Agronomic practices increase sunflower yield in the rabi (dry) season in clay-textured, salt-affected soils of the coastal region of Bangladesh

Agriculture in the coastal zone of Bangladesh is threatened by a range of abiotic stresses, including salinity, waterlogging and drought. Rice is generally grown in the wet (kharif) season, but soils lie fallow in the dry (rabi) season. This thesis was framed around the opportunity to increase the intensity of cropping in this region by shortening the rice-growing phase in the kharif (by planting short-season rice varieties) so that high-value adapted crops can be grown in the rabi season. Prior to this research, the best methods for the timely establishment and management of rabi crops on the poorly structured clay soils were unknown. Common soil constraints and requirements during the rabi season in the coastal zone of Bangladesh include the need to: rapidly decompose the mass of rice straw from the end of the kharif season, sow as early as possible to maximise growing season duration while avoiding extreme waterlogging effects at the end of the (rice) kharif season, and then maintain soil moisture and high solute potentials in a drying salinity-prone soil environment. A range of field experiments was conducted in the three rabi cropping seasons of 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. The research was in four theme areas with experiments conducted in three of these themes over two consecutive years. Using sunflower as a model crop, rabi cropping was possible provided: (a) soils received appropriate tillage (theme 1), (b) soils had application of surface mulches to maintain high soil solute potentials (theme 2), and (c) crops were sown early in the rabi season, but after waterlogging had abated (theme 3). In experiments in theme 4, it was shown that mulches decreased soil resistance and cracking, and improved root growth. Experiments examined in Theme 1 showed that intensive soil disturbance such as bed planting, double pass shallow tillage, and single pass shallow tillage maintained higher soil water content and soil solute potential in the surface soil (0-15 cm depth) than less disturbance soil such as zero tillage, narrow strip tillage and wide strip tillage. The highest yields (19 % and 10 % improvements in 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively) were associated with the tillage treatments involving greatest soil disturbance, the bed planting and double pass treatments in 2016-17, and the single pass shallow tillage treatment in 2017-18. The benefits of intensive soil disturbance were mostly due to increases in soil water content and increases in solute potential in surface soil layers, leading to higher water uptake by plants. Experiments in Theme 2 found that rice straw mulches and irrigation increased soil water content, reduced soil salinity, and increased solute potentials. The substantially higher solute potential of the soil solution with the rice straw mulch at 0-7 and 7-15 cm (-644 and -588 kPa in 2017, and -649 and -558 kPa in 2018) than with no-mulch (-925 and -728 kPa in 2017, and -801 and -641 kPa in 2018) was associated with increased sunflower yield (26 % and 16 % in 2017 and 2018, respectively). The rice straw mulch also increased grain and biomass water productivity by 26-32 % in the first season and 16 % in the second season relative to the no-mulch treatment. Experiments in Theme 3 showed that early sowing before 15 December was associated with larger heads, more seeds per head, heavier seed, and higher grain yields (3.5 – 4 t ha-1) except in the second year when sowing on 25 November was affected by waterlogging because of heavy rainfall. Data collected across both seasons showed that early sowing before 15 December tended to have higher soil water content, lower soil salinity, and, therefore higher solute potential than later sowings. For late sowing after 15 December, the lower yield was also associated with higher temperatures. However, the main driver of yield determination was EC1:5 and, to a lesser extent, to temperature in both years. Experiments in Theme 4 demonstrated that rice straw mulch at 5 and 10 t ha-1 increased mean root dry weight, total root length, and root length density at 0-20 cm soil depth, but there was higher total root length at 60-80 cm with the no-mulch treatment. Rice straw mulch significantly reduced crack volume, cross-sectional area, crack length density, depth and width by 84-91 %, 63-69 %, 57-70 %, 42-52 %, and 42 %, respectively, relative to the no-mulch. With increased soil water content at 0-30 cm under the straw mulch, there was decreased average soil resistance by 77 %, 49 % and 28 % at 0-7, 7-15 and 15-30 cm depths, respectively, compared to the no-mulch. Overall, for wet-clay saline soil, soil and crop management treatments that enabled early sowing also enhanced the establishment and yield of sunflower due to increased soil water availability in the upper root zone, especially by increasing soil water solute potential. Increased soil water, in turn, decreased soil resistance and cracking. I conclude that early establishment leads to higher yield by enabling sunflower to escape soil surface dryness and salinity and heat stress in the later part of the growing season. Although sunflower is a promising rabi crop for Southern Bangladesh, only few farmers grow it due to a lack of proper agronomic practices to manage soil constraints. The current findings, therefore, would help to expand sunflower cultivation across the salt-affected coastal region of Bangladesh

Gestational diabetes mellitus: study of prevalence using criteria of diabetes in pregnancy study group in India and its impact on maternal and fetal outcome in a rural tertiary institute

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus ((GDM) is defined as carbohydrate intolerance of varying degree of severity with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. GDM is associated with adverse fetomaternal outcome. Its early detection and management is essential for better perinatal outcome. The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus among pregnant women of western U.P. using diabetes in pregnancy study group in India (DIPSI) criteria and further assess its impact on fetomaternal outcome.Methods: This was a prospective study conducted at UP RIMS & R, Saifai, Uttar Pradesh, India including 225 pregnant women between 24-28 weeks gestational age who attended the antenatal OPD from January 2014 to January 2015.All women were given 75 gm oral glucose irrespective of their meals. Women with blood sugar values >140mg/dl were labeled as GDM and rest as control or non GDM group. All the GDM patients were followed up either with diet or insulin therapy till delivery to study fetomaternal outcome.Results: Out of 225 Women 22 women (9.7%) were diagnosed as having GDM and among risk factors, higher BMI was shown to be significant association (p<0.05). There was also significant difference among birth weight and neonatal complications in GDM and NON-GDM group (P<0.05).Conclusions: Due to high prevalence of GDM in India in our study we concluded that screening is very essential for all pregnant women even in low-risk group. As in our study which was done by single step method of DIPSI which was easy to performed, feasible for remote population. But more studies are needed to further conclude that DIPSI is sufficient for Indian population

AIR POLLUTION TOLERANCE INDEX OF WHEAT AND RICE IN THE PROXIMITY OF GAS BASED POWER PLANT

The study aimed to identify the tolerance level of rice and wheat due to air pollutants around the gas-based power plant. Ten sites were selected around 10km radius of gas based power plant. Major air pollutants like NOx, SOx, ozone, and PM10 were monitored in ten sites during the growth of rice and wheat. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of villages falls mostly in the category of moderately polluted sites. Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) is a tool applied for categorizing sensitive or tolerant plants towards air pollution and is calculated by using four biochemical parameters like total chlorophyll content, ascorbic acid, pH, and relative water content of rice and wheat. Results indicated that the pH of cell sap of both the crops was acidic to neutral pH (3.5-6.9) at polluted sites while neutral to slightly alkaline (7.0-7.9) at less polluted sites. Ascorbic acid content was high at polluted sites since ascorbic acid shows a defense mechanism against air pollution. Chlorophyll content (up to 0.61mg/g) and relative water content have shown a significant decrease at most polluted sites. As per APTI values (APTI<11), both the crops were sensitive to air pollution in the selected area. APTI might be beneficial in the selection of crop species in the polluted area which shows that a higher concentration of air pollutants can damage crops severely. APTI was found to be positively correlated with pH, total chlorophyll content, and relative water content and negatively correlated with ascorbic acid

Inhibition of prostate cancer cell line (PC-3) by anhydrodihydroartemisinin (ADHA) through caspase-dependent pathway

Cancer is a generic term for a large group of diseases characterized by the growth of abnormal cells, which is the second leading cause of death globally. To treat cancer, currently, a number of anticancer drugs belonging to various classes chemically are available. The discovery of artemisinin and its derivatives such as artesunate, arteether, and artemether became a milestone in the cure for malaria. Here, we report the anti-cancer property of anhydrodihydroartemisinin (ADHA) - a semisynthetic derivative of artemisinin against prostate cancer cell line PC-3. ADHA was found to be inhibiting growth of PC-3 cells. ADHA was also found to be inhibiting migration of PC-3 cells. At molecular level, ADHA was found to be inhibiting the expression of c-Jun, p-c-Jun, p-Akt and NF-κB and activated caspase 3 and 7. The results show that ADHA like few other artemisinin derivatives hold potential to be used as an anti-cancer agent against prostate cancer cells

Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Rice under Abiotic Stress: Plant Breeding Approach

Nitrogenous fertilizer has remarkably improved rice (Oryza sativa L.) yield across the world since its discovery by Haber-Bosch process. Due to climate change, future rice production will likely experience a wide range of environmental plasticity. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is an important trait to confer adaptability across various abiotic stresses such as flooding, drought and salinity. The problem with the increased N application often leads to a reduction in NUE. New solutions are needed to simultaneously increase yield and maximize the NUE of rice. Despite the differences among flooding, salinity and drought, these three abiotic stresses lead to similar responses in rice plants. To develop abiotic stress tolerant rice varieties, speed breeding seems a plausible novel approach. Approximately 22 single quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and 58 pairs of epistatic QTLs are known to be closely associated with NUE in rice. The QTLs/genes for submergence (SUB1A) tolerance, anaerobic germination (AG, TPP7) potential and deepwater flooding tolerance (SK1, SK2) are identified. Furthermore, phytochrome-interacting factor-like14 (OsPIL14), or loss of function of the slender rice1 (SLR1) genes enhance salinity tolerance in rice seedlings. This review updates our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance and discusses possible approaches for developing N-efficient rice variety

Modification of Rifamycin Polyketide Backbone Leads to Improved Drug Activity Against Rifampicin-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Rifamycin B, a product of Amycolatopsis mediterranei S699, is the precursor of clinically used antibiotics that are effective against tuberculosis, leprosy and AIDS related mycobacterial infections. However, prolonged usage of these antibiotics has resulted in the emergence of rifamycin resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. As part of our effort to generate better analogs of rifamycin, we substituted the acyltransferase (AT) domain of module 6 of rifamycin polyketide synthase (rifPKS) with that of module 2 of rapamycin PKS. The resulting mutants (rifAT6::rapAT2) of A. mediterranei S699 produced new rifamycin analogs, 24-desmethylrifamycin B and 24-desmethylrifamycin SV, which contained modification in the polyketide backbone. 24-desmethylrifamycin B was then converted to 24-desmethylrifamycin S, whose structure was confirmed by MS, NMR, and X-ray crystallography. Subsequently, 24-desmethylrifamycin S was converted to 24-desmethylrifampicin, which showed excellent antibacterial activity against several rifampicin-resistant M. tuberculosis strains.This research was originally published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Nigam, A., Almabruk, K. H., Saxena, A., Yang, J., Mukherjee, U., Kaur, H., ... & Lal, R. Modification of Rifamycin Polyketide Backbone Leads to Improved Drug Activity against Rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2014. 289:21142-21152. © the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc., and can be found at: http://www.jbc.org/Keywords: Domain Swapping, Polyketide Synthase, Rifamycin analogs, Multiple Drug Resistant, 24-desmethylrifamyci

Anticipatory anti-colonial writing in R.K. Narayan's Swami and Friends and Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable

This article uses the term “anticipatory anti-colonial writing” to discuss the workings of time in R.K. Narayan’s Swami and Friends and Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable. Both these first novels were published in 1935 with the support of British literary personalities (Graham Greene and E.M. Forster respectively) and both feature young protagonists who, in contrasting ways, are engaged in Indian resistance to colonial rule. This study examines the difference between Narayan’s local, though ironical, resistance to the homogenizing temporal demands of empire and Anand’s awkwardly modernist, socially committed vision. I argue that a form of anticipation that explicitly looks forward to decolonization via new and transnational literary forms is a crucial feature of Untouchable that is not found in Swami and Friends, despite the latter’s anti-colonial elements. Untouchable was intended to be a “bridge between the Ganges and the Thames” and anticipates postcolonial negotiations of time that critique global inequalities and rely upon the multidirectional global connections forged by modernism

Estimation of linear quadratic (LQ) model parameter alpha/beta (α/β) and biologically effective dose (BED) for acute normal tissue reactions in head and neck malignancies

Purpose: Linear-Quadratic (LQ) model has been widely used for describing radiobiological effectiveness of various fractionation schedules on tumour as well as normal tissues. This study estimates α/β for acute normal tissue reactions using Fe-plot method.Methods: 50 cases of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (stage III and IV) treated with external beam radiotherapy were included in this study. Patients were randomly distributed into Hyper-fractionation (HF) arm (1.2 Gy/fraction, twice daily, 6 hours apart) and conventional fractionation (CF) arm (2 Gy/fraction, once daily) with 25 cases in each arm. α/β and BED were calculated for acute normal tissue reactions using Fe-plot method.Results: In our study, the estimated values of α/β for RTOG (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group) grade 1, 2 and 3 skin reactions were 11.2 Gy, 10.1 Gy and 9 Gy respectively. Estimated values of α/β for RTOG grade 1, 2 and 3 mucosal reactions were 9.7 Gy, 8.0 Gy and 9.1 Gy respectively. For Hyper-fractionation arm, calculated BED values for grade 1, 2 and 3 skin reactions were 54.45 Gy11.239, 66.90 Gy10.114 and 73.43Gy9.001 respectively and for grade 1, 2 and 3 mucosal reactions were 33.5 Gy9.797, 57.8 Gy8.011 and 70.8 Gy9.106 respectively. For conventional fractionation arm, calculated BED values for grade 1, 2 and 3 skin reactions were 54.09 Gy11.239, 66.88 Gy10.114 and 73.33 Gy9.001 respectively and for grade 1, 2 and 3 mucosal reactions were 33.52 Gy9.797, 57.68 Gy8.011 and 70.73 Gy9.106 respectively.Conclusion: LQ model and the concept of BED provide an excellent tool to compare different fractionation schedules in radiotherapy. The estimated values of α/β for acute reacting normal tissues are in good agreement with the available literature

Influenza A Virus Nucleoprotein Exploits Hsp40 to Inhibit PKR Activation

BACKGROUND: Double-stranded RNA dependent protein kinase (PKR) is a key regulator of the anti-viral innate immune response in mammalian cells. PKR activity is regulated by a 58 kilo Dalton cellular inhibitor (P58(IPK)), which is present in inactive state as a complex with Hsp40 under normal conditions. In case of influenza A virus (IAV) infection, P58(IPK) is known to dissociate from Hsp40 and inhibit PKR activation. However the influenza virus component responsible for PKR inhibition through P58(IPK) activation was hitherto unknown. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Human heat shock 40 protein (Hsp40) was identified as an interacting partner of Influenza A virus nucleoprotein (IAV NP) using a yeast two-hybrid screen. This interaction was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation studies from mammalian cells transfected with IAV NP expressing plasmid. Further, the IAV NP-Hsp40 interaction was validated in mammalian cells infected with various seasonal and pandemic strains of influenza viruses. Cellular localization studies showed that NP and Hsp40 co-localize primarily in the nucleus. During IAV infection in mammalian cells, expression of NP coincided with the dissociation of P58(IPK) from Hsp40 and decrease PKR phosphorylation. We observed that, plasmid based expression of NP in mammalian cells leads to decrease in PKR phosphorylation. Furthermore, inhibition of NP expression during influenza virus replication led to PKR activation and concomitant increase in eIF2α phosphorylation. Inhibition of NP expression also led to reduced IRF3 phosphorylation, enhanced IFN β production and concomitant reduction of virus replication. Taken together our data suggest that NP is the viral factor responsible for P58(IPK) activation and subsequent inhibition of PKR-mediated host response during IAV infection. SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings demonstrate a novel role of IAV NP in inhibiting PKR-mediated anti-viral host response and help us understand P58(IPK) mediated inhibition of PKR activity during IAV infection

Climate change, malaria and neglected tropical diseases: a scoping review

To explore the effects of climate change on malaria and 20 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), and potential effect amelioration through mitigation and adaptation, we searched for papers published from January 2010 to October 2023. We descriptively synthesised extracted data. We analysed numbers of papers meeting our inclusion criteria by country and national disease burden, healthcare access and quality index (HAQI), as well as by climate vulnerability score. From 42 693 retrieved records, 1543 full-text papers were assessed. Of 511 papers meeting the inclusion criteria, 185 studied malaria, 181 dengue and chikungunya and 53 leishmaniasis; other NTDs were relatively understudied. Mitigation was considered in 174 papers (34%) and adaption strategies in 24 (5%). Amplitude and direction of effects of climate change on malaria and NTDs are likely to vary by disease and location, be non-linear and evolve over time. Available analyses do not allow confident prediction of the overall global impact of climate change on these diseases. For dengue and chikungunya and the group of non-vector-borne NTDs, the literature privileged consideration of current low-burden countries with a high HAQI. No leishmaniasis papers considered outcomes in East Africa. Comprehensive, collaborative and standardised modelling efforts are needed to better understand how climate change will directly and indirectly affect malaria and NTDs