Association of heart rate variability and C-reactive protein in patients with depression.

Background: Depression has been shown to be correlated with cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. Inflammation and autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction are possible causes. Numerous clinical studies have found an association between inflammatory pathways and the ANS. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between different heart rate variability (HRV) parameters and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in depressed patients without concomitant diseases. Materials and Methods: Sixty-five depressed patients who were not taking medication participated in this cross-sectional study. The Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) categorization of mental and behavioral disorders served as the basis for the diagnosis of depression. HRV processing and analysis were performed using ADInstrument's Pro LabChart (PowerLab 8Pro) data analysis software. HRV was recorded for 5 min in an upright sitting position using a lead II electrocardiogram (ECG) (short-term HRV). CRP levels were measured using an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test. Results: None of the measures of HRV showed a significant relationship with pulse rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, or body mass index (BMI). Weight and BMI were strongly positively related (r = 0.420, P = 0.003) to pRR50 (percentage of successive RR intervals differing by more than 50 ms). Very low frequency (VLF), low frequency (LF), and the LF/HF (high frequency) ratio were all strongly positively correlated with CRP (r = 0.595, P = 0.001), whereas HF was also significantly negatively correlated (r = 0.383, P = 0.007). CRP had a significant negative correlation with the logarithm (ln) HF and a significant positive correlation with lnVLF, lnLF, and lnLF/HF. Conclusion: Measurement of resting HRV and CRP may be helpful in detecting CV disease in depressed patients. Low HRV and elevated serum CRP should prompt physicians to begin treatment for risk CV as soon as possible.

Vetiver grass cleans up arsenic contaminated field for subsequent safe cultivation of rice with low arsenic in grains: A two year field study.

The presence of high concentrations of arsenic (As) in agricultural soils and its subsequent accumulation in rice crop is a serious issue threatening sustainability of agriculture and human health. In the present work, remediation of As contaminated field in Nadia, West Bengal, India was done through the cultivation of Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides L. Nash) and the same field was subsequently used for rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation. The results showed that V. zizanoides could reduce As concentrations in the field to bring it lower than the maximum permissible limit (20 mg kg-1) in 11 months' time. The rice plants grown in remediated field showed improvement in growth and photosynthesis parameters as compared to that of contaminated field. Importantly, yield related parameters (filled seed, 1000 grain weight, number of panicles etc.) were also significantly higher in remediated field than that in contaminated field. Arsenic concentration in roots, shoot, husk and grains of rice was found to be significantly lower in remediated field than in contaminated field. Grain As decreased from 0.75 to 0.77 µg g-1 dw in contaminated field to 0.15-0.18 µg g-1 dw. In conclusion, replacing rice for single year with V. zizanoides crop can significantly remediate the field and can be a viable option.

Non-invasive predictors to grade esophageal varices in liver cirrhosis patients.

Background: Portal hypertension commonly occurs due to liver cirrhosis, and esophageal varices (EV) is one of the major complications associated with it. The most common cause of death in liver cirrhosis is EV bleeding. Hence, GE screening for EV is required, which is an invasive procedure. Regular use of endoscopy results in low compliance due to cost and discomfort for patients. Hence, identifying non-invasive markers that could grade EV provides a useful screening tool for family physicians and primary health centers (PHCs) by referring the patient to higher centers for definitive treatment, which could reduce mortality due to variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients. Aims: To assess non-invasive predictors of grade EV in patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods and Material: A total of 109 patients with liver cirrhosis underwent clinical and biochemical evaluation, USG abdomen with spleen bipolar diameter, ascitic fluid analysis, and upper GE with a grade of EV are recorded. Statistical Analysis Used: SPSS software with Student t-test, Chi-square t-test, analysis of variance, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, and Spearman correlation with 95% CI is used. P <0.05 is considered significant. Results: Aminotransferase to Platelet count Ratio Index (APRI) score >1.815, PC/SD ≤909, and SAAG >1.1g/dl showed EV in liver cirrhosis (P < 0.05). The order of prediction with ROC curves shows APRI score > PC/SD > SAAG. In grading EV, APRI scores of 1.9-2.5 and >2.5 showed small and large EV, respectively (P < 0.05). Conclusions: APRI score may be used in PHC as an early intervention to grade EV and refer the patient to higher centers for definitive treatment. This would prevent the progression of varices to rupture and reduce mortality due to variceal bleeds in liver cirrhosis patients.

Anthropometry and blood biomarkers of diabetes and their possible association with obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Background: Diabetes, a rapidly increasing heterogeneous disorder, is closely linked to the epidemic of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). At present, we do not understand completely the blood biomarkers, molecular aetiology, and role of lifestyle modification and interventions to combat diabetes hand in hand with obesity and the MetS epidemic. Methods: To measure different anthropometric and blood biomarkers in pre-diabetic and diabetic patients, we collected data and blood samples from patients in a hospital OPD. This was a cross-sectional study that included the identification of possible relationships between different parameters to predict early diagnostic markers of diabetes. Results: We found increased body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose, neck, waist, and hip circumference, sagittal abdominal diameter, and skin fold thickness in the diabetic as compared to the pre-diabetic group. Also, serum uric acid and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values were significantly increased in diabetic individuals. We found a significant positive correlation between serum uric acid and BMI, fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, and HOMA-IR values. Conclusions: Here, we found that pre-diabetic and diabetic patients have increased fasting glucose levels while we did not find any difference in insulin levels. Both pre-diabetic and diabetic patients show high serum uric acid, positively associated with a higher prevalence of diabetes and HOMA-IR. Uric acid may hence be an important parameter for early diagnostics. These findings may be used as a basis for future studies that aim to identify the mechanistic details of the association of uric acid with insulin signaling and hence better understanding of the phenomenon associated with diabetes. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01276-4.

Synergistic interactions of nanoparticles and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria enhancing soil-plant systems: a multigenerational perspective.

Sustainable food security and safety are major concerns on a global scale, especially in developed nations. Adverse agroclimatic conditions affect the largest agricultural-producing areas, which reduces the production of crops. Achieving sustainable food safety is challenging because of several factors, such as soil flooding/waterlogging, ultraviolet (UV) rays, acidic/sodic soil, hazardous ions, low and high temperatures, and nutritional imbalances. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are widely employed in in-vitro conditions because they are widely recognized as a more environmentally and sustainably friendly approach to increasing crop yield in contaminated and fertile soil. Conversely, the use of nanoparticles (NPs) as an amendment in the soil has recently been proposed as an economical way to enhance the texture of the soil and improving agricultural yields. Nowadays, various research experiments have combined or individually applied with the PGPR and NPs for balancing soil elements and crop yield in response to control and adverse situations, with the expectation that both additives might perform well together. According to several research findings, interactive applications significantly increase sustainable crop yields more than PGPR or NPs alone. The present review summarized the functional and mechanistic basis of the interactive role of PGPR and NPs. However, this article focused on the potential of the research direction to realize the possible interaction of PGPR and NPs at a large scale in the upcoming years.