Immunoregulatory Potential of Exosomes Derived from Cancer Stem Cells.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are malignancies that originate in the mucosal lining of the upper aerodigestive tract. Despite advances in therapeutic interventions, survival rates among HNSCC patients have remained static for years. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are tumor-initiating cells that are highly resistant to treatment, and are hypothesized to contribute to a significant fraction of tumor recurrences. Consequently, further investigations of how CSCs mediate recurrence may provide insights into novel druggable targets. A key element of recurrence involves the tumor's ability to evade immunosurveillance. Recent published reports suggest that CSCs possess immunosuppressive properties, however, the underlying mechanism have yet to be fully elucidated. To date, most groups have focused on the role of CSC-derived secretory proteins, such as cytokines and growth factors. Here, we review the established immunoregulatory role of exosomes derived from mixed tumor cell populations, and propose further study of CSC-derived exosomes may be warranted. Such studies may yield novel insights into new druggable targets, or lay the foundation for future exosome-based diagnostics

Increasing Productivity and Profitability in Legumes Cultivation: Opportunities, Challenges and Lessons Learnt from Tropical Legumes-II (Phase 1 and 2) project

The Tropical Legumes II (TL-II) project, funded by the BMGF, aims to improve the lives and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the drought-prone areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia through improved productivity and production of six major tropical legumes – chickpea, common bean, cowpea, groundnut, pigeonpea and soybean. It has been implemented in ten target countries that included in WCA, ESA and SA regions in two phases (Phase 1: 2007-08 to 2010-11; Phase-2: 2011-2014). But, the present paper discusses about only three legumes (chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut) crops and the interventions carried out in India only. Specifically, this initiative has been focusing on proper targeting for development of improved cultivars of food legumes, promotion of their adoption, proactive public sector policies and finally linking these small holders to markets and value chains. A number of studies have been completed in six states (Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka, Odisha and Tamil Nadu) in India and Barind region of Bangladesh during last eight years (2007-2014) of project implementation. The main objective of this paper is to summarize those key findings across crops and also to identify various potential opportunities and challenges for promotion of legumes in the future. These studies have examined and documented the existing situation in legumes cultivation, constraints faced by the farmers, market linkages, potential opportunities for their expansion etc. In close association with crop improvement scientists, Farmers’ Participatory Varietal Selection (FPVS) approach was implemented for assessing farmers preferred traits in these crops. These preferred varieties were identified, released formally, multiplied and supplied as seed samples to legume growers in intervention sites. Subsequently, studies were also conducted on monitoring early adoption of newly introduced improved cultivars and their performance in the targeted locations. All those findings emanated from various studies along with lessons learnt during the process are highly valuable to share among NARS partners, researchers, academicians and donors

Astrophysical S_{17}(0) factor from a measurement of d(7Be,8B)n reaction at E_{c.m.} = 4.5 MeV

Angular distribution measurements of $^2$H($^7$Be,$^7$Be)$^2$H and $^2$H($^7$Be,$^8$B)$n$ reactions at $E_{c.m.}\sim$~4.5 MeV were performed to extract the astrophysical $S_{17}(0)$ factor using the asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC) method. For this purpose a pure, low emittance $^7$Be beam was separated from the primary $^7$Li beam by a recoil mass spectrometer operated in a novel mode. A beam stopper at 0$^{\circ}$ allowed the use of a higher $^7$Be beam intensity. Measurement of the elastic scattering in the entrance channel using kinematic coincidence, facilitated the determination of the optical model parameters needed for the analysis of the transfer data. The present measurement significantly reduces errors in the extracted $^7$Be(p,$\gamma$) cross section using the ANC method. We get $S_{17}$~(0)~=~20.7~$\pm$~2.4 eV~b.Comment: 15 pages including 3 eps figures, one figure removed and discussions updated. Version to appear in Physical Review

Age-specific periictal electroclinical features of generalized tonic-clonic seizures and potential risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP)

Generalized tonic–clonic seizure (GTCS) is the commonest seizure type associated with sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). This study examined the semiological and electroencephalographic differences (EEG) in the GTCSs of adults as compared with those of children. The rationale lies on epidemiological observations that have noted a tenfold higher incidence of SUDEP in adults.Weanalyzed the video-EEG data of 105 GTCS events in 61 consecutive patients (12 children, 23 seizure events and 49 adults, 82 seizure events) recruited from the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Semiological, EEG, and 3-channel EKG features were studied. Periictal seizure phase durations were analyzed including tonic, clonic, total seizure, postictal EEG suppression (PGES), and recovery phases. Heart rate variability (HRV)measures includingRMSSD (root mean square successive difference of RR intervals), SDNN (standard deviation of NN intervals), and SDSD (standard deviation of differences) were analyzed (including low frequency/high frequency power ratios) during preictal baseline and ictal and postictal phases. Generalized estimating equations (GEEs)were used to find associations between electroclinical features. Separate subgroup analyses were carried out on adult and pediatric age groups as well as medication groups (no antiepileptic medication cessation versus unchanged or reduced medication) during admission.Major differences were seen in adult and pediatric seizures with total seizure duration, tonic phase, PGES, and recovery phases being significantly shorter in children (p b 0.01). Generalized estimating equation analysis, using tonic phase duration as the dependent variable, found age to correlate significantly (p b 0.001), and this remained significant during subgroup analysis (adults and children) such that each 0.12-second increase in tonic phase duration correlated with a 1-second increase in PGES duration. Postictal EEG suppression durations were on average 28 s shorter in children. With cessation of medication, total seizure duration was significantly increased by a mean value of 8 s in children and 11 s in adults (p b 0.05). Tonic phase duration also significantly increased with medication cessation, and although PGES durations increased, this was not significant. Root mean square successive difference was negatively correlated with PGES duration (longer PGES durations were associated with decreased vagally mediated heart rate variability; p b 0.05) but not with tonic phase duration. This study clearly points out identifiable electroclinical differences between adult and pediatric GTCSs that may be relevant in explaining lower SUDEP risk in children. The findings suggest that some prolonged seizure phases and prolonged PGES duration may be electroclinical markers of SUDEP risk and merit further study

Sustainable Intensification of Agricultural Productivity in Semi-Arid-Tropics (SAT) of India – Case studies

Sustainable intensification is a term now much used in discussions around the future of agriculture and food security. The term actually dates back to the 1990s and was coined in the context of African agriculture, where yields are often very low, and environmental degradation a major concern. This pro-poor, smallholder oriented origin of the phrase is worth noting in the context of the current controversy around sustainable intensification. Sustainable intensification (SI) has been defined as a form of production wherein “yields are increased without adverse environmental impact and without the cultivation of more land”. In this sense, the term denotes an aspiration of what needs to be achieved, rather than a description of existing production systems, whether this be conventional high input-farming, or smallholder agriculture, or approaches based on organic methods. While the intensification of agriculture has long been the subject of analysis, sustainable intensification is a more recent concern

Transforming Weather Index-Based Crop Insurance in India: Protecting Small Farmers from Distress. Status and a Way Forward. Research Report IDC-8

In India, agriculture contributes 14% of the GDP and employs 54% of the workforce (NCAER 2013). It accounts for 8.56% of the country’s exports. Despite agriculture’s steady decline in share in the GDP, it remains the largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the country’s overall socioeconomic development. However, agriculture is fundamentally a risky economic activity, particularly for small and marginal farm households because the climate risks, including aberrant rainfall, and natural calamities and input risks have a significant impact on yields. Low investment potential combined with poor coping ability render farming households vulnerable to debt and poverty traps in the face of adverse weather shocks. It is estimated that about 60% of the variation in yield can be attributed to various weather-related shocks. Since 70% of crop production in India is subject to the vagaries of the monsoon, crop insurance has been in existence through many public sector insurance companies for decades. Different agricultural insurance products have been tried out on a limited, ad-hoc and scattered manner..

Pigeonpea Baseline and Early Adoption Surveys in South Asia, Insights from TL-II (Phase 1) Project in India.

Pigeonpea is an important pulse crop particularly in the semi-arid tropics of India contributing towards the nutritional security and also generates significant income to small and marginal farmers. Its share in India’s pulse production is around 16%. India is the largest pigeonpea producing country in the world accounting for nearly 67% of the total production. Being a major pigeonpea consumer in the world, India imports around 0.6 million tons of pigeonpea per year to meet the domestic needs from Africa, Nepal and Myanmar. Area and production of pigeonpea in India showed a steady growth until recently. However, the productivity in the country has stagnated between 700 and 800 kg ha-1. Recent initiatives like National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Accelerated Pulse Production Programme (A3P) and enhancement of minimum support price created more interest in pigeonpea growers in the country. Pigeonpea is one of the mandate crops of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and this premier international institute has been contributing significantly to the genetic improvement and crop management in India and Africa during the last four decades. The generous support received from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has provided ICRISAT an opportunity to work more intensively with its research and development partners to demonstrate the potential of new technologies to enhance the yields, raise the profitability and revive the interest of the farmers in pigeonpea crop in India and the strategy chosen is farmer participatory varietal selection (FPVS). This report synthesizes the efforts made under the Tropical Legumes-II Project during the short period of three years (2007-10) in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra for pigeonpea crop improvement in India. Overall, the FPVS results established that the new improved varieties outyielded the respective check varieties in the two states. The diffusion and adoption of these varieties increased significantly in the targeted districts. From the past lessons learnt, the report re-focuses on further efforts needed during the second phase of the project to achieve greater success and impact

Prospects for kharif (Rainy Season)and Summer Pearl Millet in Western India. Working Paper Series no. 36

Pearl millet is a major cereal crop in northwestern India. The crop is grown in very harsh, arid, dry climatic areas having high temperature and low and erratic rainfall. It’s use as food is declining but its use as cattle feed, poultry feed and source of starch in the alcohol industry is increasing. Its fodder is an important source of animal feed particularly in dry months when alternative sources of feed are not available. In the last decade, pearl millet was also grown under irrigation in the summer months. Gujarat state has the highest area under summer pearl millet not only among the northwestern states but also at the all-India level. In this paper, we have analyzed the productive potential of both kharif (rainy season) and summer pearl millet particularly in Gujarat state. Kharif pearl millet still contributes to the bulk of the pearl millet production in western India although its yields are relatively low. To compete with crops like guar, green gram, cotton, etc, both grain and fodder yields of the kharif crop need to be increased. With the adoption of improved cultivars and low-cost improved technology, yields can be increased by 20-30% from the existing levels. Yields of summer pearl millet are much higher since it is grown under irrigation and its grain quality is also superior. It is grown as a commercial crop with the bulk of the crop sold domestically, and also exported to neighboring countries. There is a need to explore opportunities to expand the area under summer pearl millet particularly in areas where irrigation is available and the fields are vacant during the summer season

Development and Validation of Nomograms Predictive of Overall and Progression-Free Survival in Patients With Oropharyngeal Cancer

Purpose Treatment of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is evolving toward risk-based modification of therapeutic intensity, which requires patient-specific estimates of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Methods To develop and validate nomograms for OS and PFS, we used a derivation cohort of 493 patients with OPSCC with known p16 tumor status (surrogate of human papillomavirus) and cigarette smoking history (pack-years) randomly assigned to clinical trials using platinum-based chemoradiotherapy (NRG Oncology Radiation Therapy Oncology Group [RTOG] 0129 and 0522). Nomograms were created from Cox models and internally validated by use of bootstrap and cross-validation. Model discrimination was measured by calibration plots and the concordance index. Nomograms were externally validated in a cohort of 153 patients with OPSCC randomly assigned to a third trial, NRG Oncology RTOG 9003. Results Both models included age, Zubrod performance status, pack-years, education, p16 status, and T and N stage; the OS model also included anemia and age × pack-years interaction; and the PFS model also included marital status, weight loss, and p16 × Zubrod interaction. Predictions correlated well with observed 2-year and 5-year outcomes. The uncorrected concordance index was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.72 to 0.80) for OS and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.66 to 0.74) for PFS, and bias-corrected indices were similar. In the validation set, OS and PFS models were well calibrated, and OS and PFS were significantly different across tertiles of nomogram scores (log-rank P = .003;\u3c .001). Conclusion The validated nomograms provided useful prediction of OS and PFS for patients with OPSCC treated with primary radiation-based therapy

Preparing for climate change on marine systems in Australia and India.

Australia and India have coastal marine waters warming at a rate faster than 90% of the world’s oceans. Both countries have extensive coastlines and marine jurisdictions with the majority of the population living adjacent to the coast (Box 1). Marine industries play important roles in sustaining the livelihoods of people in coastal rural towns. Increasing food production, minimising carbon emissions and prioritising carbon sequestration opportunities are key issues facing both countries and form the basis of this research plan. In addressing these issues India and Australia are well placed to become leaders in the development of adaptation options, and pioneers of transformational industries