Establishment of High-Efficiency Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Callus Derived from \u3cem\u3eSehima nervosum\u3c/em\u3e, an Important Range Grass Species

Sehima nervosum is one of the important rangeland grass in India, It is commonly known as Saen grass in India, white grass in Australia, and has also been reported from the Central East Africa and Sudan. It is a good forage grass and maybe utilized for grazing as well as for hay preparation. It is a perennial grass, prefers hot and dry climate and survive even in limited rainfalls. As this natural grass is found inherently rich in precursors for several industrially important biomolecules, fractionation of these precursors seems to be a promising endeavour. Production of nutraceuticals (prebiotic xylo-oligosaccharides) from the lignocellulosic biomass of this grass is promising, as this grass does not compete with food crops, and is comparatively less expensive than conventional agricultural food-stocks. However, germplasm of this grass has narrow genetic variability. Being largely apomictic in reproduction, generation of variability through hybridization approaches have been limited. Utilization of biotechnological tools is one of the potential ways for introducing variability and transfer of desirable traits. The development of an efficient genetic transformation procedure for Sehima could facilitate physiological and molecular biology studies as well as the production of transgenic cultivars for higher productivity and quality. To the best of our knowledge there are no reports on in vitro callus induction, regeneration and transformation in Sehima. Herein, for the first time, efficient in vitro callus induction from mature seed explant and transformation efficiency in Sehima is reported. Here we standardized a reproducible, rapid and efficient Agrobacterium mediated transformation using Agrobacterium strain EHA105 harbouring binary vector pCAMBIA 1305

Study of Fatal Firearm Cases in Allahabad Region, India

Abstract This study was done to assess the pattern of firearm injuries in Allahabad amongst medicolegal autopsies in the mortuary of Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital, MotiLal Nehru Medical College, India. It was a descriptive study including fatal cases of firearm injury which underwent autopsy from 1st of January 2015 to 30th July 2016. The demographic information regarding the victims was obtained from the inquest report, person accompanying the victim, their friends and relatives. Autopsy reports were also used to gather additional information. Parameters studied included age and sex of the victim, site of firearm injury and manner of death. In our study, out of 4,445 autopsies, 63 were cases of firearm injury. From these cases, 58 were homicidal, 3 were suicidal, and 1 was accidental. The results show that the age group most commonly affected was 31-40 years (26.98%). Male to female ratio was 6.9:1. The most common targeted part of the body was the chest (61.0%)

Differentially Expressed RNA from Public Microarray Data Identifies Serum Protein Biomarkers for Cross-Organ Transplant Rejection and Other Conditions

Serum proteins are routinely used to diagnose diseases, but are hard to find due to low sensitivity in screening the serum proteome. Public repositories of microarray data, such as the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), contain RNA expression profiles for more than 16,000 biological conditions, covering more than 30% of United States mortality. We hypothesized that genes coding for serum- and urine-detectable proteins, and showing differential expression of RNA in disease-damaged tissues would make ideal diagnostic protein biomarkers for those diseases. We showed that predicted protein biomarkers are significantly enriched for known diagnostic protein biomarkers in 22 diseases, with enrichment significantly higher in diseases for which at least three datasets are available. We then used this strategy to search for new biomarkers indicating acute rejection (AR) across different types of transplanted solid organs. We integrated three biopsy-based microarray studies of AR from pediatric renal, adult renal and adult cardiac transplantation and identified 45 genes upregulated in all three. From this set, we chose 10 proteins for serum ELISA assays in 39 renal transplant patients, and discovered three that were significantly higher in AR. Interestingly, all three proteins were also significantly higher during AR in the 63 cardiac transplant recipients studied. Our best marker, serum PECAM1, identified renal AR with 89% sensitivity and 75% specificity, and also showed increased expression in AR by immunohistochemistry in renal, hepatic and cardiac transplant biopsies. Our results demonstrate that integrating gene expression microarray measurements from disease samples and even publicly-available data sets can be a powerful, fast, and cost-effective strategy for the discovery of new diagnostic serum protein biomarkers

Rho GTPases as therapeutic targets in Alzheimer’s disease

The progress we have made in understanding Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis has led to the identification of several novel pathways and potential therapeutic targets. Rho GTPases have been implicated as critical components in AD pathogenesis, but their various functions and interactions make understanding their complex signaling challenging to study. Recent advancements in both the field of AD and Rho GTPase drug development provide novel tools for the elucidation of Rho GTPases as a viable target for AD. Herein, we summarize the fluctuating activity of Rho GTPases in various stages of AD pathogenesis and in several in vitro and in vivo AD models. We also review the current pharmacological tools such as NSAIDs, RhoA/ROCK, Rac1, and Cdc42 inhibitors used to target Rho GTPases and their use in AD-related studies. Finally, we summarize the behavioral modifications following Rho GTPase modulation in several AD mouse models. As key regulators of several AD-related signals, Rho GTPases have been studied as targets in AD. However, a consensus has yet to be reached regarding the stage at which targeting Rho GTPases would be the most beneficial. The studies discussed herein emphasize the critical role of Rho GTPases and the benefits of their modulation in AD

Global overview of the management of acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic (CHOLECOVID study)

Background: This study provides a global overview of the management of patients with acute cholecystitis during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: CHOLECOVID is an international, multicentre, observational comparative study of patients admitted to hospital with acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on management were collected for a 2-month study interval coincident with the WHO declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and compared with an equivalent pre-pandemic time interval. Mediation analysis examined the influence of SARS-COV-2 infection on 30-day mortality. Results: This study collected data on 9783 patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to 247 hospitals across the world. The pandemic was associated with reduced availability of surgical workforce and operating facilities globally, a significant shift to worse severity of disease, and increased use of conservative management. There was a reduction (both absolute and proportionate) in the number of patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 3095 patients (56.2 per cent) pre-pandemic to 1998 patients (46.2 per cent) during the pandemic but there was no difference in 30-day all-cause mortality after cholecystectomy comparing the pre-pandemic interval with the pandemic (13 patients (0.4 per cent) pre-pandemic to 13 patients (0.6 per cent) pandemic; P = 0.355). In mediation analysis, an admission with acute cholecystitis during the pandemic was associated with a non-significant increased risk of death (OR 1.29, 95 per cent c.i. 0.93 to 1.79, P = 0.121). Conclusion: CHOLECOVID provides a unique overview of the treatment of patients with cholecystitis across the globe during the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The study highlights the need for system resilience in retention of elective surgical activity. Cholecystectomy was associated with a low risk of mortality and deferral of treatment results in an increase in avoidable morbidity that represents the non-COVID cost of this pandemic

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Evaluation of serum tumor necrosis factor α and its correlation with histology in chronic kidney disease, stable renal transplant and rejection cases

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF α) is a cytokine secreted by macrophages, helper T cells, Natural Killer cells, B lymphocytes and non lymphoid cells e.g. endothelial cells, fibroblast and tumor cell lines. Aim of the study was to find the utility of TNF α in diagnosing renal transplant rejection among the renal transplant cases (n=29), and comparison with the levels in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (n=21) and healthy controls (n=20). TNF α in healthy controls varied from 2 to 15 pg/mL. In chronic renal failure and renal transplant rejection cases TNF α was above 45 pg/mL. In stable renal transplant patients it was higher than normal (16 to 30 pg/mL). In both acute and chronic transplant rejection TNF α increase correlated well with histology. Thus our study suggests that TNF α level more than 45 pg/mL can be taken as an immunological marker of renal transplant rejection