Yoga as a Preventive Intervention for Cardiovascular Diseases and Associated Comorbidities: Open-Label Single Arm Study.

Aim: Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) is a standardized yoga protocol authored by experts from all over the world under the aegis of the Ministry of AYUSH, Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homeopathy (AYUSH). The potential of CYP can be determined as a cost-effective lifestyle modification to prevent the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Methods: In this prospective trial, we compared the effect of CYP at baseline and after 1 month. A total of 374 yoga-naïve participants performed CYP under the supervision of experienced trainers. Physiological [body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, percent oxygen saturation], biochemical (fasting blood glucose and lipid profile), and neurocognitive parameters were measured before and after the intervention. Results: At day 30 of yoga practice, serum levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol (TC), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were found significantly improved as compared to the baseline levels observed at the time of enrollment. Similarly, the lipid profile was also obtained from experienced trainers and found to be significantly different from those of yoga-naïve volunteers. When the intervention was compared between the healthy yoga-naïve participants with yoga-naïve participants suffering from medical issues, it was found that cholesterol profile improved significantly in the healthy-naive group as compared to the diseased group (hypertension, diabetes, underwent surgery, and CVD). Conclusion: These results highlight the need for further research to better understand the effects of yoga on the primary prevention of CVD.

Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (HD-CCD1A and B) contribute as strong negative regulators of ß-carotene in Indian bread wheat (cv. HD2967).

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most common cereal crop that is considered to be deficient in provitamin A carotenoids. Carotenoids are prone to degrade into apocarotenoids by the activity of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs). Hence, in this study, multiple CCDs were cloned from commercial Indian wheat cultivar HD2967 to understand their role in provitamin A carotenoids degradation. The homoeolog specific expression of HD-CCD1 and HD-CCD4 at different grain filling stages revealed the higher expression of transcripts arising from the A and B subgenomes of HD-CCD1. Furthermore, the grain development stages showed a strong negative correlation of HD-CCD1A (r = - 0.969) and B (r = - 0.970) homoeologs expression to that of ß-carotene accumulation. It suggested that they could be potentially involved in deciding the turn-over of ß-carotene in wheat grain. Three-dimensional (3D) structures for all six homoeologs of HD-CCD1 and HD-CCD4 were predicted using maize VP14 template to gain better insight into their molecular mechanism. Ramachandran plot assessment revealed that ~ 90% of residues are in the most favoured region. Docking studies with various carotenoid substrates revealed the higher affinity of HD-CCD1A and B for ß-carotene and ß-cryptoxanthin. Bacterial complementation analysis validated the functional role of all six homoeologs with HD-CCD1B showing the highest activity followed by HD-CCD1A for ß-carotene degradation. Results of this study provide valuable insights into the characteristics of HD-CCDs in wheat and thereby justifying them (HD-CCD1A and B) as the candidate genes for employing genome editing tools for developing ß-carotene enriched wheat grains. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-021-02775-y.

Anemia in severe acute malnutrition.

OBJECTIVES: India has the highest prevalence of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Severe anemia is one of the comorbidities responsible for increased mortality in severely malnourished children, yet it has not received the attention it should. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and type of anemia and to evaluate the possible etiologies for severe anemia, in these children. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of patients with SAM in a tertiary care hospital in northern India over a period of 12 mo from Sept. 1, 2010 to Aug. 31, 2011 was conducted. We observed the prevalence of severe anemia (hemoglobin < 7 g/dL), morphologic type of anemia, number of patients requiring blood transfusion, hematologic profile of mothers, nature of feeding, duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and the demographic profile of these patients. RESULTS: Included in the study were 131 cases of SAM. The age group varied between 6 and to 59 mo. Of patients with SAM, 67.3% had severe anemia; 13.8% had moderate anemia. Of these patients, 25% required packed red blood cell transfusion. The most common type of anemia was microcytic (38.6%) followed by megaloblastic (30.5%). CONCLUSIONS: A high incidence of severe anemia in SAM with a large proportion (25%) requiring blood transfusion is a pointer toward nutritional anemia being a very common comorbidity of SAM requiring hospital admission. Because megaloblastic anemia closely followed microcytic anemia, supplementation with vitamin B12 in addition to iron and folic acid would be recommended.