Dynamics of Indian fresh mango export

Increasing integration of global markets after WTO has brought several changes in fresh mango export. The sustainability of exporters' income depends on acceptance of consignments by the importing countries who have established legally vetted system of safe import of food commodities. To adjust to these changes, the Indian system of export controls faltered to meet the standards of overseas markets. Adherence to safe export norms is sine qua non to have credible sustainable export. Visualizing the need to discern and quantify the direction of fresh mango export, time series data spanning from 1990-2012 was analysed. From the analysis, it can be concluded that domestic supply of mango is mainly driven by expansion of area rather than productivity. High standards of SPS measures of importing countries raised cost of compliance of safe export norms for which Indian exporters faced problems to adjust to these standards. These challenges need to overcome through generation of research based scientific knowledge for structuring food safety norms and policy alignment according to the changing global regulations. Policy options for streamlining diversified export are to encourage food testing laboratories to get accreditation from international agencies setting up world class food testing and inception infrastructure particularly in clusters with significant presence of exporters to encourage importing countries to set up office for certification of export consignments, and to strengthen prerequisite physical resources for safe export of fresh mango

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) Fungi as a Tool for Sustainable Agricultural System

A sustainable agriculture is a type of agriculture that focuses on producing long-term crops and livestock without having any adverse effect on the environment. However, agricultural malpractices like excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as climate change have aggravated the effects of biotic and abiotic stresses on crop productivity. These led to the degradation of ecosystem, leaving bad impacts on the soil qualities and water body environment. As an alternative to the rising agricultural energy, the use of Vesicular– Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (AM) may be a better option. Being natural root symbionts, AM provide essential inorganic nutrients to host plants, thereby improving its growth and yield even under stressed conditions. AM fungi can also potentially strengthen the adaptability of a plant to the changing environment, as a bio-fertilizer. The chapter provides a comprehensive up-to-date knowledge on AM fungi as a tool for sustainable agricultural system. Thus, further research focusing on the AM -mediated promotion of crop quality and productivity is needed

Association study of genetic variation in DNA repair pathway genes and risk of basal cell carcinoma

DNA repair plays a critical role in protecting the genome from ultraviolet radiation and maintaining the genomic integrity of cells. Genetic variants in DNA repair-related genes can influence an individual's DNA repair capacity, which may be related to the risk of developing basal cell carcinoma (BCC). We comprehensively assessed the associations of 2,965 independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across 165 DNA repair pathway genes with BCC risk in a genome-wide association meta-analysis totaling 17,187 BCC cases and 287,054 controls from two data sets. After multiple testing corrections, we identified three SNPs (rs2805831 upstream of XPA: OR = 0.93, P = 1.35 × 10-6 ; rs659857 in exon of MUS81: OR = 1.06, P = 3.09 × 10-6 and rs57343616 in 3' UTR of NABP2: OR = 1.11, P = 6.47 × 10-6 ) as significantly associated with BCC risk in meta-analysis, and all of them were nominally significant in both data sets. Furthermore, rs659857 [T] was significantly associated with decreased expression of MUS81 mRNA in the expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis. Our findings suggest that the inherited common variation in three DNA repair genes-XPA, MUS81 and NABP2-may be involved in the development of BCC. To our knowledge, our study is the first report thoroughly examining the effects of SNPs across DNA repair pathway genes on BCC risk based on a genome-wide association meta-analysis

Genome-wide association study identifies novel susceptibility loci for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma represents the second most common cutaneous malignancy, affecting 7–11% of Caucasians in the United States. The genetic determinants of susceptibility to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma remain largely unknown. Here we report the results of a two-stage genome-wide association study of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, totalling 7,404 cases and 292,076 controls. Eleven loci reached genome-wide significance (P<5 × 10−8) including seven previously confirmed pigmentation-related loci: MC1R, ASIP, TYR, SLC45A2, OCA2, IRF4 and BNC2. We identify an additional four susceptibility loci: 11q23.3 CADM1, a metastasis suppressor gene involved in modifying tumour interaction with cell-mediated immunity; 2p22.3; 7p21.1 AHR, the dioxin receptor involved in anti-apoptotic pathways and melanoma progression; and 9q34.3 SEC16A, a putative oncogene with roles in secretion and cellular proliferation. These susceptibility loci provide deeper insight into the pathogenesis of squamous cell carcinoma

Green Chemistry for the Development of Eco-Friendly Products

In today’s world, it has become necessary to shift towards a more eco-friendly and sustainable approach in the industrial field to reduce pollution and stop toxic chemicals from entering the environment. Green chemistry is an emerging concept that can be utilized to assist with these environmental issues. To ensure this concept is employed to its full potential, further study on the best practices and challenges of implementation are required.Green Chemistry for the Development of Eco-Friendly Products discusses the main objective of green chemistry and how it can redefine and modify manufacturing processes and products in order to decrease hazards to human health. The book also considers key concepts of green chemistry, such as the need to make better use of available resources for the development of a chemical process. Covering critical topics such as bioplastics, waste, and hydrogen law, this reference work is ideal for chemists, business owners, environmentalists, policymakers, academicians, scholars, reВ современном мире стало необходимым перейти к более экологичному и устойчивому подходу в промышленной сфере, чтобы уменьшить загрязнение и предотвратить попадание токсичных химических веществ в окружающую среду. Зеленая химия - это новая концепция, которая может быть использована для решения этих экологических проблем. Для обеспечения того, чтобы эта концепция использовалась в полной мере, требуется дальнейшее изучение передовой практики и проблем, связанных с внедрением. В "Зеленой химии для разработки экологически чистых продуктов" обсуждается основная цель "зеленой химии" и то, как она может переопределить и модифицировать производственные процессы и продукты, чтобы уменьшить опасность для здоровья человека. В книге также рассматриваются ключевые концепции "зеленой химии", такие как необходимость более эффективного использования имеющихся ресурсов для разработки химического процесса. Этот справочник, охватывающий такие важные темы, как биопластики, отходы и водородное законодательство, идеально подходит

Green Chemistry for the Development of Eco-Friendly Products

In today's world, it has become necessary to shift towards a more eco-friendly and sustainable approach in the industrial field to reduce pollution and stop toxic chemicals from entering the environment. Green chemistry is an emerging concept that can be utilized to assist with these environmental issues. To ensure this concept is employed to its full potential, further study on the best practices and challenges of implementation are required. Green Chemistry for the Development of Eco-Friendly Products discusses the main objective of green chemistry and how it can redefine and modify manufacturing processes and products in order to decrease hazards to human health. The book also considers key concepts of green chemistry, such as the need to make better use of available resources for the development of a chemical process. Covering critical topics such as bioplastics, waste, and hydrogen law, this reference work is ideal for chemists, business owners, environmentalists, policymakers, academicians, scholars, researchers, practitioners, instructors, and students

Correlation between cytological and histopathological examination of the endometrium in abnormal uterine bleeding

Background: Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is a common problem for which women seek gynecological consultation. Endometrial aspiration cytology (EAC) is an acceptable and valuable diagnostic procedure for screening the endometrial status. Aims: The purpose of our study was to describe the spectrum of endometrial lesions along with their cytomorphological features as well as to compare the results of EAC with histopathology of the endometrial curettings obtained as a result of dilatation and curettage (D and C), in order to assess the value of the former and its shortcomings. Materials and Methods: Endometrial aspiration using a menstrual regulation (MR) syringe and a 4 mm Karman′s cannula was performed just prior to D and C in 100 women presenting with AUB. Smears were reviewed for cytomorphological findings and were correlated with the histopathological findings. These findings were categorized as benign endometrium, endometrial hyperplasia, malignancy and inadequate smears. Results: Age of the patients ranged from 19 to 70 years. In our study, the accuracy in diagnosing benign conditions of endometrium, hyperplasia, and malignancy on aspiration cytology were 93.88%, 96.94% and 96.84%, respectively. Conclusions: Endometrial aspiration is an effective, useful and a minimally invasive procedure. With an experienced cytologist, it can be used routinely for the primary investigation of women with AUB, provided all the points of discrepancies are taken care of

A Review on Obesity Management through Natural Compounds and a Green Nanomedicine-Based Approach

Obesity is a serious health complication in almost every corner of the world. Excessive weight gain results in the onset of several other health issues such as type II diabetes, cancer, respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal disorders (especially osteoarthritis), and cardiovascular diseases. As allopathic medications and derived pharmaceuticals are partially successful in overcoming this health complication, there is an incessant need to develop new alternative anti-obesity strategies with long term efficacy and less side effects. Plants harbor secondary metabolites such as phenolics, flavonoids, terpenoids and other specific compounds that have been shown to have effective anti-obesity properties. Nanoencapsulation of these secondary metabolites enhances the anti-obesity efficacy of these natural compounds due to their speculated property of target specificity and enhanced efficiency. These nanoencapsulated and naive secondary metabolites show anti-obesity properties mainly by inhibiting the lipid and carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes, suppression of adipogenesis and appetite, and enhancing energy metabolism. This review focuses on the plants and their secondary metabolites, along with their nanoencapsulation, that have anti-obesity effects, with their possible acting mechanisms, for better human health

Two-stage genome-wide association study identifies a novel susceptibility locus associated with melanoma

Genome-wide association studies have identified 21 susceptibility loci associated with melanoma. These loci implicate genes affecting pigmentation, nevus count, telomere maintenance, and DNA repair in melanoma risk. Here, we report the results of a two-stage genome-wide association study of melanoma. The stage 1 discovery phase consisted of 4,842 self-reported melanoma cases and 286,565 controls of European ancestry from the 23andMe research cohort and the stage 2 replication phase consisted of 1,804 melanoma cases and 1,026 controls from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. We performed a combined meta-analysis totaling 6,628 melanoma cases and 287,591 controls. Our study replicates 20 of 21 previously known melanoma-loci and confirms the association of the telomerase reverse transcriptase, TERT, with melanoma susceptibility at genome-wide significance. In addition, we uncover a novel polymorphism, rs187843643 (OR = 1.96; 95% CI = [1.54, 2.48]; P = 3.53 × 10−8), associated with melanoma. The SNP rs187842643 lies within a noncoding RNA 177kb downstream of BASP1 (brain associated protein-1). We find that BASP1 expression is suppressed in melanoma as compared with benign nevi, providing additional evidence for a putative role in melanoma pathogenesis