Performance of strawberry cultivars in mid hill region of Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh

The present study was carried out to evaluate the performance of strawberry cultivars in mid hill region of Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh. For this purpose nine strawberry cultivars viz Addie, Belrubi, Brighton, Chandler, Dana, Etna, Fern, Pajaro and Selva were planted at spacing of 30 x 15 cm in double rows on raised beds of 1m × 3m size at Regional Horticultural Research and Training Station, Bajaura, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized block design. The maximum plant height (16.37cm) was recorded with cv. Belrubi and maximum plant spread was attained by cv. Fern (EW 23.27 cm and NS 21.03 cm), maximum leaf length (16.90 cm) was recorded by cv. Belrubi and minimum (10.00 cm) with cv. Dana. The maximum leaf area was recorded with Chandler (76.03 cm2). The maximum fruit weight (14.93gm), total soluble solids (12.00oB), reducing sugars (5.01%) and total sugars (5.44%) were recorded with cv. Chandler. The maximum fruit yield per plant was observed with cv. Belrubi (996.3g/plant) which was closely followed by cv. Chandler (966.7 g/plant). Thus from the above studies it is concluded that Strawberry cultivars Belrubi and Chandler were best for commercial cultivation in mid hill region of Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh

FLT3-ITD allelic ratio and HLF expression predict FLT3 inhibitor efficacy in adult AML

FLT3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD) is a frequent mutation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and remains a strong prognostic factor due to high rate of disease recurrence. Several FLT3-targeted agents have been developed, but determinants of variable responses to these agents remain understudied. Here, we investigated the role FLT3-ITD allelic ratio (ITD-AR), ITD length, and associated gene expression signatures on FLT3 inhibitor response in adult AML. We performed fragment analysis, ex vivo drug testing, and next generation sequencing (RNA, exome) to 119 samples from 87 AML patients and 13 healthy bone marrow controls. We found that ex vivo response to FLT3 inhibitors is significantly associated with ITD-AR, but not with ITD length. Interestingly, we found that the HLF gene is overexpressed in FLT3-ITD+ AML and associated with ITD-AR. The retrospective analysis of AML patients treated with FLT3 inhibitor sorafenib showed that patients with high HLF expression and ITD-AR had better clinical response to therapy compared to those with low ITD-AR and HLF expression. Thus, our findings suggest that FLT3 ITD-AR together with increased HLF expression play a role in variable FLT3 inhibitor responses observed in FLT3-ITD+ AML patients.Peer reviewe

IgG4-related disease: a review with an Indian perspective

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a recently discovered (2003) complex disease, manifesting in various organs with symptoms mimicking other diseases. Progression of the disease leads to organ failure and hence early diagnosis is an urgent requirement in these patients. There is scarcity in reporting of IgG4-RD globally and in India. The aim of the study was to generate awareness on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and practice trends for IgG4-RD in India and globally, and to aid Indian physicians in early diagnosis of IgG4-RD in patients. Additionally, the evidence currently available in the Indian subpopulation has been evaluated. A preliminary literature search was performed using the PubMed database with the keywords including ‘IgG4-related disease’ in the title and abstract to obtain the relevant data. In total, PubMed identified 2071 publications comprising world-wide studies published in the English language before 30 April 2021. Studies were filtered region-wise by adding ‘India’ to the search strategy and total 60 publications were identified. The relative newness of IgG4-RD and the ensuing paucity in literature limits diagnosis by clinicians. Awareness of the disease among Indian clinicians would improve understanding of the disease and development of a country-specific consensus-based management guideline might lead to better prognosis in Indian patients with IgG4-RD

Regional earth system modelling framework for CORDEX-SA: an integrated model assessment for Indian summer monsoon rainfall

An effort is made to implement a regional earth system model (RESM); ROM, over CORDEX-South Asia (SA). The added value of RESM is assessed for mean precipitation, its variability (intraseasonal to interannual), extremes, and associated processes. In this regard, ROM’s fields are compared with the respective fields of its standalone version (REMO), the models belonging coupled model intercomparison project (CMIP5 and CMIP6), and regional climate models of CORDEX-CORE simulations. RESM shows substantial improvement for most of the Indian monsoon’s aspects; however, the magnitude of the value addition varies spatiotemporally and also with different aspects.. The improved representation of intraseasonal variability (active-break spell’s duration and intensity) and Interannual variability attributed to improved mean seasonal precipitation. Additionally, correct representation of sea surface temperature, Indian Ocean Dipole, and its underlying dynamics also contribute to improving the mean precipitation. The notable improvement is seen especially over the south-eastern regions of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and South-Central India, where increasing (decreasing) low-pressure systems over Central India (BoB) are noticed as a consequence of air-sea coupling, leading to enhanced (reduced) precipitation over Central India (BoB), reducing dry (wet) bias found in REMO and the other models. Despite substantial improvements, RESM has a systematic wet bias in the mean precipitation associated with a warm bias over the western coast of the Arabian Sea. An overestimation of very high extreme precipitation due to the enhanced contribution of low-pressure systems indicates the model’s limitations, suggesting the need for further tuning of the RESM

KIT pathway upregulation predicts dasatinib efficacy in acute myeloid leukemia

Peer reviewe

Interventions Aimed at Decreasing Obesity in Children Younger Than 2 Years: A Systematic Review

To assess the evidence for interventions designed to prevent or reduce overweight and obesity in children younger than 2 years