. The literature on longer-term consequences is still maturing but indicates a particularly high prevalence of insomnia, fatigue, cognitive impairment and anxiety disorders in the first 6 months after infection

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Spatial Organization and Molecular Correlation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Deep Learning on Pathology Images

Beyond sample curation and basic pathologic characterization, the digitized H&E-stained images of TCGA samples remain underutilized. To highlight this resource, we present mappings of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) based on H&E images from 13 TCGA tumor types. These TIL maps are derived through computational staining using a convolutional neural network trained to classify patches of images. Affinity propagation revealed local spatial structure in TIL patterns and correlation with overall survival. TIL map structural patterns were grouped using standard histopathological parameters. These patterns are enriched in particular T cell subpopulations derived from molecular measures. TIL densities and spatial structure were differentially enriched among tumor types, immune subtypes, and tumor molecular subtypes, implying that spatial infiltrate state could reflect particular tumor cell aberration states. Obtaining spatial lymphocytic patterns linked to the rich genomic characterization of TCGA samples demonstrates one use for the TCGA image archives with insights into the tumor-immune microenvironment