Contributions of Panchanan Maheshwari's school to angiosperm embryology through an integrative approach

P. Maheshwari who served as Professor and Head of the Department of Botany, University of Delhi from 1950 to 1966 built a flourishing school of embryology which became internationally recognized. His colleagues and students have contributed significantly to all areas of embryology through integrative approaches. In memory of his birth centenary year, we have prepared this article that summarizes the work done by his students and traces the phenomenal advances made in some areas in the post-Maheshwari era

A clinical analysis of outcome in management of head injury in patients with highway road accidents

Background: Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a major cause of misery, disability and death globally, with a disproportionate number occurring in developing countries. Complications from closed head injuries are the single largest cause of morbidity and mortality in patients who reach the hospital alive. The present study assesses the outcome in the management of head injury admitted in our hospital following RTA in the period of one year.  Methods: This retrospective study carried out in the department of Neurosurgery in a rural tertiary hospital, Kolar, Karnataka, India. Patients who got admitted between periods of January 2012 to January 2013 were included in the study. All patients were clinically evaluated by a team comprising of doctors from surgical, medical and orthopedics specialties in the emergency department and subsequently admitted and treated at neurosurgery. The study was conducted based on these reports and observations and outcome of patients. The results were expressed as percentages.Results: At the time of admission 41% patients were under alcoholic influence, 97% patients had history of LOC, 50% patients had ENT bleed and 7.5% had CSF leak.  The GCS score of less than 8 was seen in 33% cases, 9 to12 in 52% cases and between 12 to 14 in 15% patients. As per Glasgow outcome scale (GOS), 91% of patients had good recovery, 5.5% patients had disability (hemiparesis, ptosis) and 3.5% patients died in the course of treatment. Conclusions: Head injury due to RTA is a recognized major public health problem causing death and disability among the population. So it should be managed in time and also should be looked seriously by concerned authority for reducing the incidences of head injury associated with RTA and protecting people by debilitating conditions

Super Resolution Imaging Needs Better Registration for Better Quality Results

In this paper, trade-off between effect of registration error and number of images used in the process of super resolution image reconstruction is studied. Super Resolution image reconstruction is three phase process, of which registration is of at most importance. Super resolution image reconstruction uses set of low resolution images to reconstruct high resolution image during registration. The study demonstrates the effects of registration error and benefit of more number of low resolution images on the quality of reconstructed image. Study reveals that the registration error degrades the reconstructed image and without better registration methodology, a better super resolution method is still not of any use. It is noticed that without further improvement in the registration technique, not much improvement can be achieved by increasing number of input low resolution images

Actin turnover ensures uniform tension distribution during cytokinetic actomyosin ring contraction

In many eukaryotes, cytokinesis is facilitated by the contraction of an actomyosin ring (AMR). The exact mechanisms that lead to this contractility are unknown, although some models posit that actin turnover in the AMR is essential. The effect of reduced actin dynamics during AMR formation has been well studied in Schizosaccharomyces pombe; however, the corresponding effects on AMR contraction are not well understood. By using mutants of the fission yeast actin severing protein Adf1, we observed that contracting AMRs display a “peeling” phenotype, where bundles of actin and myosin peel off from one side of the AMR, and are pulled across to the opposite side. This occurs multiple times during cytokinesis and is dependent on the activity of myosins Myo2, Myp2, and Myo51. We found that the distribution of Myo2 in the AMR anticorrelates with the location of peeling events, suggesting that peeling is caused by a nonuniform tension distribution around the AMR, and that one of the roles of actin turnover is to maintain a uniform tension distribution around the AMR

Apomixis and polyembryony in the guggul plant, Commiphora wightii

The present report is a part of our study on the reproductive biology of a traditional Indian medicinal plant,Commiphora wightii, a source of guggul steroids. Field examination showed a predominantly large number of isolated and groups of female individuals. Only one andromonoecious and two exclusively male plants were recorded. Female plants set seed irrespective of the presence or absence of pollen. Hand-pollination experiments and embryological studies have confirmed the occurrence of non-pseudogamous apomixis, nucellar polyembryony and autonomous endosperm formation for the first time in this plant, which is presently threatened by over-exploitation

Tweeting the meeting. Quantitative and qualitative twitter activity during the 38th ESSO conference

Introduction: Social media is increasingly used to share information with the potential for fast and wide reach. Data on use during surgical oncology conferences is limited. We aimed to monitor twitter usage during a surgical oncology conference to audit impact of activity. Methods: A prospective, time-restricted, observational study of twitter activity using the #ESSO38 hashtag in the week before and during the 38th ESSO conference (10–12 October 2018; Budapest, Hungary). Data on individual tweets and retweets, including date and tweeter or retweeter were collected using NodeXL, FollowTheHashtag, Twitonomy and TAGS. Results: The study period (10–13 October) documented 328 tweets by 58 tweeters with 1167 retweets, with a soaring activity and mentions during the conference days, with a potential reach at over 7.5 million. The nodal network of tweets, the most active tweeters and retweeters are presented as well as the most frequently used hashtags. The top 3 hashtags used were #ESSO38, #SoMe4Surgery# and #EYSAC. A positive influence on the @ESSOweb twitter handle was noted, with the numbers of followers growing from 1.5 K to over 1.8 K representing a 20% growth in just over a week. Conclusions: Activity on tweeter during the conference was considerable, with a potential for a wide reach beyond those attending the conference. A more structured approach to the use of twitter for future conferences may enhance experience, activity and reach

Tuberculosis of the Gallbladder

Analysis of 5 patients with gallbladder tuberculosis who had open cholecystectomy and review of literature have shown that, although still rare it presents as a part of systemic miliary tuberculosis, abdominal tuberculosis, isolated gallbladder tuberculosis and as acalculus cholecystitis in anergic patients. There are no pathognomonic signs, the diagnosis depends on suspicion of tuberculosis, peroperative findings and histological examination