Identification of heterotic groups in South-Asian-bred hybrid parents of pearl millet.

Pearl millet breeding programs can use this heterotic group information on seed and restorer parents to generate new series of pearl millet hybrids having higher yields than the existing hybrids. Five hundred and eighty hybrid parents, 320 R- and 260 B-lines, derived from 6 pearl millet breeding programs in India, genotyped following RAD-GBS (about 0.9 million SNPs) clustered into 12 R- and 7 B-line groups.

VDAC oligomers form mitochondrial pores to release mtDNA fragments and promote lupus-like disease.

Mitochondrial stress releases mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) into the cytosol, thereby triggering the type Ι interferon (IFN) response. Mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization, which is required for mtDNA release, has been extensively studied in apoptotic cells, but little is known about its role in live cells. We found that oxidatively stressed mitochondria release short mtDNA fragments via pores formed by the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) oligomers in the mitochondrial outer membrane.

Resistant Hypertension in Clinical Practice in India: Jaipur Heart Watch.

Background: Hypertension is highly prevalent in India but frequency of resistant hypertension has not been well studied.

Methods: We performed a registry-based study at a single center in patients with primary diagnosis of hypertension (n=3073). Details of co-morbidities, medications and blood pressure (BP) control were obtained.

Prevalence of hypertension among Indian adults: Results from the great India blood pressure survey.

Objective: Hypertension is the most important risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. There is limited data on hypertension prevalence in India. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of hypertension among Indian adults.

Challenges in management and prevention of ischemic heart disease in low socioeconomic status people in LLMICs.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases, principally ischemic heart disease (IHD), are the most important cause of death and disability in the majority of low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs). In these countries, IHD mortality rates are significantly greater in individuals of a low socioeconomic status (SES).

Main Text: Three important focus areas for decreasing IHD mortality among those of low SES in LLMICs are (1) acute coronary care; (2) cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention; and (3) primary prevention.

Meta-analysis Comparing Combined Use of Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Statin to Statin Alone.

Role of omega-3-Fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), in reducing cardiovascular events is not clear. We conducted a meta-analysis including trial sequential analysis (TSA) of all available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the impact of EPA + statin on cardiovascular risk reduction. The aim is to appraise cardiovascular risk reduction with EPA and statin taken together.

Zn- and Cd-based Coordination Polymers Offering H-Bonding Cavities: Highly Selective Sensing of S O and Fe Ions.

We present two Zn - and Cd -based coordination polymers (CPs), L-Zn and L-Cd, offering H-bonding-based cavities of varying dimensions. Both CPs were used for the highly selective detection of S O and Fe ions where H-bonding based cavities played an important role. Fluorescence quenching, competitive binding studies and binding parameters substantiated significant recognition of S O and Fe ions by both CPs.

Could excision repair cross-complementing group-1 mRNA expression from peripheral blood lymphocytes predict locoregional failure with cisplatin chemoradiation for locally advanced laryngeal cancer?

Aim: The association of excision repair cross-complementing 1 mRNA (ERCC-1 mRNA) expression with the outcome has been reported with immunohistochemistry (IHC) using tumor tissue in head and neck cancer. We evaluated ERCC-1 mRNA expression by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) as bio-predictor of locoregional failure (LRF) to chemoradiation (CRT) for locally advanced laryngeal squamous cell cancer (LALSCC).

Methods: A total of 107 male patients with LALSCC were enrolled in this prospective study.

IgM paraprotein-associated peripheral neuropathy: small CD20-positive B-cell clones may predict a monoclonal gammopathy of neurological significance and rituximab responsiveness.

IgM paraprotein-associated peripheral neuropathy (PN) in patients without overt evidence of lymphoma is a recognised clinical entity of unknown aetiology. Interrogating the bone marrow B-cell or plasma cell clones underlying paraproteinemic neuropathies may improve our understanding of both pathogenesis and treatment options. This retrospective observational analysis of IgM paraprotein-associated PN identified five patients with small pathological MYD88 L265P and CD20-positive B-cell clones in their bone marrow using multi-parametric flow cytometry, who have shown durable neurological response to rituximab.

Selective sensing of ATP by hydroxide-bridged dizinc(ii) complexes offering a hydrogen bonding cavity.

This work illustrates the highly selective fluorescence detection of ATP in the presence of other competing anions, such as AMP, ADP, PPi and other phosphates by using a set of hydroxide-bridged dizinc(ii) complexes offering a cavity lined with hydrogen bonds and other interactive forces. ATP, as a whole, was recognized by the synergic combination of Zn-phosphate bonding, ππ stacking between the adenine ring of ATP and the pyridine ring of the dizinc complex and hydrogen bonding interactions that modulate the cavity structure of the dizinc complexes.

Chitinase-like1 Plays a Role in Stalk Tensile Strength in Maize.

Stalk lodging in maize () causes significant yield losses due to breaking of stalk tissue below the ear node before harvest. Here, we identified the maize () mutant in a F2 population. This mutant was characterized by highly brittle aerial parts that broke easily from mechanical disturbance or in high-wind conditions.

Modifiable risk factors, cardiovascular disease, and mortality in 155 722 individuals from 21 high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries (PURE): a prospective cohort study.

Background: Global estimates of the effect of common modifiable risk factors on cardiovascular disease and mortality are largely based on data from separate studies, using different methodologies. The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study overcomes these limitations by using similar methods to prospectively measure the effect of modifiable risk factors on cardiovascular disease and mortality across 21 countries (spanning five continents) grouped by different economic levels.

Methods: In this multinational, prospective cohort study, we examined associations for 14 potentially modifiable risk factors with mortality and cardiovascular disease in 155 722 participants without a prior history of cardiovascular disease from 21 high-income, middle-income, or low-income countries (HICs, MICs, or LICs).

Variations in common diseases, hospital admissions, and deaths in middle-aged adults in 21 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study.

Background: To our knowledge, no previous study has prospectively documented the incidence of common diseases and related mortality in high-income countries (HICs), middle-income countries (MICs), and low-income countries (LICs) with standardised approaches. Such information is key to developing global and context-specific health strategies. In our analysis of the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study, we aimed to evaluate differences in the incidence of common diseases, related hospital admissions, and related mortality in a large contemporary cohort of adults from 21 HICs, MICs, and LICs across five continents by use of standardised approaches.

Ag-Cu Bimetallic Nanoparticles as Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalysts in Alkaline Media.

The alkaline medium oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activities of Ag-Cu bimetallic nanoparticles (BNPs), consisting of neighboring Ag and Cu domains, were studied and compared with those of pure Ag and Cu nanoparticles prepared by the same polyol route. Three variations of Ag-Cu BNPs viz. Ag-Cu (4:1), Ag-Cu (2:1), Ag-Cu (1:1) BNPs were considered.

A VDAC1-Derived N-Terminal Peptide Inhibits Mutant SOD1-VDAC1 Interactions and Toxicity in the SOD1 Model of ALS.

Mutations in superoxide dismutase (SOD1) are the second most common cause of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by the death of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. SOD1 neurotoxicity has been attributed to aberrant accumulation of misfolded SOD1, which in its soluble form binds to intracellular organelles, such as mitochondria and ER, disrupting their functions. Here, we demonstrate that mutant SOD1 binds specifically to the N-terminal domain of the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC1), an outer mitochondrial membrane protein controlling cell energy, metabolic and survival pathways.

Influence of Fe and Cr doping on the structural and magnetic properties of ZnVO.

In this paper, we report the modulation of structural and magnetic properties with Fe and Cr doping at the Zn and V sites in ZnVO. Undoped ZnVO exhibits two anomalies in the M-T measurements which are assigned to a structural transition (T ~ 57 K) followed by a magnetic transition (T ~ 41 K). With the help of x-ray diffraction and energy dispersive x-ray analysis it is found that the prepared samples are single phase as well as stoichiometric.

Discerning combining ability loci for divergent environments using chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) in pearl millet.

Pearl millet is an important crop for arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Genomic regions associated with combining ability for yield-related traits under irrigated and drought conditions are useful in heterosis breeding programs. Chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) are excellent genetic resources for precise QTL mapping and identifying naturally occurring favorable alleles.

Primary prevention of ischaemic heart disease: populations, individuals, and health professionals.

Ischaemic heart disease has a multifactorial aetiology and can be prevented from developing in populations primordially, and in individuals at high risk by primary prevention. The primordial approach focuses on social determinants of health in populations: political, economic, and social factors, principally unplanned urbanisation, illiteracy, poverty, and working and living conditions. Implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals can lead to major improvements in cardiovascular health, and adequate health-care financing and universal health care are important for achieving these goals.

Cardiovascular risk factor reduction by community health workers in rural India: A cluster randomized trial.

Background: There is a need to identify and test low-cost approaches for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduction that can enable health systems to achieve such a strategy.

Objective: Community health workers (CHWs) are an integral part of health-care delivery system in lower income countries. Our aim was to assess impact of CHW based interventions in reducing CVD risk factors in rural households in India.

Household, Community, Sub-National and Country-level Predictors of Primary Cooking Fuel Switching in Nine Countries from the PURE Study.

Introduction: Switching from polluting (e.g. wood, crop waste, coal) to clean cooking fuels (e.

Carcinoma cervix with cerebellar metastases presenting with pulmonary aspiration: a rare presentation and a rare metastatic site in a common cancer.

A 52-year-old woman with cervical cancer stage IIB presented with altered sensorium and breathlessness to the emergency room 5 months after completing primary chemoradiotherapy, which was diagnosed as aspiration pneumonia. She was found to have cerebellar metastases with additional frontal, occipital, and temporal lobe lesions. She had no evidence of extracranial disease.

Turn-On Fluorescent Sensors for the Selective Detection of Al (and Ga) and PPi Ions.

Rationally designed multiple hydroxyl-group-based chemosensors - containing arene-based fluorophores are presented for the selective detection of Al and Ga ions. Changes in the absorption and emission spectra of - in ethanol were easily observable upon the addition of Al and Ga ions. Competitive binding studies, detection limits, and binding constants illustrate significant sensing abilities of these chemosensors with , showing the best results.

Quality of Hypertension Management in Type 2 Diabetes in India: A Multisite Prescription Audit.

Background And Objective: Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockers (angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors ACEI, angiotensin receptor blockers, ARB) are preferred drugs to control hypertension among diabetic patients. To determine frequency of RAS blocker use in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes, we performed a multisite study in India.

Methods: We evaluated physician prescriptions in consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes at 9 sites in India.

Urbanization, Human Development and Literacy and Syndemics of Obesity, Hypertension and Hyperglycemia in Rajasthan: National Family Health Survey-4.

Objective: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the new epidemic in India. District-specific prevalence of various NCD risk factors and their macrolevel determinants is unknown. We used National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4) data to map the syndemics of obesity, hypertension and hyperglycemia in Rajasthan, the largest state of the country, and correlated their prevalence with selected social determinants of health- urbanization, human development index (HDI) and literacy.