Association of Cerebrovascular Injury and Secondary Vascular Insult With Poor Outcomes After Gunshot Wound to the Head in a Large Civilian Population.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cerebrovascular injury (CVI) after civilian gunshot wound to the head (GSWH) likely contributes to poor outcomes, but little supporting evidence exists. The purpose of this study was to determine whether intracranial CVI from GSWH and secondary vascular insult (stroke or rehemorrhage) were associated with poor outcomes in a large civilian population. METHODS: This was a single-institution, retrospective cohort study on patients admitted between January 2014 and July 2022 at a large, metropolitan, level-1 trauma center. Multivariate regression models and propensity score matching were used. RESULTS: A total of 512 civilian patients presented with GSWH, and a cohort of 172 (33.5%) met inclusion criteria, with 143 (83.1%) males and a mean (SD) age of 34.3 (±14.2) years. The incidence of intracranial CVI was 50.6% (87/172 patients), and that of secondary vascular insult was 32.2% (28/172 patients). Bifrontal trajectories (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 13.11; 95% CI 2.45-70.25; P = .003) and the number of lobes traversed by the projectile (aOR 3.18; CI 1.77-5.71; P < .001) were associated with increased odds of resultant CVI. Patients with CVI suffered higher rate of mortality (34% vs 20%; odds ratio [OR] 2.1; CI 0.78-5.85; P = .015) and were less likely to achieve a good functional outcome with a Glasgow Outcome Score of 4-5 (34% vs 68%; OR 0.24; CI 0.1-0.6; P = .004) at follow-up. Furthermore, patients with CVI and resultant secondary vascular insult had even worse functional outcomes (Glasgow Outcome Score 4-5, 16.7% vs 39.0%; aOR 0.012; CI 0.001-0.169, P = .001). CONCLUSION: Intracranial CVI from GSWH and associated secondary vascular insult are associated with poor outcomes. Given the high prevalence and potentially reversible nature of these secondary injuries, early screening with vascular imaging and treatment of underlying CVI may prove to be critical to improve outcomes by reducing stroke and rehemorrhage incidence.

A fast and sensitive high-throughput assay to assess polysorbate-degrading hydrolytic activity in biopharmaceuticals.

Hydrolysis of polysorbate in biopharmaceutical products has been ascribed to the enzymatic activity from trace levels of residual host cell proteins. In recent years, significant efforts to identify the causative enzymes typically used elaborate, material-intensive and time-consuming approaches. Therefore, the lack of fast and sensitive assays to monitor their activity remains a major bottleneck for supporting process optimization and troubleshooting activities where time and sample throughput are crucial constraints. To address this bottleneck, we developed a novel Electrochemiluminescence-based Polysorbase Activity (EPA) assay to measure hydrolytic activities in biotherapeutics throughout the drug substance manufacturing process. By combining the favorable features of an in-house designed surrogate substrate with a well-established detection platform, the method yields fast (∼36 h turnaround time) and highly sensitive readouts compatible with high-throughput testing. The assay capability for detecting substrate conversion in a precise and reliable manner was demonstrated by extensive qualification studies and by employing a number of recombinant hydrolases associated with polysorbate hydrolysis. In addition, high assay sensitivity and wide applicability were confirmed for in-process pool samples of three different antibody products by performing a head-to-head comparison between this method and an established liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry based assay for the quantification of free fatty acids. Overall, our results suggest that this new approach is well-suited to resolve differences in hydrolytic activity through all stages of purification.

Variation in immuno-reproductive milieu of testis in Clarias magur from pre-spawning to spawning phase: An indication towards non-canonical role of immune elements in testes.

Immune mechanisms are major players in ensuring the normal functioning of testicular functions. However, apart from their role in active defence against pathogens, prior studies have also suggested a possibility for reproduction-related (non-immune) functions of certain immune elements. This study employs a comparative transcriptomics approach followed by network analysis for tracking the variation in the immuno-reproductive milieu of Clarias magur testis in spawning versus pre-spawning phase. The results show a significant modulation of both reproduction and immune-relevant genes in spawning versus pre-spawning phase. The functional enrichment of the upregulated reproduction-relevant gene network also shows immune-related biological processes which indicates a probability of involvement of these candidates in spermatogenesis-related events for switching from pre-spawning to spawning phase. The upregulated immune network is highly dense with 40 hubs, 10 cluster sub-networks and 142 functionally enriched pathways in comparison to its downregulated counterpart with only 5 hubs, 1 cluster and 1 enriched pathway. These findings indicate that the synchronisation in modulation of both reproductive and immune-related factors is critical for progression of testicular events guiding the switch from pre-spawning to spawning phase. The reproductive phase-dependent variation in plasma sex steroid levels and the selected genes for quantitative PCR also corroborated this hypothesis. The study also serves as a preliminary screening step for probable immune candidates that may be involved in reproductive functions of testis in addition to defence.

Performance of conventional and enhanced-efficiency nitrogen fertilizers on potato tuber mineral composition and marketability.

BACKGROUND: Potato is an essential crop for global food security, and its cultivation requires a significant amount of readily available nitrogen (N) to ensure tuber quality. Therefore, managing N with enhanced-efficiency fertilizers becomes a potential strategy to meet the seasonal potato N demand. A 3 site-years (SYs) study was conducted to assess the marketable attributes and mineral composition of table-stock potato in response to N rates and fertilizers urea, ammonium sulfate and ammonium sulfate nitrate (ASN) with nitrification inhibitor dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP). RESULTS: At 75% of recommended N rate (RNR), ammonium sulfate and ASN+DMPP ensured marketable tuber yields equivalent to that observed at 100% of RNR. Urea promoted greater tuber K and Mg concentrations than ammonium sulfate and ASN+DMPP. Although inconsistent across SYs, ASN+DMPP generally reduced starch and reducing sugars contents and increased pulp pH and protein content than other fertilizers. Increasing N rates from 50% up to 75% and 100% of RNR increased marketable tuber yields and protein content, whereas soluble solids increased from 50% to 100% of RNR. Conversely, increasing N rates from zero to 75% of RNR reduced tuber firmness, whereas N application reduced tuber P concentration, regardless of N rates. CONCLUSION: Although ASN+DMPP showed potential for increasing marketable tuber yield and protein content, potatoes receiving ammonium sulfate and ASN+DMPP lowered tuber K and Mg concentrations compared to those receiving urea. Overall, potato tuber quality improvements are N source-specific, demanding strategies under which these fertilizers can ensure/improve tuber nutritional composition along with size quality. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Evaluation of candidate genes related to litter traits in Indian pig breeds.

Improvement in litter traits is the key to profitable pig farming that directly enhances the economic standing of the farmers in developing countries. The present study aimed to explore oestrogen receptor (ESR), epidermal growth factor (EGF), follicle-stimulating hormone beta subunit (FSHß), prolactin receptor (PRLR) and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) genes as possible candidate genetic markers for litter traits in indigenous pigs of India. The breeds included in the study were Ghungroo, Mali, Niang Megha and Tenyi Vo, and the reproductive traits considered were litter size at birth (LSB), number born alive (NBA), litter weight at birth (LWB), litter size at weaning (LSW) and litter weight at weaning (LWW) at their first parity. PCR-RFLP and primer-based mutation detection methods were used to identify polymorphism, and associations between the genotypes and the traits were analysed using a general linear model. The Ghungroo pigs recorded the best litter performances among the breeds (p < .05, LWB p < .01). Different alleles and genotypes of the genes under study were detected. Short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) -/- genotype of FSHß revealed significantly higher litter traits (p < .05, LSB p < .01). The LWW was also found to be significantly influenced by ESR BB and AB, EGF AB and BB, and PRLR CC genotypes (p < .05). Although we did not find statistically significant and consistently superior litter traits with respect to different genotypes of other studied genes than genotype SINE -/- of the FSHß, PRLR CC genotype demonstrated superior performances for all the litter traits. Our study revealed the FSHß as a potential candidate genetic marker for litter traits in indigenous pig breeds of India.

Identification of glottal instants using electroglottographic signal for vulnerable cases of voicing.

Robust detection of glottal instants is essential for various speech and biomedical applications. Glottal closing and glottal opening are two crucial instants/epochs of a glottal cycle. The first-order derivative of the Electroglottographic (EGG) signal demonstrates important peaks at those locations for standard voicing, but the detection of glottal instants becomes erroneous when the peak to peak amplitude of the EGG signal is very low, irregular and unpredictable. In this work, a new efficient method is proposed for identification of glottal instants from the EGG signals including the segments of the signals where the signals are feeble with irregular periodicity. The overall accuracy of detection will be enhanced by identifying the glottal instants for the whole part of the signal including the vulnerable segments of signal. As the phase of a signal is uniform in nature, the phase information of the EGG signal has been explored to detect glottal instants accurately. Under low strength of the EGG signal, the proposed method remarkably has better performance compared to the existing instants detection methods and for pathological EGG signal, the detection accuracy of glottal instants is better than other existing methods.

Variation in selection constraints on teleost TLRs with emphasis on their repertoire in the Walking catfish, Clarias batrachus.

The high degree of conservation of toll-like receptors (TLRs), and yet their subtle variations for better adaptation of species in the host-pathogen arms race make them worthy candidates for understanding evolution. We have attempted to track the trend of TLR evolution in the most diverse vertebrate group-teleosts, where Clarias batrachus was given emphasis, considering its traits for terrestrial adaptation. Eleven C. batrachus TLRs (TLR1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 9, 13, 22, 25, 26) were identified in this study which clustered in proximity to its Siluriformes relative orthologues in the phylogenetic analysis of 228 TLRs from 25 teleosts. Ten TLRs (TLR1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 9, 13, 21, 22) with at least 15 member orthologues for each alignment were processed for selection pressure and coevolutionary analysis. TLR1, 7, 8 and 9 were found to be under positive selection in the alignment-wide test. TLR1 also showed maximum episodic diversification in its clades while the teleost group Eupercaria showed the maximum divergence in their TLR repertoire. Episodic diversification was evident in C. batrachus TLR1 and 7 alignments. These results present a strong evidence of a divergent TLR repertoire in teleosts which may be contributing towards species-specific variation in TLR functions.

Impact of varied combinatorial mixture of non-fishmeal ingredients on growth, metabolism, immunity and gut microbiota of Lates calcarifer (Bloch, 1790) fry.

The search for suitable fish meal replacements in aqua-diets is a salient agenda in the constant effort of making aquaculture practices more sustainable. In this study, we tested four customised diets composed by systematic inclusion of pre-selected fish meal substitutes, lupin kernel meal, BSF meal, TH and PBM on growth, metabolism, cytokine profile, gut morphology and microbiota of juvenile Lates calcarifer. Five isoproteic and isoenergetic diets were prepared viz. FM100 as a control (without fish meal substitute), while FM75, FM50, FM25 and FM0 indicates replacement of fish meal (FM) at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, respectively by a mixture of four different pre-selected non-fish meal (NFM) ingredients. Fish fed FM100, FM75, FM50, FM25 exhibited consistent growth and haematological response, while the fish fed no fishmeal (FM0) showed significant decline in final body weight (FBW) and specific growth rate (SGR). The poor growth performance was correlated with a decrease in villous width, microvilli height and goblet cells density. A significant shift in abundance profile of Psychrobacter in the gut microbial profile of fish fed FM50 was noticed compared to fish fed FM100. The results of qRT-PCR showed up-regulated expression of innate immune responsive genes in the FM50 group. The adverse impacts on growth performance and gut health of fish fed FM0 suggest that the complete substitution of fishmeal is not advisable and the inclusion range of these alternatives should be decided for a species only after examining their effect on maximal physiological performance.

Transcriptome analysis of heat stress response genes in potato leaves.

Heat stress has a severe impact on potato growth and tuberization process, always resulting in the decrease of tuber yield and quality. Therefore, it is of great significance for potato breeding to illuminate the mechanism of heat stress on potato and explore heat resistant genes. In this study, two cDNA libraries from normal potato leaves (20 °C day/18 °C night) and potato leaves with 3 days of heat treatment (35 °C day/28 °C night) were constructed respectively. Totally, 1420 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. The expression patterns of 12 randomly selected genes detected using droplet digital PCR agreed with the sequencing data. Gene ontology analysis showed that these DEGs were clustered into 49 different GO types, reflecting the functional diversity of the heat stress response genes. The results of KEGG pathway enrichment showed the potential biological pathways in which the DEGs were involved, indicating that these pathways may be involved in heat tolerance regulation. Most potato heat transcription factors (StHsfs) and heat shock proteins (StHsps) were not expressed efficiently based on expression profile of these DEGs. StHsp26-CP and StHsp70 were markedly increased after 3 days of heat treatment. These data will be useful for further understanding the molecular mechanisms of potato plant tolerance to heat stress and provide a basis for breeding heat-tolerance varieties.

Potato Tuber Chemical Properties in Storage as Affected by Cultivar and Nitrogen Rate: Implications for Acrylamide Formation.

Recently released potato cultivars Dakota Russet and Easton were bred for low reducing sugars, and low acrylamide-forming potential in French fries. The objectives of this study were to determine: (1) the effects of nitrogen rate and storage time on tuber glucose concentrations in different cultivars; (2) the relationships between acrylamide, glucose, and asparagine for the new cultivars and Russet Burbank. The study was conducted at Becker, Minnesota over a period of two years on a loamy sand soil under irrigated conditions. All cultivars were subjected to five N rates from 135 to 404 kg ha-1 in a randomized complete block design. Following harvest, tubers were stored at 7.8 °C and sampled at 0, 16, and 32 weeks. Dakota Russet and Easton had significantly lower concentrations of stem- and bud-end glucose, asparagine, and acrylamide than those of Russet Burbank in both years. The effect of storage time on glucose concentration was significant but differed with cultivar and year. N rate effects on stem- and bud-end glucose concentrations were cultivar and storage time dependent. After 16 weeks of storage, both asparagine and acrylamide concentrations linearly increased with increasing N rate. Glucose concentration was positively correlated with acrylamide concentration (r2 = 0.61). Asparagine concentration was also positively correlated with acrylamide concentration (r2 = 0.45) when the asparagine:glucose ratio was <1.306. The correlation between fry color and stem-end glucose concentration was significant over three cultivars in both years, but stronger in a growing season with minimal environmental stress. Taken together, these results suggest that while acrylamide formation during potato processing is a complex process affected by agronomic practices, environmental conditions during the growing season, and storage conditions, cultivar selection may be the most reliable method to minimize acrylamide in fried products.

Biological filters regulate water quality, modulate health status, immune indices and gut microbiota of freshwater crayfish, marron (Cherax cainii, Austin, 2002).

Water quality has significant impacts on the health and immune responses of aquaculture species. This study aimed to analyse and compare the effects of two biological filters namely, gravel and, Bio-Ball with a recently developed filter called Water-cleanser on regulation of water quality parameters, health and immune response of marron reared in plastic tanks for 60 days. Results showed that addition of Bio-Ball significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the concentration of ammonia, nitrate and phosphate while Water-cleanser showed the ability to reduce ammonia and nitrate from water in aquaculture tanks. Although the biological filters had no significant effect on marron growth but inclusion of Bio-Ball and Water-cleanser positively influenced the biochemical composition of tail muscle and some haemolymph parameters of marron. The next generation sequence data demonstrated higher bacterial diversity in the hindgut of marron with Water-cleanser, followed by Bio-Ball and gravel, respectively. In addition, the predicted metabolic pathways revealed a significantly higher bacterial activity and gene function correlated to metabolism and biosynthesis of protein, energy and secondary metabolites in Bio-Ball and Water-cleanser. Bio-Ball and Water-cleanser were also associated with up-regulation of innate immune responsive genes of marron gut. Overall, Bio-Ball and Water-cleanser proved to have higher water remediation and immune response modulation capabilities, and therefore could be used as preferred filters for growth of beneficial bacteria in crayfish culture.

Influence of fish protein hydrolysate produced from industrial residues on antioxidant activity, cytokine expression and gut microbial communities in juvenile barramundi Lates calcarifer.

The present study investigated the supplemental effects of tuna hydrolysate (TH) in poultry by-product meal (PBM) and dietary fishmeal (FM) diets on antioxidant enzymatic activities, gut microbial communities and expression of cytokine genes in the distal intestine of juvenile barramundi, Lates calcarifer. Fish were fed with fermented (FPBM + TH) as well as non-fermented PBM (PBM + TH) and FM (FMBD + TH) diets with 10% TH supplementation for 10 weeks. A basal diet prepared without TH supplementation served as control. The results showed that the activity of glutathione peroxidase was significantly higher in FPBM + TH than the control, while the malondialdehyde and catalase activities were unchanged. FPBM + TH diet significantly (P < 0.05) upregulated the pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1ß and TNF-α while considerable downregulation (P < 0.05) was observed in the mRNA expression levels of anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10 in the distal intestine of fish. The 16SrRNA analysis using V3-V4 region evidenced the ability of FPBM + TH to modulate the distal intestinal gut microbiome, augmenting the richness of Firmicutes and Fusobacteriaat at phylum level and Bacillus, Lactococcus and Cetobacterium at genus level. All these results have shown that fermented PBM with TH supplementation could improve the antioxidant capacity and inflammatory responses of juvenile barramundi while influencing the microbial communities at both phylum and genera levels.

Effects of different dietary protein sources on the immunological and physiological responses of marron, Cherax cainii (Austin and Ryan, 2002) and its susceptibility to high temperature exposure.

A two phased feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of alternative protein sources on the immunophysiological responses of marron. During the phase I, marron were fed with five alternative protein supplemented diets for 90 days, while in phase II, the same marron were exposed to elevated temperature (30 °C) and their immunophysiological responses were investigated post exposure. Five isoproteic (crude protein 30%) and isoenergetic diets were prepared by containing fishmeal, poultry by-product meal, feather meal, lupin meal, and meat and bone meal as the main protein source. A hundred and fifty juvenile marron (Cherax cainii) of the average weight 9.09 ±â€¯0.21 g were randomly distributed into 15 tanks (three replicates per feeding treatments). In the Phase I, general immune response parameters, such as, total haemocyte count (THC), proportion of hyaline cells, neutral red retention time (NRRT), phagocytic rate (PR), heamolymph bacteraemia, and condition indices of marron were investigated. The highest (P < 0.05) THC among dietary protein sources was obtained in marron fed with PbM at the end of experiment. Marron fed with FeM protein sources resulted in the highest survival rate followed by PbM fed group. Longer microvilli length (3.83 ±â€¯0.18 µm) was demonstrated in marron fed with PbM diet. Diets containing FM and PbM protein sources revealed significantly (P < 0.05) lower number of microvilli/group than diets containing FeM and LM. The results demonstrated that different dietary protein sources in the marron diets did not detect significant (P > 0.05) change of the condition indices throughout the experiment period, however highest Hiw and Hid was recorded in marron fed with PBM at day 45. The PR of marron fed dietary protein from PbM did not change significantly after temperature exposure. Increased NRRT, PR and haemolymph bacteraemia was observed with dietary feeding of FM at the end of the trial. However, results revealed that PbM could be an alternative protein source for culture of marron as reflected in terms of increased THC, longer microvillus length and improved susceptibility to high temperature exposure. Overall, result could serve as useful baseline data in developing cost effective potential diets for marron aquaculture.

Total Bioavailable Organic Selenium in Fishmeal-Based Diet Influences Growth and Physiology of Juvenile Cobia Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766).

The study examined the effects of supplemental organic selenium (Se) extracted from selenoyeast on the growth performance, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, biochemical status and liver histochemistry of juvenile cobia Rachycentron canadum. Six experimental diets were prepared supplemented with Se with total concentration of 1.52 (Se-1.52), 1.93 (Se-1.93), 2.29 (Se-2.29), 2.71 (Se-2.71) and 3.14 (Se-3.14) mg/kg of total Se in the diets and a fishmeal-based control diet without Se supplementation containing 1.15 (Se-1.15) mg/kg of Se was used as control. Experimental diets were fed to the fish of six treatment groups in triplicate twice daily for 8 weeks. Juvenile cobia fed dietary Se of 1.93, 2.29 and 2.71 mg/kg showed increased final body weight (FBW), specific growth rate (SGR) and feed intake (FI) than the fish fed the control diet. Se accumulations in the muscle and liver tissue displayed a positive linear relationship with dietary Se levels. Se deficiency was apparent in fish fed the control diet and displayed reduced growth and feed efficiency. Red blood cell (RBC) counts were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in cobia fed dietary Se between 1.52 to 2.71 mg/kg than the fish fed 3.14-mg/kg Se diet. Glutathione peroxidase activity significantly (P < 0.05) declined in the group fed with control diet compared to fish fed Se-supplemental diet. Juvenile cobia fed the highest Se level (Se-3.14 mg/kg) showed toxic effects in the liver, including histopathological lesions in the liver. Based on the results obtained for FBW, SGR, tissue Se retention and haematological parameters, we conclude that optimal dietary Se requirement for juvenile cobia fed commercial diets is 2.32 mg/kg.

Identification and impact of stable prognostic biochemical markers for cold-induced sweetening resistance on selection efficiency in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) breeding programs.

Biochemical markers for cold-induced sweetening (CIS) resistance were tested for their stability over years and their use in selection of parents for crossing to achieve high selection efficiency in potato breeding programs. Two regulatory enzymes directly associated with reducing sugar (RS) accumulation during potato tubers cold storage were tested as a predictor for CIS resistance. These enzymes were studied in 33 potato clones from various breeding programs over four years. Clones with the presence of A-II isozymes of UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (UGPase) and low activity of vacuolar acid invertase (VAcInv) enzyme had increased resistance to cold-induced sweetening (CIS). Depending on the levels of these enzymes, clones were divided into class A, class B and class C. Clones categorized as class A had average RS of 0.73 mg per g FW after six months at 5.5°C storage. Class B and C had average RS of 1.15 and 3.80 mg per g FW respectively. The enzyme activity was closely associated with RS accumulation over long-term cold storage. The biochemical markers were found to be stable over the years. Repeated-measure analysis showed 75% chance of maintaining class from one year to the next and a 25% chance of switching, No clone switched between class A and class C, even across all four years. Application of these biochemical markers can identify clones with CIS resistance early in the selection process. Biochemical markers were used to select parents for crossing and six families were established. Results showed that with both parents from class A, 95% of their offspring had desirable glucose levels and chip color, which dropped to 52% when one parent was from class A and other from class B. These results suggest that two regulatory enzymes, i.e., UGPase and VAcInv, can be used as stable prognostic biochemical markers for CIS resistance for precise parent selection resulting in progenies with significantly higher percentage of clones with acceptable processing quality.

Linkage analysis and QTL mapping in a tetraploid russet mapping population of potato.

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers coupled with allele dosage information has emerged as a powerful tool for studying complex traits in cultivated autotetraploid potato (Solanum tuberosum L., 2n = 4× = 48). To date, this approach has been effectively applied to the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) underlying highly heritable traits such as disease resistance, but largely unexplored for traits with complex patterns of inheritance. RESULTS: In this study, an F1 tetraploid russet mapping population (162 individuals) was evaluated for multiple quantitative traits over two years and two locations to identify QTLs associated with tuber sugar concentration, processing quality, vine maturity, and other high-value agronomic traits. We report the linkage maps for the 12 potato chromosomes and the QTL location with corresponding genetic models and candidate SNPs explaining the highest phenotypic variation for tuber quality and maturity related traits. Significant QTLs for tuber glucose concentration and tuber fry color were detected on chromosomes 4, 5, 6, 10, and 11. Collectively, these QTLs explained between 24 and 46% of the total phenotypic variation for tuber glucose and fry color, respectively. The QTL on chromosome 10 was associated with apoplastic invertases, with 'Premier Russet' contributing the favorable allele for fry processing quality. On chromosome 5, minor-effect QTLs for tuber glucose concentration and fry color co-localized with various major-effect QTLs, including vine maturity, growth habit, tuber shape, early blight (Altenaria tenuis), and Verticillium wilt (Verticillium spp.). CONCLUSIONS: Linkage analysis and QTL mapping in a russet mapping population (A05141) using SNP dosage information successfully identified favorable alleles and candidate SNPs for resistance to the accumulation of tuber reducing sugars. These novel markers have a high potential for the improvement of tuber processing quality. Moreover, the discovery of different genetic models for traits with overlapping QTLs at the maturity locus clearly suggests an independent genetic control.

Transfer of arsenic from poultry feed to poultry litter: A mass balance study.

Roxarsone (rox), an arsenic (As) containing organic compound, is a common feed additive used in poultry production. To determine if As present in rox is excreted into the poultry litter without any retention in chicken meat for safe human consumption, the transference of As from the feed to poultry excreta was assessed using two commercial chicken strains fed with and without dietary rox. The results revealed that both the strains had similar behaviour in growth (chicken weight; 2.17-2.25kg), feed consumption (282-300kgpen-1 initially containing 102 chicken) and poultry litter production (73-81kgpen-1) during the growth phase of 35days. Our mass balance calculations showed that chickens ingested 2669-2730mg As with the feed and excreted out 2362-2896mg As in poultry litter during the growth period of 28days when As containing feed was used, yielding As recovery between 86 and 108%. Though our complementary studies show that residual arsenic species in rox-fed chicken meat may have relevance to human exposure, insignificant retention of total As in the chicken meat substantiates our mass balance results. The results are important in evaluating the fate of feed additive used in poultry production and its potential environmental implications if As containing poultry litter is applied to soil for crop production.

Development of pharmacological screening method for evaluation of effect of drug on elevated pulse pressure and arterial stiffness.

INTRODUCTION: Elevated pulse pressure (PP) and amplification of arterial stiffness (AS) are responsible for various cardiovascular disease and deaths. Numerous investigations have identified that different antihypertensive agents influence PP and AS differently. None of the previous studies described any reliable animal model particularly to screen drugs having effects on PP and AS. In present study, we developed an animal model to screen such drugs particularly affecting PP and AS. METHODS: Elevation of PP and amplification of AS were induced in rats by uninephrectomy along with high salt intake (NaCl 4% w/v) for a period of six weeks, and weekly changes in body weight, PP, systolic, diastolic, mean pressure and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were estimated. After six weeks, collagen elastin ratio of aortic segment was estimated. Histomorphometry of abdominal aortic section of rats was done using trinocular microscope. RESULTS: After six weeks, uninephrectomized rats that were kept on high salt drinking water shown significant increase (P < 0.001) in MAP, PP and PWV indicates that hypertension along with elevated PP developed in rats, and increase in collagen/elastin ratio (P < 0.001) as well as PWV as compared to normal rats indicates the increase in AS. CONCLUSION: The development of condition of hypertension in conjunction with increase in PP and AS in rats can be used as in-vivo screening model to determine the potency of drugs for the treatment of hypertension or other cardiovascular diseases associated with high PP and AS.

Chemical characterization and quantitativ e assessment of source-specific health risk of trace metals in PM1.0 at a road site of Delhi, India.

This study presents the concentration of submicron aerosol (PM1.0) collected during November, 2009 to March, 2010 at two road sites near the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi campus. In winter, PM1.0 composed 83% of PM2.5 indicating the dominance of combustion activity-generated particles. Principal component analysis (PCA) proved secondary aerosol formation as a dominant process in enhancing aerosol concentration at a receptor site along with biomass burning, vehicle exhaust, road dust, engine and tire tear wear, and secondary ammonia. The non-carcinogenic and excess cancer risk for adults and children were estimated for trace element data set available for road site and at elevated site from another parallel work. The decrease in average hazard quotient (HQ) for children and adults was estimated in following order: Mn > Cr > Ni > Pb > Zn > Cu both at road and elevated site. For children, the mean HQs were observed in safe level for Cu, Ni, Zn, and Pb; however, values exceeded safe limit for Cr and Mn at road site. The average highest hazard index values for children and adults were estimated as 22 and 10, respectively, for road site and 7 and 3 for elevated site. The road site average excess cancer risk (ECR) risk of Cr and Ni was close to tolerable limit (10-4) for adults and it was 13-16 times higher than the safe limit (10-6) for children. The ECR of Ni for adults and children was 102 and 14 times higher at road site compared to elevated site. Overall, the observed ECR values far exceed the acceptable level.

Lifestyle as Medicine: The Case for a True Health Initiative.

The power of lifestyle as medicine was perceived thousands of years ago. There is now consistent and compelling science to support the important influence of lifestyle on health. Approximately 80% of chronic disease and premature death could be prevented by not smoking, being physically active, and adhering to a healthful dietary pattern. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, dementia, and cancer are all influenced by lifestyle choices. Despite the ample evidence about what behaviors promote health, confusion still prevails among the general population. This is particularly true with regard to diet. Confusing nutrition messages from scientists, the media, the food industry, and other sources have made it all but impossible for any single authority to convey persuasively the fundamentals of healthful eating. The case is made here that a global coalition of diverse experts has the power to do what no individual can: clarify and popularize an understanding of the fundamentals of a health-promoting, sustainable pattern of diet and lifestyle, and rally the general public to their consistent support.