Brain MRI: a useful tool for screening of hypertensive patients for silent cerebro-vascular damage

Background: Worldwide hypertension is an important public-health challenge because of its high frequency and concomitant risks of cardiovascular, renal, cerebrovascular disease and death. Current guidelines for the management of hypertension mainly recommend the search for preclinical damage to the heart and kidneys. However, extending this search to other organs, for instance the brain, might improve risk stratification, might optimize antihypertensive therapy and might, in the end help to further reduce the burden of disease attributable to hypertension.Methods: 84 consecutive hypertensive patients with no target organ damage were enrolled in study to find out silent brain damage over a period of one year.Results: Mean body mass index (BMI) of the study population was 28.4±2.5 kg/m2 (range 23.2 to 35.3kg/m2). 33 (39.3%) subjects had white matter lesions. 13 (15.47%) study subjects were found to have vascular changes which included micro angiopathic changes, infarcts and reduced/slow blood flow. 33 (39.3%) subjects were found to have normal brain MRI in the study. Early brain MRI was found to be beneficial in patients who had uncontrolled blood pressure either due to lack of treatment or irregular use of anti-hypertensive treatment. This was true for every age group in general and particularly in subjects above the age of 50 years.Conclusions: The screening of hypertensive patients for silent cerebrovascular damage with brain MRI may be useful in stratifying the risk of future cerebrovascular disease

Research Notes: Variation for seed yield, its quality and nutritional traits in soybeans

To bring about genetic improvement for any economic trait in economic plants, the foremost prerequisite is the presence of sufficient amount of genetic variability for the trait under improvement in the organism t o be improved. In the present investigation, an attempt has been made to get the information on nature and magnitude of variability for various seed quality traits along with seed yield traits in the soybean germplasm maintained at the Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, Palampur. Materials and methods: The material for the present study consisted of 250 diverse genotypes of soybeans of both indigenous and exotic origin , and 5 standard checks

Research Notes : Consistency of heritability estimates over environments and crop-ping systems for different groups of traits in soybean

Introduction : Though numerous reports are available on heritability estimates from individual environment, yet information on consistency of heritability over environments is meager (Byth et al., 1969). An attempt has been made in the present communication to understand the influence of en-vironments and cropping system on the heritability estimates in soybean. Materials and methods : The materials and experimental design were same as reported by Gupta et al. (1981)

Research Notes : Genotype X Environment interaction in soybean: I. Individual regression analysis.

In this communication, the results obtained from the material given earlier (Gupta et al., 1981) on the basis of individual regression analysis by using Perkins and Jinks (1968) model, have been presented for different traits groupwise. In the individual regression analysis, genotypes having nonsignificant regression m.s. as well as remainder m.s. against error m.s. were described as exhibiting absence of genotype x environment (g x e) interaction, genotypes having regression m.s. significantly different from error m.s. were designated as showing predictable g x e (linear g x e) interaction, and genotypes having only significant remainder m.s. or significant regression m.s. not significantly different from significant remainder m.s. were categorized as genotypes showing unpredictable g x e (nonlinear g x e) interaction. On the basis of this all 40 genotypes were classified into three groups and their distribution with respect to different groups of characters studied is given in Table 1

Research Notes : Genetic control of productivity, responsiveness and stability for different groups of traits in soybean

In order to breed adaptable varieties, selection is to be based on the above three parameters of adaptability simultaneously, for achieving the de-sired objectives. After understanding the association between these, it is imperative to have information on the gene action or genetic architecture of these three parameters, because in a self-pollinated crop like soybean where end product is homozygous and homogeneous population, selection will be fruitful only if gene action is of additive or additive x additive nature. In the present study, an attempt has been made to infer the genetic control of mean performance (di-productivity), responsiveness and stability with respect to each different group of characters studied, on the basis of segregation pattern observed among 36 F4-derived lines, of the cross Soybean Pb.l x D 60-9647, in relation to their parents

Research Notes : Association among productivity, responsiveness and stability for different groups of traits in soybean

In India, soybean adaptability trials have revealed that, in order to stabilize yield and popularize soybean cultivation, breeders must look for genotypes with good germinability and wider adaptability under diverse geographical and climatological situations (Singh, 1976). Prospects of develop-ing different genotypes having varying degrees of adaptability would depend to some extent on the relationship between various adaptability parameters; namely, di (additive genetic effect-productivity), Si (genotypic regression -a measure of responsiveness), sd2 (deviation from regression - a measure of stability). This has been attempted in the present study on the same material as reported earlier (Gupta et al., 1981) by working out the correlations over all the 40 genotypes between the three parameters which were calculated as per Perkins and Jinks (1968) taken in pairs (Table 1)

Research Notes : Association of leaf and root characteristics among themselves and with seed yield, structural, physiological and phenological traits in soybean

Introduction : The variation present for leaf and root characteristics has been reported earlier and in this communication the association of these traits with seed yield and other traits is being presented. Materials and methods : Materials used in this study and design of experiment were the same as reported by Gupta et al. (1981) and in the earlier communication on variation for leaf and root characteristics. The data were further analyzed for estimating the correlation coefficients at phenotypic and genotypic level

Research Notes: Study on biological measures of environment and its implications on the physical limits to seed yield and other developmental traits in soybean

Since adaptation of soybean and its dependence on various geographical and climatological factors has been a subject of debate (Byth , 1976 ; Summerfield and Minchin, 1976; Whigham , 1976), therefore, in the present study an attempt has been made to measure the environment biologically and to discuss the same in the light of physical limits of environment. Materials and methods : The experimental material consisted of 40 entries, representing 36 F4-derived lines of an inter-varietal cross , two parents involved in this cross, Pb1 and D60-9647, and two standard varieties, \u27 Lee\u27 and \u27D. S. 73-8\u27. The F4-derived lines were selected out of the 74 progenies, raised and evaluated during Kharif, 1977, for seed yield, specific gravity , and hundred- seed weight

Expression and Characterization of Chandipura Virus Proteins

Chandipura virus (CHPV) has recently emerged as an extremely lethal human pathogen in the family Rhabdoviridae and is linked to significant encephalitis outbreaks in different parts of India. The biology of CHPV remains less studied to date and the availability of reagents such as purified proteins can enhance research in this direction. In this study, we have overexpressed four of the CHPV proteins namely Nucleoprotein (N), Phosphoprotein (P), Matrix protein (M) and Glycoprotein (G) using three  distinct tags in bacterial system and with changes in inducer concentration, growth and solubilisation conditions successfully purified M and G proteins for the first time along with N and P. Furthermore, the interactions of CHPV M protein with other viral proteins (G, N and P) was investigated using ELISA and GST pull down assays to show the utility of olubilised proteins. The results of both the assays demonstrated that M protein interacts with both G and N proteins, while it does not interact with P protein, in a similar  manner as reported for Vesicular Stomatitis Virus