Heritability Estimate of Yield Related Traits in Mungbean at Two Locations

Performance of 17 mungbean genotypes was tested at two diverse environments (Swat and Peshawar) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan during 2012 to study heritability estimate of yield related triats in mungbean. Data were taken on pods plant-1, pod length, seeds pod-1, 100-seed weight, seed yield. Pooled analysis of variance across locations revealed significant differences among the two locations and genotypes for all traits. Genotype × location interaction was also highly significant (P=0.01) for all traits demonstrating differential performance of mungbean genotypes over the two test locations. Means for pods plant-1, pod length, seeds pod-1, 100-seed weight, seed yield were 21.7 vs. 39.0, 9.2 vs. 8.5 cm, 11.3 vs. 10.2, 4.2 vs. 5.4 g, 1429 vs. 1828 kg ha-1 at Peshawar and Swat, respectively. All mungbean genotypes produced more pods plant-1 and heavier seeds resulting in more seed yield per unit area at Swat than Peshawar .Genotypes AUP1210-9, AUP1210-10 and AUP1410-5 were high yielding at Swat location as well as across the two locations. AUP1210-9 and AUP6310-4 were the high yielding genotypes at Peshawar location. Genetic variances at each location as well as across locations were greater in magnitude than environmental variances for most of the traits. Magnitude of heritability and selection response for most traits varied over two locations. Heritability and selection response across two locations were 0.67 and 4.33 for pods plant-1, 0.65 and 0.70 cm for pod length, 0.55 and 0.67 for seeds pod-1, 0.66 and 0.72 g for 100-seed weight, 0.68 and 328.4 kg ha-1 for seed yield, respectively. Keywords:Mungbean, genetic association, heritability

Long-term Genetic Gains Derived from the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station Wheat Breeding Program

Agronom

Genetic Diversity and Traits Association in Tetraploid and Hexaploid Wheat Genotypes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan

Information regarding the magnitude of variability as well as the correlation among agronomicallyimportant traits renders the basis for development of a successful crop improvement program. An experimentcontaining 16 wheat genotypes (8 durum and 8 spring wheat) was conducted in crop season of year 2015-2016, at The University of Agriculture, Peshawar. The experimental design used was a Randomized CompleteBlock Design (RCBD) with three replications. The parameters under study were days to heading, days tomaturity, flag leaf area, plant height, tillers m-2, spikes m-2, spikelets spike-1, 1000-grain weight, grain yieldand harvest index. Among the genotypes for various study traits, statistically significant differences wereobserved. Except for the flag leaf area and days to maturity, durum vs. spring wheat contrast was significantfor all other studied parameters. The flag leaf area of durum wheat was more than that of spring wheat andit took fewer days to initiate heading as well. In contrast, spring wheat genotypes had more average plantheight, tillers m-2, spikes m-2, 1000-grain weight, grain yield and harvest index than durum wheat genotypes.Correlation analysis revealed that tillers m-2 and spikes m-2 had significantly positive association with grainyield while grain yield had significantly strong positive association with harvest index in tested germplasm.Durum genotypes DWE3 and DWE7 performed best for yield contributing traits while spring wheat verities,Janbaz, Barsat and Shahkar outperformed others in terms of 1000-grain weight, grain yield, and harvest index,respectively. These genotypes are recommended to be further tested at multi-locations to check for wideradaptability and a possible use in future wheat breeding programs in the areaPeer reviewe

Threats Affecting Grey Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus) Population in Salt Range, Punjab, Pakistan

Grey francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus) is a medium size game bird, also serving as biological control agent. Population of grey francolin has declined over the time mainly due to excessive hunting and habitat destruction. Research studies have not been carried out on Grey francolin in the Salt Range and data on their biological and ecological aspects is lacking. The current study was conducted in two protected areas i.e. Chumbi Surla Wildlife Sanctuary (CSWS) and Diljabba Domeli Game Resrve (DDGR) to generate information about major threats affecting Grey francolin population in the Salt Range. Data was collected through questionnaire survey (n=100) from hunters, local people and wildlife staffs. Major threat reported in CSWS included; 38% by illegal hunting , 18 % by agriculture activities, 18% by land clearing, 06% by trade, 06% by habitat destruction, 04% b

Location effect on heritability estimates of yield traits in mungbean derived from F2 populations

Heritability and genetic advance were estimated in four F2 mungbean populations (Ramzan×ML-5, NM- 92×NM-1919, NM-1919×ML-5 and ML-5×NM-51) at two locations (Peshawar and Swat) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, during 2008. Combined analysis exhibited highly significant differences among the genotypes and locations for pods plant-1, pod length, seeds pod-1, 1000-seed weight and seed yield. Similarly, genotype-by-location interaction was highly significant for pods plant-1 and 1000-seed weight. Averaged over five parents and four F2 populations, means for clusters plant-1, pods plant-1, pod length, seeds pod-1, 1000-seed weight and seed yield plant-1 at Peshawar and Swat were 9.2 vs. 9.8, 28.7 vs. 35.3, 8.5 vs. 8.7 cm, 9.3 vs. 10.0, 50.4 vs. 56.5 g and 7.1 vs. 7.6 g, respectively. Broad-sense heritability estimates in four F2 population of mungbean ranged from 0.22 to 0.70 and 0.34 to 0.58 for clusters plant-1, 0.33 to 0.75 and 0.19 to 0.61 for pods plant-1, 0.19 to 0.74 and 0.45 to 0.68 for pod length, 0.21 to 0.58 and 0.48 to 0.66 for seeds pod-1, 0.34 to 0.63 and 0.58 to 0.89 for 1000-seed weight and 0.15 to 0.64 and 0.45 to 0.61 for seed yield at Peshawar and Swat, respectively. Genetic advance was greater at Swat than at Peshawar. Among the four F2 populations, genetic improvement of yield-associated traits will be more effective in Ramzan×ML-5 and ML-5×NM-51. Moreover, among the parents, ML-5 showed good combination with Ramzan and NM-51

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty

Population‐based cohort study of outcomes following cholecystectomy for benign gallbladder diseases

Background The aim was to describe the management of benign gallbladder disease and identify characteristics associated with all‐cause 30‐day readmissions and complications in a prospective population‐based cohort. Methods Data were collected on consecutive patients undergoing cholecystectomy in acute UK and Irish hospitals between 1 March and 1 May 2014. Potential explanatory variables influencing all‐cause 30‐day readmissions and complications were analysed by means of multilevel, multivariable logistic regression modelling using a two‐level hierarchical structure with patients (level 1) nested within hospitals (level 2). Results Data were collected on 8909 patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 167 hospitals. Some 1451 cholecystectomies (16·3 per cent) were performed as an emergency, 4165 (46·8 per cent) as elective operations, and 3293 patients (37·0 per cent) had had at least one previous emergency admission, but had surgery on a delayed basis. The readmission and complication rates at 30 days were 7·1 per cent (633 of 8909) and 10·8 per cent (962 of 8909) respectively. Both readmissions and complications were independently associated with increasing ASA fitness grade, duration of surgery, and increasing numbers of emergency admissions with gallbladder disease before cholecystectomy. No identifiable hospital characteristics were linked to readmissions and complications. Conclusion Readmissions and complications following cholecystectomy are common and associated with patient and disease characteristics

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care