Flavonoids: Recent Advances and Applications in Crop Breeding

Flavonoids are secondary metabolites that perform a wide range of roles in plants. These include their involvement in plant growth, pigmentation, and UV protection, to a variety of defense and signaling activities. Flavonoids such as chalcones, flavones, flavanols, anthocyanins, and proanthocyanins are widely distributed in the plant kingdom. The metabolic routes of the flavonoids are exploited extensively using several biotech approaches to enhance the crop variety and incorporate varied nutritional benefits. Many flavonoids are key components of medicinal plants and possess nutritional significance. Specific mutations in flavonoid-related genes are typically responsible for the diversity in flavonoids, resulting in quantitative and qualitative variations in metabolic profiles. Thereby numerous attempts have been made to increase flavonoid content in agronomically important species. Flavonoids are also employed in the regulation of inflammation, in arthritis, and in cancer prevention strategies, due to their ubiquity in the human diet. Advances in the comprehension of flavonoid biosynthesis and modulation have prompted a surge in researches aiming at modifying the flavonoid pathway to improve nutritional value, plant defenses against infections and the feeding value of livestock. This chapter briefly discusses the varied role of flavonoids, their biosynthesis, and their distribution over the plant kingdom. Furthermore, it exclusively highlights the several biotech-based trending pieces of research based on introducing flavonoid biosynthesis in commercial crops

Salivary Duct Cyst

Salivary duct cysts (SDCs) are true cysts caused by obstruction of salivary ducts and are rare in minor salivary glands. Intraoral SDCs and mucoceles represent clinically salivary gland neoplasms, making diagnosis difficult and subject to errors in treatment. It is important for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons to include SDC in the differential diagnosis of swelling affecting buccal mucosa

Exploring state-of-the-art advances in targeted nanomedicines for managing acute and chronic inflammatory lung diseases

Diagnosis and treatment of lung diseases pose serious challenges. Currently, diagnostic as well as therapeutic methods show poor efficacy toward drug-resistant bacterial infections, while chemotherapy causes toxicity and nonspecific delivery of drugs. Advanced treatment methods that cure lung-related diseases, by enabling drug bioavailability via nasal passages during mucosal formation, which interferes with drug penetration to targeted sites, are in demand. Nanotechnology confers several advantages. Currently, different nanoparticles, or their combinations, are being used to enhance targeted drug delivery. Nanomedicine, a combination of nanoparticles and therapeutic agents, that delivers drugs to targeted sites increases the bioavailability of drugs at these sites. Thus, nanotechnology is superior to conventional chemotherapeutic strategies. Here, the authors review the latest advancements in nanomedicine-based drug-delivery methods for managing acute and chronic inflammatory lung diseases

Left main coronary artery aneurysm occlusion presenting as myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock: Patient saved by securing left anterior descending artery at cost the of other vessels

Key Clinical Message Coronary artery aneurysms and ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction are rare in clinical practice, presenting a management challenge. To the best of our knowledge, this case appears to be the first successful percutaneous treatment of a completely obstructed aneurysmal left main coronary artery

A 250 mV Cu/SiO₂/W Memristor with Half-Integer Quantum Conductance States

Memristive devices, whose conductance depends on previous programming history, are of significant interest for building nonvolatile memory and brain-inspired computing systems. Here, we report half-integer quantized conductance transitions <i>G</i> = (<i>n</i>/2) (2<i>e</i>²/<i>h</i>) for <i>n</i> = 1, 2, 3, etc., in Cu/SiO₂/W memristive devices observed below 300 mV at room temperature. This is attributed to the nanoscale filamentary nature of Cu conductance pathways formed inside SiO₂. Retention measurements also show spontaneous filament decay with quantized conductance levels. Numerical simulations shed light into the dynamics underlying the data retention loss mechanisms and provide new insights into the nanoscale physics of memristive devices and trade-offs involved in engineering them for computational applications

Real-World Treatment Patterns, Outcomes, and Healthcare Resource Utilization in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma: Evidence from a Medical Record Review in France

Background. Limited data are available from real-world practices in Europe describing prevailing treatment patterns and outcomes in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), particularly by cytogenetic risk. Methods. A retrospective medical record review was conducted in 200 RRMM patients in France. From first relapse, patients were assessed on second-/third-line treatments, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and healthcare utilization. Results. Fifty-five high risk and 113 standard risk patients were identified. Overall, 192 patients (96%) received second-line therapy after relapse. Lenalidomide-based regimens were most common (>50%) in second line. Hospitalization incidence in high risk patients was approximately twice that of standard risk patients. From Kaplan-Meier estimation, median (95% CI) second-line PFS was 21.4 (17.5, 25.0) months (by high versus standard risk: 10.6 [6.4, 17.0] versus 28.7 [22.1, 37.3] months). Among second-line recipients, 47.4% were deceased at data collection. Median second-line OS was 59.4 (38.8, NE) months (by high versus standard risk: 36.5 [17.4, 50.6] versus 73.6 [66.5, NE] months). Conclusions. The prognostic importance of cytogenetic risk in RRMM was apparent, whereby high (versus standard) risk patients had decidedly shorter PFS and OS. Frequent hospitalizations indicated potentially high costs associated with RRMM, particularly for high risk patients. These findings may inform economic evaluations of RRMM therapies

Economic analysis of the phase III MENSA study evaluating mepolizumab for severe asthma with eosinophilic phenotype

Severe eosinophilic asthma patients are at risk of exacerbations, which are associated with substantial costs. Mepolizumab lowers eosinophil levels and reduces exacerbation risk in severe eosinophilic asthma. We evaluated asthma-related exacerbation costs in mepolizumab-treated patients (versus placebo)