Nutraceutical value of finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.), and their improvement using omics approaches

The science of nutritional biology has progressed extensively over the last decade to develop food-based nutraceuticals as a form of highly personalized medicine or therapeutic agent. Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] is a crop with potentially tremendous but under-explored source of nutraceutical properties as compared to other regularly consumed cereals. In the era of growing divide and drawback of nutritional security, these characteristics must be harnessed to develop finger millet as a novel functional food. In addition, introgression of these traits into other staple crops can improve the well-being of the general population on a global scale. The objective of this review is to emphasize the importance of biofortification of finger millet in context of universal health and nutritional crisis. We have specifically highlighted the role that recent biotechnological advancements have to offer for enrichment of its nutritional value and how these developments can commission to the field of nutritional biology by opening new avenues for future research

Synthesis, characterization and development of nanomaterials for potential restorative and preventive dental applications

Good oral health is crucial to everyone. Good oral hygiene together with a good balance of oral microbiome helps in sustaining the body’s natural defence mechanisms against various diseases. In the new global economy, preventive and restorative dental solutions have been instrumental in our understanding of prevalent dental caries and periodontal defects. In light of increasing awareness about oral hygiene and overall health, it is becoming extremely difficult to ignore the fact that to date, no dental filler has completely replicated the physiochemical and mechanical properties of natural tooth. The success of a restorative material completely depends on its interaction with the oral tissues and inflammatory responses of the body. The inherent hierachal organization of human tooth structures based on micro and nano-meter scale indicates a great opportunity for developing biomimetic nanomaterials for its regeneration. Therefore, several members of the calcium orthophosphate family are extensively explored for orthopaedic and dental applications. Of these, hydroxyapatite, a main mineral component of enamel, dentin and bones is used extensively for a wide range of biomedical applications. Due to its characteristics like bioactivity, bone-conduction, non-toxic, non-allergic, non-mutagenic, size effects and surface phenomenon, nano-hydroxyapatite has been identified a as a major candidate for restoration and repair of damaged tooth enamel and dentin. For building up an effective and efficient composite material, the particle’s characteristics like shape, size, structure, chemical composition and synthesis parameters, (temperature, pH, sonication etc) need to be thoroughly investigated. This has thus been the main thrust of this thesis. The thesis is composed of three parts. The first part, systematically reviews the current state of nanotechnology based preventive and restorative dental materials and products currently available in the market place. Other nano-material based products are also explored and evaluated. The second part of thesis looks at the fundamental properties and synthesis parameters of hydroxyapatite when compared to other calcium phosphate phases. A special emphasis is laid on the combined ultrasonic and microwave synthesis of pure ultrafine hydroxyapatite powders and several ion substitutions, (e.g. magnesium, silica). These substitutions were investigated to best mimic the natural trace elemental profile properties of tooth enamel and dentin. This research project, develops, optimises and validates the development of a combined, ultrasonic and microwave synthetic process for producing hydroxyapatite and metal substituted hydroxyapatite, (HAP) powders. Using XRD, FESEM, TEM, FTIR and modified Williamson-Hall analysis the nanoscale matter were characterised. The remaining part of the thesis addresses the applicability of developed pure and substituted powders as a candidate for a nanocomposite material for dental applications. The nanoscale materials developed in this thesis were mapped against current commercial dental products and for future optimisation as an innovative natural substitute to current dental filler market

Mapping of easy to screen SSR markers for selection of RFLP markers-bracketed downy mildew resistance QTLs in pearl millet

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.), the sixth most important food-grain crop, is a highly nutritious and multipurpose cereal which can grow in the poorest soil. The crop suffers from substantial annual yield losses due to devastating downy mildew (DM) disease caused by fungus Sclerospora graminicola. Using a F2 population derived from the cross of H 77/833-2 and ICMP 451, linkage groups 1 and 4 have been reported to carry QTLs for resistance to Sclerospora graminicola. These QTLs were bracketed with labour intensive restriction fragment length polymorphism markers thus hampering their use in marker assisted selection (MAS). The current study reports saturation of DM resistance QTL regions with easy to screen simple sequence repeats markers which can be efficiently utilized in MAS programmes for improving the elite cultivars of pearl millet against this disease.Peer reviewe

Effects of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery: an international prospective cohort study an international prospective cohort study

We aimed to determine the impact of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We performed an international prospective cohort study including patients undergoing elective surgery in October 2020. Isolation was defined as the period before surgery during which patients did not leave their house or receive visitors from outside their household. The primary outcome was postoperative pulmonary complications, adjusted in multivariable models for measured confounders. Pre-defined sub-group analyses were performed for the primary outcome. A total of 96,454 patients from 114 countries were included and overall, 26,948 (27.9%) patients isolated before surgery. Postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded in 1947 (2.0%) patients of which 227 (11.7%) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients who isolated pre-operatively were older, had more respiratory comorbidities and were more commonly from areas of high SARS-CoV-2 incidence and high-income countries. Although the overall rates of postoperative pulmonary complications were similar in those that isolated and those that did not (2.1% vs 2.0%, respectively), isolation was associated with higher rates of postoperative pulmonary complications after adjustment (adjusted OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.05–1.36, p = 0.005). Sensitivity analyses revealed no further differences when patients were categorised by: pre-operative testing; use of COVID-19-free pathways; or community SARS-CoV-2 prevalence. The rate of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with periods of isolation longer than 3 days, with an OR (95%CI) at 4–7 days or ≥ 8 days of 1.25 (1.04–1.48), p = 0.015 and 1.31 (1.11–1.55), p = 0.001, respectively. Isolation before elective surgery might be associated with a small but clinically important increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Longer periods of isolation showed no reduction in the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. These findings have significant implications for global provision of elective surgical care. We aimed to determine the impact of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We performed an international prospective cohort study including patients undergoing elective surgery in October 2020. Isolation was defined as the period before surgery during which patients did not leave their house or receive visitors from outside their household. The primary outcome was postoperative pulmonary complications, adjusted in multivariable models for measured confounders. Pre-defined sub-group analyses were performed for the primary outcome. A total of 96,454 patients from 114 countries were included and overall, 26,948 (27.9%) patients isolated before surgery. Postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded in 1947 (2.0%) patients of which 227 (11.7%) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients who isolated pre-operatively were older, had more respiratory comorbidities and were more commonly from areas of high SARS-CoV-2 incidence and high-income countries. Although the overall rates of postoperative pulmonary complications were similar in those that isolated and those that did not (2.1% vs 2.0%, respectively), isolation was associated with higher rates of postoperative pulmonary complications after adjustment (adjusted OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.05–1.36, p = 0.005). Sensitivity analyses revealed no further differences when patients were categorised by: pre-operative testing; use of COVID-19-free pathways; or community SARS-CoV-2 prevalence. The rate of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with periods of isolation longer than 3 days, with an OR (95%CI) at 4–7 days or ≥ 8 days of 1.25 (1.04–1.48), p = 0.015 and 1.31 (1.11–1.55), p = 0.001, respectively. Isolation before elective surgery might be associated with a small but clinically important increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Longer periods of isolation showed no reduction in the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. These findings have significant implications for global provision of elective surgical care