A superior gene allele involved in abscisic acid signaling enhances drought tolerance and yield in chickpea.

Identifying potential molecular tags for drought tolerance is essential for achieving higher crop productivity under drought stress. We employed an integrated genomics-assisted breeding and functional genomics strategy involving association mapping, fine mapping, map-based cloning, molecular haplotyping and transcript profiling in the introgression lines (ILs)- and near isogenic lines (NILs)-based association panel and mapping population of chickpea (Cicer arietinum). This combinatorial approach delineated a bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) transcription factor, CabHLH10 (Cicer arietinum bHLH10) underlying a major QTL, along with its derived natural alleles/haplotypes governing yield traits under drought stress in chickpea. CabHLH10 binds to a cis-regulatory G-box promoter element to modulate the expression of RD22 (responsive to desiccation 22), a drought/abscisic acid (ABA)-responsive gene (via a trans-expression QTL), and two strong yield-enhancement photosynthetic efficiency (PE) genes. This, in turn, upregulates other downstream drought-responsive and ABA signaling genes, as well as yield-enhancing PE genes, thus increasing plant adaptation to drought with reduced yield penalty. We showed that a superior allele of CabHLH10 introgressed into the NILs improved root and shoot biomass and PE, thereby enhancing yield and productivity during drought without compromising agronomic performance. Furthermore, overexpression of CabHLH10 in chickpea and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) conferred enhanced drought tolerance by improving root and shoot agro-morphological traits. These findings facilitate translational genomics for crop improvement and the development of genetically tailored, climate-resilient, high-yielding chickpea cultivars.

The chickpea WIP2 gene underlying a major QTL contributes to lateral root development.

Lateral roots are a major component of root system architecture, and lateral root count (LRC) positively contributes to yield under drought in chickpea. To understand the genetic regulation of LRC, a biparental mapping population derived from two chickpea accessions having contrasting LRCs was genotyped by sequencing, and phenotyped to map four major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) contributing to 13-32% of the LRC trait variation. A single- nucleotide polymorphism tightly linked to the locus contributing to highest trait variation was located on the coding region of a gene (CaWIP2), orthologous to NO TRANSMITTING TRACT/WIP domain protein 2 (NTT/WIP2) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana. A polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) in the CaWIP2 promoter showed differentiation between low versus high LRC parents and mapping individuals, suggesting its utility for marker-assisted selection. CaWIP2 promoter showed strong expression in chickpea apical root meristem and lateral root primordia. Expression of CaWIP2 under its native promoter in the Arabidopsis wip2wip4wip5 mutant rescued its rootless phenotype to produce more lateral roots than the wild-type plants, and led to formation of amyloplasts in the columella. CaWIP2 expression also induced the expression of genes that regulate lateral root emergence. Our study identified a gene-based marker for LRC which will be useful for developing drought-tolerant, high-yielding chickpea varieties.

Functional characterization of calmodulin-like proteins, CML13 and CML14, as novel light chains of Arabidopsis class VIII myosins.

Myosins are important motor proteins that associate with the actin cytoskeleton. Structurally, myosins function as heteromeric complexes where smaller light chains, such as calmodulin (CaM), bind to isoleucine-glutamine (IQ) domains in the neck region to facilitate mechano-enzymatic activity. We recently identified Arabidopsis CaM-like (CML) proteins CML13 and CML14 as interactors of proteins containing multiple IQ domains, including a myosin VIII. Here, we demonstrate that CaM, CML13, and CML14 bind the neck region of all four Arabidopsis myosin VIII isoforms. Among CMLs tested for binding to myosins VIIIs, CaM, CML13, and CML14 gave the strongest signals using in planta split-luciferase protein interaction assays. In vitro, recombinant CaM, CML13, and CML14 showed specific, high-affinity, calcium-independent binding to the IQ domains of myosin VIIIs. CaM, CML13, and CML14 co-localized to plasma membrane-bound puncta when co-expressed with red fluorescent protein-myosin fusion proteins containing IQ and tail domains of myosin VIIIs. In vitro actin motility assays using recombinant myosin VIIIs demonstrated that CaM, CML13, and CML14 function as light chains. Suppression of CML13 or CML14 expression using RNA silencing resulted in a shortened-hypocotyl phenotype, similar to that observed in a quadruple myosin mutant, myosin viii4KO. Collectively, our data indicate that Arabidopsis CML13 and CML14 are novel myosin VIII light chains.

Biochemical analysis of anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin and their regulation in determining chickpea flower and seed coat colour.

Flower and seed coat colour are important agronomic traits in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Cultivated chickpeas are of two types namely, desi (dark seeded, purple flowered) and kabuli (light seeded, white flowered). There has been limited information about the molecular mechanism underlying colour variation of flower and seed coats in desi and kabuli chickpea. We profiled the anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin (PA) contents in chickpea flowers and seed coats. Tissue-specific silencing of two genes encoding a basic helix-loop-helix (CabHLH) protein and a tonoplast-localized multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (CaMATE1) transporter in a desi genotype resulted in the reduction in expression of anthocyanin and PA biosynthetic genes and anthocyanin and PA contents in the flower and seed coat, and produced flowers and seeds with kabuli characteristics. Transcriptional regulation of a subset of anthocyanin and PA biosynthetic genes by a natural CabHLH variant and transport assay of a natural CaMATE1 variant explained the association of these alleles with the kabuli phenotype. We carried out a detailed molecular characterization of these genes, and provided evidence that kabuli chickpea flower and seed colour phenotypes can be derived by manipulation of single genes in a desi chickpea background.

One country's journey to interoperability: Tanzania's experience developing and implementing a national health information exchange.

BACKGROUND: Robust, flexible, and integrated health information (HIS) systems are essential to achieving national and international goals in health and development. Such systems are still uncommon in most low and middle income countries. This article describes a first-phase activity in Tanzania to integrate the country's vertical health management information system with the help of an interoperability layer that enables cross-program data exchange. METHODS: From 2014 to 2019, the Tanzanian government and partners implemented a five-step procedure based on the "Mind the GAPS" (governance, architecture, program management, and standards) framework and using both proprietary and open-source tools. In collaboration with multiple stakeholders, the team developed the system to address major data challenges via four fully documented "use case scenarios" addressing data exchange among hospitals, between services and the supply chain, across digital data systems, and within the supply chain reporting system. This work included developing the architecture for health system data exchange, putting a middleware interoperability layer in place to facilitate the exchange, and training to support use of the system and the data it generates. RESULTS: Tanzania successfully completed the five-step procedure for all four use cases. Data exchange is currently enabled among 15 separate information systems, and has resulted in improved data availability and significant time savings. The government has adopted the health information exchange within the national strategy for health care information, and the system is being operated and managed by Tanzanian officials. CONCLUSION: Developing an integrated HIS requires a significant time investment; but ultimately benefit both programs and patients. Tanzania's experience may interest countries that are developing their HIS programs.

Root-specific expression of chickpea cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase 6 leads to enhanced root growth, drought tolerance and yield without compromising nodulation.

Cytokinin group of phytohormones regulate root elongation and branching during post-embryonic development. Cytokinin-degrading enzymes cytokinin oxidases/dehydrogenases (CKXs) have been deployed to investigate biological activities of cytokinin and to engineer root growth. We expressed chickpea cytokinin oxidase 6 (CaCKX6) under the control of a chickpea root-specific promoter of CaWRKY31 in Arabidopsis thaliana and chickpea having determinate and indeterminate growth patterns, respectively, to study the effect of cytokinin depletion on root growth and drought tolerance. Root-specific expression of CaCKX6 led to a significant increase in lateral root number and root biomass in Arabidopsis and chickpea without any penalty to vegetative and reproductive growth of shoot. Transgenic chickpea lines showed increased CKX activity in root. Soil-grown advanced chickpea transgenic lines exhibited higher root-to-shoot biomass ratio and enhanced long-term drought tolerance. These chickpea lines were not compromised in root nodulation and nitrogen fixation. The seed yield in some lines was up to 25% higher with no penalty in protein content. Transgenic chickpea seeds possessed higher levels of zinc, iron, potassium and copper. Our results demonstrated the potential of cytokinin level manipulation in increasing lateral root number and root biomass for agronomic trait improvement in an edible legume crop with indeterminate growth habit.

Designing interoperable health information systems using Enterprise Architecture approach in resource-limited countries: A literature review.

BACKGROUND: Enterprise Architecture (EA) integrates business and technical processes in health information systems (HIS). Low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) use EA to combine management components with disease tracking and health care service monitoring. Using an EA approach differs by country, addressing specific needs. METHODS: Articles in this review referenced EA, were peer-reviewed or gray literature reports published in 2010 to 2016 in English, and were identified using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. RESULTS: Fourteen articles described EA use in LMICs. India, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mozambique, and Rwanda reported building the system to meet country needs and implement a cohesive HIS framework. Jordan and Taiwan focused on specific HIS aspects, ie, disease surveillance and electronic medical records. Five studies informed the context. The Millennium Villages Project employed a "uniform but contextualized" approach to guide systems in 10 countries; Malaysia, Indonesia, and Tanzania used interviews and mapping of existing components to improve HIS, and Namibia used of Activity Theory to identify technology-associated activities to better understand EA frameworks. South Africa, Burundi, Kenya, and Democratic Republic of Congo used EA to move from paper-based to electronic systems. CONCLUSIONS: Four themes emerged: the importance of multiple sectors and data sources, the need for interoperability, the ability to incorporate system flexibility, and the desirability of open group models, data standards, and software. Themes mapped to EA frameworks and operational components and to health system building blocks and goals. Most articles focused on processes rather than outcomes, as countries are engaged in implementation.

Geographic information system for improving maternal and newborn health: recommendations for policy and programs.

This correspondence argues and offers recommendations for how Geographic Information System (GIS) applied to maternal and newborn health data could potentially be used as part of the broader efforts for ending preventable maternal and newborn mortality. These recommendations were generated from a technical consultation on reporting and mapping maternal deaths that was held in Washington, DC from January 12 to 13, 2015 and hosted by the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) global Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP). Approximately 72 participants from over 25 global health organizations, government agencies, donors, universities, and other groups participated in the meeting.The meeting placed emphases on how improved use of mapping could contribute to the post-2015 United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agenda in general and to contribute to better maternal and neonatal health outcomes in particular. Researchers and policy makers have been calling for more equitable improvement in Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH), specifically addressing hard-to-reach populations at sub-national levels. Data visualization using mapping and geospatial analyses play a significant role in addressing the emerging need for improved spatial investigation at subnational scale. This correspondence identifies key challenges and recommendations so GIS may be better applied to maternal health programs in resource poor settings. The challenges and recommendations are broadly grouped into three categories: ancillary geospatial and MNH data sources, technical and human resources needs and community participation.

Uterotonic use immediately following birth: using a novel methodology to estimate population coverage in four countries.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal mortality in developing countries. While incidence of PPH can be dramatically reduced by uterotonic use immediately following birth (UUIFB) in both community and facility settings, national coverage estimates are rare. Most national health systems have no indicator to track this, and community-based measurements are even more scarce. To fill this information gap, a methodology for estimating national coverage for UUIFB was developed and piloted in four settings. METHODS: The rapid estimation methodology consisted of convening a group of national technical experts and using the Delphi method to come to consensus on key data elements that were applied to a simple algorithm, generating a non-precise national estimate of coverage of UUIFB. Data elements needed for the calculation were the distribution of births by location and estimates of UUIFB in each of those settings, adjusted to take account of stockout rates and potency of uterotonics. This exercise was conducted in 2013 in Mozambique, Tanzania, the state of Jharkhand in India, and Yemen. RESULTS: Available data showed that deliveries in public health facilities account for approximately half of births in Mozambique and Tanzania, 16% in Jharkhand and 24% of births in Yemen. Significant proportions of births occur in private facilities in Jharkhand and faith-based facilities in Tanzania. Estimated uterotonic use for facility births ranged from 70 to 100%. Uterotonics are not used routinely for PPH prevention at home births in any of the settings. National UUIFB coverage estimates of all births were 43% in Mozambique, 40% in Tanzania, 44% in Jharkhand, and 14% in Yemen. CONCLUSION: This methodology for estimating coverage of UUIFB was found to be feasible and acceptable. While the exercise produces imprecise estimates whose validity cannot be assessed objectively in the absence of a gold standard estimate, stakeholders felt they were accurate enough to be actionable. The exercise highlighted information and practice gaps and promoted discussion on ways to improve UUIFB measurement and coverage, particularly of home births. Further follow up is needed to verify actions taken. The methodology produces useful data to help accelerate efforts to reduce maternal mortality.

Palladium-catalyzed regio- and stereoselective cross-addition of terminal alkynes to ynol ethers and synthesis of 1,4-enyn-3-ones.

Conjugated enynes, enol ethers, and enynones are versatile building blocks that can be elaborated by a wide variety of synthetic transformations. The selective synthesis of such units is a prerequisite for their effective utilization. The synthesis of conjugated 2-phenoxyenynes through a palladium-catalyzed cross-addition of terminal alkynes to phenylethynyl ethers (hydroalkynylation) is now presented. The reaction is highly regio-, stereo-, and chemoselective, and shows excellent tolerance toward functional groups. The addition further features very mild reaction conditions (room temperature) and an inexpensive catalytic system (without a ligand and with a cheaply available Pd catalyst). The thus synthesized enynyl ethers with allylic hydroxy tethers, which survived the reaction, were shown to be ready precursors for valuable 1-en-4-yn-3-ones.

Advance distribution of misoprostol for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) at home births in two districts of Liberia.

BACKGROUND: A postpartum hemorrhage prevention program to increase uterotonic coverage for home and facility births was introduced in two districts of Liberia. Advance distribution of misoprostol was offered during antenatal care (ANC) and home visits. Feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness of distribution mechanisms and uterotonic coverage were evaluated. METHODS: Eight facilities were strengthened to provide PPH prevention with oxytocin, PPH management and advance distribution of misoprostol during ANC. Trained traditional midwives (TTMs) as volunteer community health workers (CHWs) provided education to pregnant women, and district reproductive health supervisors (DRHSs) distributed misoprostol during home visits. Data were collected through facility and DRHS registers. Postpartum interviews were conducted with a sample of 550 women who received advance distribution of misoprostol on place of delivery, knowledge, misoprostol use, and satisfaction. RESULTS: There were 1826 estimated deliveries during the seven-month implementation period. A total of 980 women (53.7%) were enrolled and provided misoprostol, primarily through ANC (78.2%). Uterotonic coverage rate of all deliveries was 53.5%, based on 97.7% oxytocin use at recorded facility vaginal births and 24.9% misoprostol use at home births. Among 550 women interviewed postpartum, 87.7% of those who received misoprostol and had a home birth took the drug. Sixty-three percent (63.0%) took it at the correct time, and 54.0% experienced at least one minor side effect. No serious adverse events reported among enrolled women. Facility-based deliveries appeared to increase during the program. CONCLUSIONS: The program was moderately effective at achieving high uterotonic coverage of all births. Coverage of home births was low despite the use of two channels of advance distribution of misoprostol. Although ANC reached a greater proportion of women in late pregnancy than home visits, 46.3% of expected deliveries did not receive education or advance distribution of misoprostol. A revised community-based strategy is needed to increase advance distribution rates and misoprostol coverage rates for home births. Misoprostol for PPH prevention appears acceptable to women in Liberia. Correct timing of misoprostol self-administration needs improved emphasis during counseling and education.

Physics informed contour selection for rapid image segmentation.

Effective training of deep image segmentation models is challenging due to the need for abundant, high-quality annotations. To facilitate image annotation, we introduce Physics Informed Contour Selection (PICS)-an interpretable, physics-informed algorithm for rapid image segmentation without relying on labeled data. PICS draws inspiration from physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) and an active contour model called snake. It is fast and computationally lightweight because it employs cubic splines instead of a deep neural network as a basis function. Its training parameters are physically interpretable because they directly represent control knots of the segmentation curve. Traditional snakes involve minimization of the edge-based loss functionals by deriving the Euler-Lagrange equation followed by its numerical solution. However, PICS directly minimizes the loss functional, bypassing the Euler Lagrange equations. It is the first snake variant to minimize a region-based loss function instead of traditional edge-based loss functions. PICS uniquely models the three-dimensional (3D) segmentation process with an unsteady partial differential equation (PDE), which allows accelerated segmentation via transfer learning. To demonstrate its effectiveness, we apply PICS for 3D segmentation of the left ventricle on a publicly available cardiac dataset. We also demonstrate PICS's capacity to encode the prior shape information as a loss term by proposing a new convexity-preserving loss term for left ventricle. Overall, PICS presents several novelties in network architecture, transfer learning, and physics-inspired losses for image segmentation, thereby showing promising outcomes and potential for further refinement.

Slow release of a synthetic auxin induces formation of adventitious roots in recalcitrant woody plants.

Clonal propagation of plants by induction of adventitious roots (ARs) from stem cuttings is a requisite step in breeding programs. A major barrier exists for propagating valuable plants that naturally have low capacity to form ARs. Due to the central role of auxin in organogenesis, indole-3-butyric acid is often used as part of commercial rooting mixtures, yet many recalcitrant plants do not form ARs in response to this treatment. Here we describe the synthesis and screening of a focused library of synthetic auxin conjugates in Eucalyptus grandis cuttings and identify 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid-L-tryptophan-OMe as a competent enhancer of adventitious rooting in a number of recalcitrant woody plants, including apple and argan. Comprehensive metabolic and functional analyses reveal that this activity is engendered by prolonged auxin signaling due to initial fast uptake and slow release and clearance of the free auxin 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid. This work highlights the utility of a slow-release strategy for bioactive compounds for more effective plant growth regulation.

Three years of neonatal morbidity and mortality at the national hospital in Dili, East Timor.

AIM: The aim of this study was to undertake a retrospective review of admissions and discharges to the neonatal unit at the National Hospital Guido Valadares, Dili, in order to gain insight into the epidemiology of hospitalised neonates in East Timor, as the information cannot be obtained from the hospital health management information system. METHOD: Data were sourced from unit registers for 3 years, 2008-2010 inclusive. Demographic characteristics and diagnoses were related to the risk of dying using stepwise multivariate logistic regression and adjusting for potential confounders of age, sex and weight. RESULTS: Two thousand eighty-eight babies were admitted to the unit over the study period. Over a quarter of babies weighed <2.5 kg on admission. Almost half were admitted from emergency or outpatient departments and only 27% were admitted within their first week of life. The most common reasons for admission were sepsis and respiratory disease (38 and 22%, respectively). Overall mortality was 11.4%, mainly attributed to prematurity (28%), infection (26%) and asphyxia (24%). Home birth, male gender, very low weight, young age and a short duration of hospitalisation were independently associated with an increased risk of death. Half of all babies weighing <1.5 kg died. Two-thirds of deaths occurred within 2 days of admission. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides, for the first time, an insight into the admissions and outcomes of the largest neonatal unit in East Timor. It is a baseline from which improvements to the quality of clinical care and data collection can be made.

Three years of paediatric morbidity and mortality at the National Hospital in Dili, East Timor.

AIM: The aim of this study was to undertake a retrospective review of admissions and discharges to the paediatric wards at the National Hospital Guido Valadares, Dili, as the epidemiology of hospitalised children in East Timor cannot be easily understood from the hospital health management information system. METHOD: Data were sourced from unit registers for 3 years, 2008-2010 inclusive. Demographic characteristics and principal diagnoses were related to the risk of dying using stepwise multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: There were 5909 children admitted to the wards over the study period and 60% were <2 years of age. The commonest reasons for admission were lower respiratory tract infections (LRIs) and gastroenteritis (43% and 16%, respectively). Severe malnutrition (MN) was recorded in only 5% of admissions. Overall, 6% of children died, mainly attributed to LRI (28%), central nervous system infections (16%) and MN (11%). Younger age, residence outside of Dili and admission during a busier period were independently associated with an increased risk of death. Nine per cent of hospitalised infants aged 1-6 months of age died and half of all deaths occurred within 2 days of admission. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides, for the first time, an understanding of the admissions and outcomes of the busiest paediatric inpatient unit in East Timor. It emphasises important health system issues which impact on both data quality and hospital outcomes.

Documentation of Microtubule Collisions with Myosin VIII ATM1 Containing Membrane-Associated Structures.

Collisions of microtubules with membrane-associated structures containing myosin VIII were recently described, and these data suggested that such collisions can happen between microtubules and other membrane-associated proteins. Such collisions may contribute to a coordinated organization between microtubules and membrane-associated proteins especially in cases of low lateral diffusion rates of the protein. Coordinated organization of cortical cytoskeleton and membrane structures can have consequences on membrane compartmentalization and downstream signaling. Here we describe a way to analyze collisions of cortical microtubules and membrane-associated proteins by confocal microscopy. In addition, we describe a tool to measure and quantify these collisions.

Collisions of Cortical Microtubules with Membrane Associated Myosin VIII Tail.

The distribution of myosin VIII ATM1 tail in association with the plasma membrane is often observed in coordination with that of cortical microtubules (MTs). The prevailing hypothesis is that coordination between the organization of cortical MTs and proteins in the membrane results from the inhibition of free lateral diffusion of the proteins by barriers formed by MTs. Since the positioning of myosin VIII tail in the membrane is relatively stable, we ask: can it affect the organization of MTs? Myosin VIII ATM1 tail co-localized with remorin 6.6, the position of which in the plasma membrane is also relatively stable. Overexpression of myosin VIII ATM1 tail led to a larger fraction of MTs with a lower rate of orientation dispersion. In addition, collisions between MTs and cortical structures labeled by ATM1 tail or remorin 6.6 were observed. Collisions between EB1 labeled MTs and ATM1 tail clusters led to four possible outcomes: 1-Passage of MTs through the cluster; 2-Decreased elongation rate; 3-Disengagement from the membrane followed by a change in direction; and 4-retraction. EB1 tracks became straighter in the presence of ATM1 tail. Taken together, collisions of MTs with ATM1 tail labeled structures can contribute to their coordinated organization.

Comparing adventitious root-formation and graft-unification abilities in clones of Argania spinosa.

Argania spinosa trees have attracted attention in recent years due to their high resistance to extreme climate conditions. Initial domestication activities practiced in Morocco. Here we report on selection and vegetative propagation of A. spinosa trees grown in Israel. Trees yielding relatively high amounts of fruit were propagated by rooting of stem cuttings. High variability in rooting ability was found among the 30 clones selected. In-depth comparison of a difficult-to-root (ARS7) and easy-to-root (ARS1) clone revealed that the rooted cuttings of ARS7 have a lower survival rate than those of ARS1. In addition, histological analysis of the adventitious root primordia showed many abnormal fused primordia in ARS7. Hormone profiling revealed that while ARS1 accumulates more cytokinin, ARS7 accumulates more auxin, suggesting different auxin-to-cytokinin ratios underlying the different rooting capabilities. The hypothesized relationship between rooting and grafting abilities was addressed. Reciprocal grafting was performed with ARS1/ARS7 but no significant differences in the success of graft unification between the trees was detected. Accordingly, comparative RNA sequencing of the rooting and grafting zones showed more differentially expressed genes related to rooting than to grafting between the two trees. Clustering, KEGG and Venn analyses confirmed enrichment of genes related to auxin metabolism, transport and signaling, cytokinin metabolism and signaling, cell wall modification and cell division in both regions. In addition, the differential expression of some key genes in ARS1 vs. ARS7 rooting zones was revealed. Taken together, while both adventitious root-formation and graft-unification processes share response to wounding, cell reprogramming, cell division, cell differentiation and reconnection of the vasculature, there are similar, but also many different genes regulating the two processes. Therefore an individual genotype can have low rooting capacity but good graft-unification ability.

A clinico-pathological and neuro-radiological study of angiomatous meningioma: Aggressive look with benign behaviour.

Angiomatous meningioma is a rare variant tumor classified as WHO grade 1 meningioma and accounts for about 2.1% of all meningioma. Their clinical presentation, surgical management, and prognosis are almost similar to the classical meningioma. Despite of benign nature and being comparatively small in size, they look aggressive on radiology images like massive peritumoral edema and intense contrast enhancement. Being a unique subtype of meningioma, the studies on angiomatous meningioma are very limited. In this cross sectional retrospective study, we described the clinical presentation, radiology, histopathological features and differential diagnosis of 30 cases of angiomatous meningioma from a single centre. The clinical parameters include demographic profile, symptoms and radiological findings including location, extent, pattern, histopathology with World Health Organization (WHO) grade-2016, extent of tumour excision, recurrence and surgical outcome. Incidence of angiomatous meningioma in our study was 2.46% with male predominance. The most common location in our study was convexity. 27 out of 30 had histopathology reports of angiomatous meningioma and 3 had lipoangiomatous meningioma. The high vascularity and disproportionate peri-tumoral edema makes it a surgical challenge for excision. The complications and surgical outcome were analysed. The radiological anticipation of tumour subtype, meticulous pre-operative planning and intraoperative precautions remains a key for success.

Lignin deposition in chickpea root xylem under drought.

In our recent publication, we have shown that a member of the Laccase family, LACCASE2 (LAC2) acted as a negative regulator of lignin deposition in the root xylem tissue of Arabidopsis thaliana. LAC2 messenger RNA (mRNA) level was post-transcriptionally regulated by microRNA 397b, which showed increased expression under water and phosphate deficiency, resulting in the downregulation of LAC2 expression In this report, we have investigated root growth and lignin deposition in an economically important legume crop chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in response to natural drought in soil-grown condition. In contrast to the growth retardation of Arabidopsis root in mannitol-supplemented medium, chickpea root showed an increase in length in low soil moisture condition. Lignin estimation in the primary root showed an increase in lignin content, which was substantiated by staining of root xylem. Drought treatment enhanced the expression of four out of six LAC genes tested, while the expression of two was downregulated. Our preliminary study indicateed a molecular mechanism of lignin deposition in chickpea root xylem during drought.