SOUVENIR ALL INDIA COORDINATED RESEARCH PROJECT FOR DRYLAND AGRICULTURE CRIDA, HYDERABAD XV Working Group Meeting (24th-27th December, 2015) BISWANATH CHARIALI CENTRE ASSAM AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

Not AvailableIt is my proud privilege to express heartfelt thanks to the entire AICRPDA family for giving me the responsibility of bringing out a souvenir to commemorate the occasion of XVth Working Group Meeting of AICRPDA at Biswanath Chariali Centre, BNCA, Assam Agricultural University. I, on behalf of the editorial board do extend a warm welcome to all delegate scientists and dignitaries coming from different parts of our country to this holy historic place of Biswanath, popularly known as ‘Gupta Kanshi’. Holding such a mega event of national importance for the first time at a place like Biswanath Chariali at the far east of the country amidst the bounty of natural resources and an area being almost entirely rainfed is of great significance. In view of the aim of realizing the dream of another green revolution that is envisaged from the rainfed areas of the country particularly the eastern and north eastern parts; this workshop is expected to march ahead further for achieving the goal. The vast ‘Gene’ resource of the North East India offers plenty of scope for their utilization to cope up the challenges of rainfed agriculture. This is a challenging task of converting these ‘Gene’ resources into viable ‘Seed Resources’ for their commercial exploitation keeping the very natural resource base and integrity unaltered. A holistic effort with all modern technological interventions is the need of the hour to bring into sustainable utilization of the natural resource base of the region. The idea of bringing out the souvenir in its present form came with the realization of the need of accumulating the multitude of the concepts required for framing the objectives of rainfed area research particularly for the North Eastern part of India. I am fortunate to have the wholehearted response from many luminaries from several ICAR institutes including CRIDA and number dignified scientists from the Assam Agricultural University contributing their valuable articles. I, do express gratitude and thankfulness from my inner core of the heart to all of them for their valuable contributions. I am extremely grateful to the Honorable Vice Chancellor, AAU, Dr. Kamalmalla Bujarbaruah sir, for his constant inspiration and suggestions all along the organization of the workshop. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Srinivasa Rao, Director, CRIDA, Dr. G. N. Hazarika, Director of Research (Agri), AAU, Dr.G.Rabindra Charry, PC, AICRPDA, Dr. T.C. Baruah, Associate Dean, BNCA, Dr. P.K. Sarma, CS, AICRPDA and all associated scientists for their encouragement, moral support and valuable suggestions. Last but not the least, all the Research Associates working under AICRPDA, BNCA, do deserve due share of thanks for their all round helps in bringing out the souvenir.Not Availabl

Factors affecting treatment-seeking for febrile illness in a malaria endemic block in Boudh district, Orissa, India: policy implications for malaria control

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Orissa state in eastern India accounts for the highest malaria burden to the nation. However, evidences are limited on its treatment-seeking behaviour in the state. We assessed the treatment-seeking behaviour towards febrile illness in a malaria endemic district in Orissa.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional community-based survey was carried out during the high malaria transmission season of 2006 in Boudh district. Respondents (n = 300) who had fever with chills within two weeks prior to the day of data collection were selected through a multi-stage sampling and interviewed with a pre-tested and structured interview schedule. Malaria treatment providers (n = 23) were interviewed in the district to gather their insights on factors associated with prompt and effective treatment through a semi-structured and open-ended interview guideline.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Majority of respondents (n = 281) sought some sort of treatment e.g. government health facility (35.7%), less qualified providers (31.3%), and community level health workers and volunteers (24.3%). The single most common reason (66.9%) for choosing a provider was proximity. Over a half (55.7%) sought treatment from appropriate providers within 48 hours of onset of symptoms. Respondents under five years (OR 2.00, 95% CI 0.84-4.80, <it>P </it>= 0.012), belonging to scheduled tribe community (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.11-4.07, <it>P </it>= 0.022) and visiting a provider more than five kilometers (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.09-3.83, <it>P </it>= 0.026) were more likely to have delayed or inappropriate treatment. Interviews with the providers indicated that patients' lack of trust in community volunteers providing treatment led to inappropriate treatment-seeking from the less qualified providers. The reasons for the lack of trust included drug side effects, suspicions about drug quality, stock-outs of drugs and inappropriate attitude of the provider.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Large-scale involvement of less qualified providers is suggested in the malaria control programme as volunteers after appropriate capacity development since the community has more trust in them. This should be supported by uninterrupted supply of drugs to the community volunteers, and involvement of the community-based organizations and volunteers in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of malaria control services. There is also a need for continuous and rigorous impact evaluations of the program to make necessary modifications, scale up and to prevent drug resistance.</p

Global Analysis of the Evolution and Mechanism of Echinocandin Resistance in Candida glabrata

The evolution of drug resistance has a profound impact on human health. Candida glabrata is a leading human fungal pathogen that can rapidly evolve resistance to echinocandins, which target cell wall biosynthesis and are front-line therapeutics for Candida infections. Here, we provide the first global analysis of mutations accompanying the evolution of fungal drug resistance in a human host utilizing a series of C. glabrata isolates that evolved echinocandin resistance in a patient treated with the echinocandin caspofungin for recurring bloodstream candidemia. Whole genome sequencing identified a mutation in the drug target, FKS2, accompanying a major resistance increase, and 8 additional non-synonymous mutations. The FKS2-T1987C mutation was sufficient for echinocandin resistance, and associated with a fitness cost that was mitigated with further evolution, observed in vitro and in a murine model of systemic candidemia. A CDC6-A511G(K171E) mutation acquired before FKS2-T1987C(S663P), conferred a small resistance increase. Elevated dosage of CDC55, which acquired a C463T(P155S) mutation after FKS2-T1987C(S663P), ameliorated fitness. To discover strategies to abrogate echinocandin resistance, we focused on the molecular chaperone Hsp90 and downstream effector calcineurin. Genetic or pharmacological compromise of Hsp90 or calcineurin function reduced basal tolerance and resistance. Hsp90 and calcineurin were required for caspofungin-dependent FKS2 induction, providing a mechanism governing echinocandin resistance. A mitochondrial respiration-defective petite mutant in the series revealed that the petite phenotype does not confer echinocandin resistance, but renders strains refractory to synergy between echinocandins and Hsp90 or calcineurin inhibitors. The kidneys of mice infected with the petite mutant were sterile, while those infected with the HSP90-repressible strain had reduced fungal burden. We provide the first global view of mutations accompanying the evolution of fungal drug resistance in a human host, implicate the premier compensatory mutation mitigating the cost of echinocandin resistance, and suggest a new mechanism of echinocandin resistance with broad therapeutic potential

Family-led rehabilitation after stroke in India (ATTEND): a randomised controlled trial

Background Most people with stroke in India have no access to organised rehabilitation services. The effectiveness of training family members to provide stroke rehabilitation is uncertain. Our primary objective was to determine whether family-led stroke rehabilitation, initiated in hospital and continued at home, would be superior to usual care in a low-resource setting. Methods The Family-led Rehabilitation after Stroke in India (ATTEND) trial was a prospectively randomised open trial with blinded endpoint done across 14 hospitals in India. Patients aged 18 years or older who had had a stroke within the past month, had residual disability and reasonable expectation of survival, and who had an informal family-nominated caregiver were randomly assigned to intervention or usual care by site coordinators using a secure web-based system with minimisation by site and stroke severity. The family members of participants in the intervention group received additional structured rehabilitation training—including information provision, joint goal setting, carer training, and task-specific training—that was started in hospital and continued at home for up to 2 months. The primary outcome was death or dependency at 6 months, defined by scores 3–6 on the modified Rankin scale (range, 0 [no symptoms] to 6 [death]) as assessed by masked observers. Analyses were by intention to treat. This trial is registered with Clinical Trials Registry-India (CTRI/2013/04/003557), Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12613000078752), and Universal Trial Number (U1111-1138-6707). Findings Between Jan 13, 2014, and Feb 12, 2016, 1250 patients were randomly assigned to intervention (n=623) or control (n=627) groups. 33 patients were lost to follow-up (14 intervention, 19 control) and five patients withdrew (two intervention, three control). At 6 months, 285 (47%) of 607 patients in the intervention group and 287 (47%) of 605 controls were dead or dependent (odds ratio 0·98, 95% CI 0·78–1·23, p=0·87). 72 (12%) patients in the intervention group and 86 (14%) in the control group died (p=0·27), and we observed no difference in rehospitalisation (89 [14%]patients in the intervention group vs 82 [13%] in the control group; p=0·56). We also found no difference in total non-fatal events (112 events in 82 [13%] intervention patients vs 110 events in 79 [13%] control patients; p=0·80). Interpretation Although task shifting is an attractive solution for health-care sustainability, our results do not support investment in new stroke rehabilitation services that shift tasks to family caregivers, unless new evidence emerges. A future avenue of research should be to investigate the effects of task shifting to health-care assistants or team-based community care

Water-soluble vitamins for controlling starch digestion: Conformational scrambling and inhibition mechanism of human pancreatic α-amylase by ascorbic acid and folic acid

The inhibition of human pancreatic α-amylase (HPA) enzyme activity can offers facile routes to ameliorate postprandial hyperglycemia in diabetes via control of starch digestion. The present study utilizes complementary experimental (starch digestion kinetics, fluorescence quenching, Förster resonance energy transfer, and X-ray diffraction) and computational (molecular docking and dynamics simulation) methods to evaluate for the first time the HPA inhibitory activity of eight water-soluble vitamins. In particular, ascorbic acid inhibited HPA activity via non-competitive antagonism from two allosteric sites, by channeling the inhibition towards the active site cavity via the triose-phosphate isomerase (TIM) barrel. Whereas folic acid inhibited HPA activity by binding competitively at the active site cavity and decreasing the disorder in the neighboring loop 3 and 7, the latter are important mobile loops in HPA for starch digestion. The infusion of such biocompatible and nutritional water-soluble vitamins alongside starch may enable avenues in diabetes management

Structurally induced modulation of in vitro digestibility of amylopectin corn starch upon esterification with folic acid

The present study aims to identify how structural modifications of amylopectin corn starch on esterification with folic acid (FA) affects its in vitro digestion. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) confirmed that at low FA esterification (5–10%), the mesophase order showed the absence of any super-structural order. However, a discotic stacking of SF forming columnar hexagonal phases and columnar helical phases (with strong optical anisotropy) was observed upon increasing FA esterification (20–40%). X-ray diffraction (XRD) evidenced the development of a V and B-type molecular packing order in SF with increased FA esterification from 20 to 40%, with a consequential increase in the percentage of slow digestible starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS). The slower digestion phenomenon displayed a dual-phase behavior, with digestion rates k1 > k2, where k2 being ca. 0.3 of k1. Stacking over packing order appeared to be more influential in limiting the enzymatic action. A k-means clustering analysis of the total digested starch and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy peak ratios (1000/1022) cm−1 indicated that 0.04 level FA substitution was crucial for slower hydrolysis of SF. This study provides structural insights for developing starch-folic acid ester derivatives that could form building-block copolymers for future development of oral drug/nutraceutical delivery vehicles with tailored starch digestion properties

Effects of folic acid esterification on the hierarchical structure of amylopectin corn starch

There are burgeoning research interests in designing biocompatible colloidal delivery systems for treating as well as delaying the recurrence of chronic diseases, including various forms of cancers. In this respect, folic acid (FA) esters and starch are particularly interesting owing to (i) the molecular recognition of FA by folate receptors and (ii) the biocompatibility of starch based delivery systems. In this study, the effects of esterification of amylopectin corn starch (ACS) with FA using an n, n’-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide/4-dimethylaminopyridine (DCC/DMAP) mediated esterification reaction were investigated at multiple length scales. Scattering (light, X-ray), spectroscopy (FTIR), electrophoretic mobility (ζ-potential) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) confirmed that structural rearrangements (short- and long-range) occurred in the starch-folic acid ester (SF) derivatives with increased FA content (degree of substitution, 0.01–0.05). The SF ranged in size from 200 to 600 nm and were negatively charged (ca. −24 mV, SF20). FTIR revealed a loss of double-helical structure on FA substitution. Notably, CLSM and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) both showing an FA-assisted self-assembly and crosslinking of SF, later confirming columnar assemblies with unit cell parameter of 4.5 nm. The wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern (2θ = 6.1°, 7.7°, 13°, 17°, 20°, 22°, and 25°) in SF further gave evidence for the formation of hybrid B and V-type polymorphs, where SF may accommodate FA within a larger hybrid hexagonal lattice. This study provides structural insights for developing tunable starch-folic acid derivatives for potential applications as delivery vehicles for pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals targeting folate receptors

Ten years of Dryland Agricultural Research. AICRPDA, Biswanath chariali

Not AvailableThe Assam state has 28.1 lakh hectares of net cropped area accounting for nearly 35.1 % of the total geographical area. The state receives an average rainfall of 1968.1 mm with intermittent dry spells. Majority of area in Assam comes under rainfed area. The rainfed areas are endowed with wide range of constraints with respect to soil and crop management and socio economic issues. The All India Coordinated Research for Dryland Agriculture(AICRPDA) center which was initially established at Jorhat in 2005 was shifted to Biswanath Chariali during 2010. Since its inception, the center has generated significant amount of database and good number of technologies on rain water management, nutrient management, cropping system, energy management, resource characterization, evaluation of improved varieties, IFS and alternate land use systems etc. for increasing the productivity of dryland agriculture on sustainable basis. These technologies have been demonstrated in the farmers' field with their participation under the NICRA project, NICRA upscaling programmes, TSP programmes and success stories have been documented. This publication includes research result of AICRPDA for the past one decade. The information provided in this publication would help the researchers, farmers/stake holders, extension workers and all those involved in development of rainfed agriculture furthering the cause of dryland research and for upscaling the different dryland technologies for increasing the productivity. I appreciate the efforts of the team of Scientists of AICRPDA, Biswanath Chariali and Jorhat center and congratulate them for bringing out the publication entitled " Ten Years of Dryland Agricultural Research". I wish them all success in future research and development endeavor.Not Availabl