Evaluation of proteome complexes normalizing osmoregulation in salt stressed Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.

Modern-day agriculture is facing the challenge of sustaining global food security. However, the rapid increase in salinity stress among arable areas poses a major threat to crop health and yield. Salinity stress is one of the most common and rapidly spreading stress that has a detrimental effect on the productivity of edible plant family i.e. Cucurbitaceae. The present study endeavors to evaluate the Osmoregulators (anti-oxidants and proteins), that supports the growth of two varieties of Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. under salt stress. The 2-3 weeks old saplings were exposed to salt stress (up to 200 mM NaCl) for one week. Post-treatment the osmoregulatory metabolites like Trehalose, Proline & enzymic anti-oxidants like peroxidase (POD), Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and proteins using LC-MS/MS were analyzed. In both the varieties, Trehalose increased with increasing salt concentration, while the level of Proline increased in Variety 1 and decreased in Variety 2. With increasing salt concentrations, the POD activity decreased in both varieties whereas that of SOD levels increased in Variety 2 and decreased in Variety 1. The protein identified by LC-MS/MS and functional annotation analysis employing Uniport database & BlastP algorithm, aided in the detection of differentially expressed proteins in response to salt stress. This was followed by metabolic interaction annotation enrichment analysis by FunRich 3.0 tool, enabling characterization of proteins to be involved in the Calvin cycle, amino acids biosynthesis, carbohydrate and energy metabolism, ROS defence, hormonal biosynthesis and signal transduction. The augmentation of the metabolic activities of the Calvin cycle, biosynthesis of amino acids, carotenoids and peroxisomes, glycolytic pathway and the tricarboxylic acid cycle will conceivably influence the photosynthetic capacity in L. acutangula varieties under salt stress. The upsurge of key enzymes involved in these above described biological processes possibly appears to play an important role in the enhancement of salt tolerance

A study of intra-operative maternal morbidity after repeating caesarean section

Background: Caesarean section (CS) is one of the most common obstetric procedures worldwide and an increased rate of caesarean section has been observed in recent studies. Maternal morbidities and mortality associated with repeat caesarean section is an important health problem. The present study aims at knowing the various intraoperative complications encountered during repeat caesarean sections. Objective was to study the incidence and type of surgical difficulties encountered in repeat cesarean sectionsMethods: It was a prospective observational study of 118 cases of repeat cesarean sections. Intra-operative findings of all cases were analyzed to know the difficulties encountered because of previous cesarean section.Results: In present study, out of total 118 cases of previous cesarean sections, 71 (60.17%) cases were of previous one caesarean section and 47(39.83%) were of previous two cesarean sections. Following intraoperative morbidities were encountered – adhesions (1 caesarean section vs 2 caesarean section – 40.85 vs 65.96% respectively) , thin lower uterine segment (1 caesarean section vs 2 caesarean section – 21.13 vs 36.17% respectively), advanced bladder(1 caesarean section vs 2 caesarean section – 15.49 vs 36.17 % respectively) , extension of uterine incision(1 caesarean section vs 2 caesarean section – 9.86 vs 19.15% respectively) , scar dehiscence(1 caesarean section vs 2 caesarean section –7.04 vs 31.91% respectively), excess blood loss (1 caesarean section vs 2 caesarean section –7.04 vs 19.15% respectively), 1 case of placenta accrete was found in previous 2 caesarean section 2.13%) which needed caesarean hysterectomy. uterine rupture and bladder injury seen in one patients of previous 2caesarean section. Time taken for surgery was more in repeat CS group Delivery.Conclusions: An increasing number of CS is accompanied by increased maternal morbidity. Intraoperative complication which increase the risk of morbidity are adhesion, placenta accreta. It is prudent to involve a senior experienced obstetrician in repeat cesarean section. The best way to reduce this is by reducing primary caesarean section rates. Patients with previous caesarean section should be considered as high risk and should be counseled for regular antenatal check-up and they should be given option of vaginal birth after CS whenever possible

Effect of different modes of pollination on yield parameters of summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) in India

Effect of different modes of pollination, viz., without insect pollination, hand-pollination, open-pollination and open-pollination + hand-pollination on yield parameters of 4 summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) hybrids viz., Parikrama, Chandra, Chamatkar and Gold Queen was studied at Research Farm of the Department of Entomology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2014. Irrespective of different hybrids, the treatment openpollination + hand-pollination and open-pollination produced the maximum number of fruits per plant (73.50 and 71.25%, respectively) followed by hand-pollination (59.08%) and no fruits were observed (0% fruit set) under without insect pollination treatment. Average fruit weight, fruit polar diameter and equatorial diameter were maximum (135.30 g, 3.74 cm and 3.47 cm, respectively) under open-pollination + hand-pollination, while these were minimum (94.81 cm, 2.14cm and 2.48 cm, respectively) under hand-pollination treatment. These results indicate that honey bees as well as wild pollinators are utmost essential for pollination of summer squash flowers and thus increasing fruit size and yield. Therefore pollinators conservation practices should be followed in summer squash growing areas for getting higher yield and returns

Preparation of embryos for Electron Microscopy of the Drosophila embryonic heart tube

The morphogenesis of the Drosophila embryonic heart tube has emerged as a valuable model system for studying cell migration, cell-cell adhesion and cell shape changes during embryonic development. One of the challenges faced in studying this structure is that the lumen of the heart tube, as well as the membrane features that are crucial to heart tube formation, are difficult to visualize in whole mount embryos, due to the small size of the heart tube and intra-lumenal space relative to the embryo. The use of transmission electron microscopy allows for higher magnification of these structures and gives the advantage of examining the embryos in cross section, which easily reveals the size and shape of the lumen. In this video, we detail the process for reliable fixation, embedding, and sectioning of late stage Drosophila embryos in order to visualize the heart tube lumen as well as important cellular structures including cell-cell junctions and the basement membrane

Association between Takayasu’s arteritis and active tuberculosis in a child: A case report

Takayasu’s arteritis (TA) is an autoimmune disease that affects large arteries. A possible relationship between TA and tuberculosis (TB)has been suggested as both diseases have similar chronic inflammatory lesions and occasionally granulomas in the arterial walls. TAcommonly presents with cardiac involvement and rarely with sole presentation of ischemic stroke. Response with anti-tubercular drugsand steroid has been well-documented. Only a few studies have been published on TA with TB in children. We present a case of a 9-yearoldboy who was presented with low-grade fever, persistent headache, vomiting, and abnormal body movements and on further workupwas diagnosed as a case of active TB with TA

Comparative study of mandibular cortical index in orthopantomogram and bone mineral density of lumbar vertebrae in dual energy x-ray absorptiometry in postmenopausal females in North India.

Osteoporosis is a bone disorder which results in low bone mineral content leading to recurrent fractures commonly seen in females after menopause. Few studies have proposed the use of orthopantomogram as a diagnostic marker for osteoporosis as it is simple, quick, easy, inexpensive, non-invasive and widely used. Present study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of OPG to diagnose osteoporosis apropos bone densitometry (DEXA).The study comprised fifty post-menopausal females who were subjected to panoramic radiographs and DEXA. The visual analysis was done based on the radiographic appearance of the lower border of the mandible on the left side by two observers who were blinded about DEXA results. Intra/Inter-observer variability was ruled out by repeated analysis followed by comparison of different grades of MCI (Mandibular Cortical Index) and BMD (Bone Mineral density) statistically. Significant difference in three groups of mandibular cortical index of panoramic radiograph as interpreted by the two observers (p value < 0.05) was found. The intra-observer reproducibility of this index had moderate agreement (Kappa value of 0.35 & 0.31) and the inter-observer agreement of this index followed fair reproducibility (kappa value of 0.38 &0.32). There was significant correlation between results obtained by mandibular cortical index (MCI) and bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar vertebrae as determined by the dual energy x-ray absorptiometry implicating visual assessment of the OPG as an important screening tool for osteoporosis in postmenopausal females

Classification of Atrial Fibrillation using Random Forest Algorithm

The electrocardiogram is indicates the electrical activity of the heart and it can be used to detect cardiac arrhythmias. In the present work, we exhibited a methodology to classify Atrial Fibrillation (AF), Normal rhythm, and Other abnormal ECG rhythms using a machine learning algorithm by analyzing single-lead ECG signals of short duration. First, the events of ECG signals will be detected, after that morphological features and HRV features are extracted. Finally, these features are applied to the Random Forest classifier to perform classification. The Physionet challenge 2017 dataset with more than 8500 ECG recordings is used to train our model. The proposed methodology yields an F1 score of 0.86, 0.97, and 0.83 respectively in classifying AF, normal, other rhythms, and an accuracy of 0.91 after performing a 5-fold cross-validation

Structural and Electrical Properties of Graphene Oxide-Doped PVA/PVP Blend Nanocomposite Polymer Films

Graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles were incorporated in PVA/PVP blend polymers for the preparation of nanocomposite polymer films by the solution cast technique. XRD, FTIR, DSC, SEM, and UV-visible studies were performed on the prepared nanocomposite polymer films. XRD revealed the amorphous nature of the prepared films. Thermal analysis of the nanocomposite polymer films was analyzed by DSC. SEM revealed the morphological features and the degree of roughness of the samples. DC conductivity studies were under taken on the samples, and the conductivity was found to be 6.13 × 10−4 S·cm−1 for the polymer film prepared at room temperature. A solid-state battery has been fabricated with the chemical composition of Mg+/(PVA/PVP  :  GO)/(I2 + C + electrolyte), and its cell parameters like power density and current density were calculated

Repulsion by Slit and Roundabout prevents Shotgun/E-cadherin–mediated cell adhesion during Drosophila heart tube lumen formation

During Drosophila melanogaster heart development, a lumen forms between apical surfaces of contralateral cardioblasts (CBs). We show that Slit and its receptor Roundabout (Robo) are required at CB apical domains for lumen formation. Mislocalization of Slit outside the apical domain causes ectopic lumen formation and the mislocalization of cell junction proteins, E-cadherin (E-Cad) and Enabled, without disrupting overall CB cell polarity. Ectopic lumen formation is suppressed in robo mutants, which indicates robo's requirement for this process. Genetic evidence suggests that Robo and Shotgun (Shg)/E-Cad function together in modulating CB adhesion. robo and shg/E-Cad transheterozygotes have lumen defects. In robo loss-of-function or shg/E-Cad gain-of-function embryos, lumen formation is blocked because of inappropriate CB adhesion and an accumulation of E-Cad at the apical membrane. In contrast, shg/E-Cad loss-of-function or robo gain-of-function blocks lumen formation due to a loss of CB adhesion. Our data show that Slit and Robo pathways function in lumen formation as a repulsive signal to antagonize E-Cad–mediated cell adhesion