Suppression of soil borne fungal pathogens associated with apple replant disease by cyclic application of native strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Plant growth promoting fluorescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains An-E and An- F were used for the suppression of replant disease organisms which were isolated from replant site of apple in Shimla district of Hima-chal Pradesh. Full and half concentration of individual and consortial strains were used for the experiment. Among all the treatments, full concentration of compatible consortial strains were quite effective in decreasing the deleterious rhizobacterial (197-99 cfu/g) and fungal population (7-0 cfu/g). Total rhizobacterial count starts decreasing after each cyclic application of fluorescent P. aeruginosa strains An-E and An-F due to root colonization property of these plant growth promoting strains in the replant site of apple. Establishment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains at replant site was inversely correlated with decreasing deleterious bacterial and fungal population in the replant site. 70 per cent survival of apple rootstocks was recorded in full concentration of consortial treatment (An-E and An- F) as compared to control after three years of plantation. Four major fungal pathogens viz. Dematophor anecatrix, Phytophthora cactorum, Pythium ultimum and Fusarium oxysporum were isolated and identified from National centre for fungal taxonomy, New Delhi. These strains can be further exploited and recommended for the management of replant problem of apple

Social cognitions in children with emotional and behavioural problems

The existence of emotional and behavioural problems in young children has been extensively documented. Such problems have a substantial impact on children themselves, their families, their schools, and society more generally.\ud A basic tenet of social cognitive psychology is that the way people think in their daily lives about themselves and their social world is linked with the way they behave. Based on this assumption, the main aim of this thesis was to explore whether and how children who show emotional and behavioural problems in the first year of primary school, differ from their nonproblem peers in the way they think about themselves and their relationships with their mothers, teachers and peers.\ud Three studies were carried out. The first two dealt with the development of a standardised procedure for identifying emotional and behavioural problems in children in the first year of primary school. The third study endeavoured to explore social cognitions of the selected children. In the first study, 61 reception class teachers in London (England) evaluated three existing behaviour rating scales by providing assessments for children in their classes. One of these scales was further evaluated for use In India, In a normative study of 488 children. Using this measure, 210 children attending the first year In 26 primary schools were selected. Of these, 115 formed the target group- showing emotional and behavioural problems and the rest were their comparison children- free from reported problems but matched on gender within the same class. The children's social cognitions were examined in individual interviews. The measures used included the Harter Scale, Cassidy's Incomplete Stories With Doll Families and the Puppet Interview. \ud The children in the target group scored significantly lower than the comparison group on all the measures except the Puppet Interview, depicting a less positive view of themselves and their relationships with their mothers, teachers and peers. Follow up analyses indicated that the differences in the two groups were largely due to those children who showed internalising or multiple problems. Children showing predominantly externalising problems did not differ significantly from their comparisons. The findings add to the literature by showing that a meaningful link exists \u

Demogenetic study – A holistic approach for studying population structure

Demography and population genetics, though they have emerged as separate disciplines, tried to explain the population structure in each own way. Here in this article, the interrelationship between these disciplines are reviewed with reference to the population structure. The correlation and interdisciplinary between these two disciplines in explaining the population can be discussed under three different approaches i.e. demography, evolutionary and epidemiology. Both the demographic and evolutionary parameters are interrelated. The demographic parameters are influenced by genetic factors and in return the evolutionary fate of a population is explained through demographic parameters – fertility and mortality. This correlation is more evident in epidemiological approach. Nowadays with the rise of complex disorders among the interbred populations, the complete understanding of the population structure is much needed

Chemurgic studies on some diploid and tetraploid grain amaranths

Analytical data on four important species of grain amaranths show that polyploidy, apart from increasing significantly the grain size and weight without much loss of fertility, has generally maintained the nutritive value found at the diploid level. Lysine content is enhanced in polyploid A. edulis and A. caudatus so also the threonine content in the former

Infertility and Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study in North Indian Women

The present study assessed the relationship between primary infertility and obesity in women of Delhi, India, independently, and in light of various demographic trait, lifestyle and reproductive variables. The present study was a part of a major project funded by the National Commission for Women of India, Government of India. The data were collected from 334 women, including 167 fertile and 167 infertile individuals. A two-part pretested modified quantitative interview schedule was used to collect data. The first part of the interview schedule included demographic traits, reproductive profile and lifestyle variables. The second part consisted of anthropometric measurements for BMI which were taken using an anthropometric rod (height) and digital weighing scale (weight). All the data were analysed through SPSS 22.0. The results revealed a higher prevalence of obesity and underweight among infertile women. There is a clear-cut indication that usual risk factors of obesity like physical inactivity, increasing age, higher age at marriage, and infertility-related biological issues seem to be promoting obesity in combination with infertility. Public health education is needed to increase awareness about the age at marriage. As physical inactivity leads to obesity among infertile women, counselling, awareness raising or improvement of lifestyle factors should be considered in the infertility treatment protocol

Structural mechanism for regulation of the AAA-ATPases RUVBL1-RUVBL2 in the R2TP co-chaperone revealed by cryo-EM

The human R2TP complex (RUVBL1-RUVBL2-RPAP3-PIH1D1) is an HSP90 co-chaperone required for the maturation of several essential multiprotein complexes, including RNA polymerase II, small nucleolar ribonucleoproteins, and PIKK complexes such as mTORC1 and ATR-ATRIP. RUVBL1-RUVBL2 AAA-ATPases are also primary components of other essential complexes such as INO80 and Tip60 remodelers. Despite recent efforts, the molecular mechanisms regulating RUVBL1-RUVBL2 in these complexes remain elusive. Here, we report cryo-EM structures of R2TP and show how access to the nucleotide-binding site of RUVBL2 is coupled to binding of the client recruitment component of R2TP (PIH1D1) to its DII domain. This interaction induces conformational rearrangements that lead to the destabilization of an N-terminal segment of RUVBL2 that acts as a gatekeeper to nucleotide exchange. This mechanism couples protein-induced motions of the DII domains with accessibility of the nucleotide-binding site in RUVBL1-RUVBL2, and it is likely a general mechanism shared with other RUVBL1-RUVBL2-containing complexes

Effect of peribulbar block on emergence agitation in children undergoing strabismus surgery under desflurane anaesthesia

Background: Strabismus surgery in children may be associated with a high incidence of emergence agitation that may be related to pain and visual disturbances. The objective was to evaluate the effect of peribulbar block on the incidence of emergence agitation in children undergoing strabismus surgery under desflurane anaesthesia.Methods: Fifty-six healthy children aged 2–10 years, undergoing strabismus surgery under general anaesthesia, were recruited. Children were randomly allocated to receive fentanyl 2 μg/kg (Group F) or peribulbar block (Group PB) with 0.3 ml/kg of 0.25% bupivacaine + 2% lignocaine. The primary outcome of the study was incidence of emergence agitation; secondary outcome measures were time to first rescue analgesia, the incidence of oculocardiac reflex and vomiting.Results: Of 52 children, 14/25 (56%) children in Group F developed emergence agitation compared with 3/27 (11.11%) in group PB (p = 0.001). Postoperatively, the paediatric anaesthesia emergence delirium scores showed significantly lower emergence agitation in the PB group with a median (IQR) of 0.00 (0.00–2.00) compared with group F (5.5 (0.75–8.75) at all time intervals (p = 0.003 Mann–Whitney test). Pain scores were comparable between groups (group F 48% vs. group PB 25.9%). The time to first rescue analgesia was increased in group PB (126.875 ± 38.22 min vs. 88.08 ± 28.48 min in group F). The oculocardiac reflex occurred in 7/25 in Group F compared with 1/27 in Group PB (p = 0.015). There was no difference in the incidence of postoperative vomiting (24% in Group F vs. 22% in Group PB).Conclusion: Use of peribulbar block in children undergoing strabismus surgery under desflurane anaesthesia was associated with reduced incidence of emergence agitation and oculocardiac reflex but did not significantly increase the time to first analgesic or the incidence of pain and vomiting. A sub-tenon block may be safer and provide better operating conditions and equal analgesia.Keywords: agitation, children, anaesthesia, strabismus surgery, peribulbar bloc

Tah1 helix-swap dimerization prevents mixed Hsp90 co-chaperone complexes

Specific co-chaperone adaptors facilitate the recruitment of client proteins to the Hsp90 system. Tah1 binds the C-terminal conserved MEEVD motif of Hsp90, thus linking an eclectic set of client proteins to the R2TP complex for their assembly and regulation by Hsp90. Rather than the normal complement of seven α-helices seen in other tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domains, Tah1 unusually consists of the first five only. Consequently, the methionine of the MEEVD peptide remains exposed to solvent when bound by Tah1. In solution Tah1 appears to be predominantly monomeric, and recent structures have failed to explain how Tah1 appears to prevent the formation of mixed TPR domain-containing complexes such as Cpr6-(Hsp90)2-Tah1. To understand this further, the crystal structure of Tah1 in complex with the MEEVD peptide of Hsp90 was determined, which shows a helix swap involving the fifth α-helix between two adjacently bound Tah1 molecules. Dimerization of Tah1 restores the normal binding environment of the bound Hsp90 methionine residue by reconstituting a TPR binding site similar to that in seven-helix-containing TPR domain proteins. Dimerization also explains how other monomeric TPR-domain proteins are excluded from forming inappropriate mixed co-chaperone complexes

The structure of the R2TP complex defines a platform for recruiting diverse client proteins to the HSP90 molecular chaperone system

The R2TP complex, comprising the Rvb1p-Rvb2p AAA-ATPases, Tah1p, and Pih1p in yeast, is a special- ized Hsp90 co-chaperone required for the assembly and maturation of multi-subunit complexes. These include the small nucleolar ribonucleoproteins, RNA polymerase II, and complexes containing phosphati- dylinositol-3-kinase-like kinases. The structure and stoichiometry of yeast R2TP and how it couples to Hsp90 are currently unknown. Here, we determine the 3D organization of yeast R2TP using sedimenta- tion velocity analysis and cryo-electron microscopy. The 359-kDa complex comprises one Rvb1p/Rvb2p hetero-hexamer with domains II (DIIs) forming an open basket that accommodates a single copy of Tah1p-Pih1p. Tah1p-Pih1p binding to multiple DII do- mains regulates Rvb1p/Rvb2p ATPase activity. Using domain dissection and cross-linking mass spectro- metry, we identified a unique region of Pih1p that is essential for interaction with Rvb1p/Rvb2p. These data provide a structural basis for understanding how R2TP couples an Hsp90 dimer to a diverse set of client proteins and complexes

RPAP3 provides a flexible scaffold for coupling HSP90 to the human R2TP co-chaperone complex

The R2TP/Prefoldin-like co-chaperone, in concert with HSP90, facilitates assembly and cellular stability of RNA polymerase II, and complexes of PI3-kinase-like kinases such as mTOR. However, the mechanism by which this occurs is poorly understood. Here we use cryo-EM and biochemical studies on the human R2TP core (RUVBL1–RUVBL2–RPAP3–PIH1D1) which reveal the distinctive role of RPAP3, distinguishing metazoan R2TP from the smaller yeast equivalent. RPAP3 spans both faces of a single RUVBL ring, providing an extended scaffold that recruits clients and provides a flexible tether for HSP90. A 3.6 Å cryo-EM structure reveals direct interaction of a C-terminal domain of RPAP3 and the ATPase domain of RUVBL2, necessary for human R2TP assembly but absent from yeast. The mobile TPR domains of RPAP3 map to the opposite face of the ring, associating with PIH1D1, which mediates client protein recruitment. Thus, RPAP3 provides a flexible platform for bringing HSP90 into proximity with diverse client proteins