Characterization of putative calcium-dependent protein kinase-1 (TaCPK-1) gene: hubs in signalling and tolerance network of wheat under terminal heat.

Calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) is member of one of the most important signalling cascades operating inside the plant system due to its peculiar role as thermo-sensor. Here, we identified 28 full length putative CDPKs from wheat designated as TaCDPK (1-28). Based on digital gene expression, we cloned full length TaCPK-1 gene of 1691 nucleotides with open reading frame (ORF) of 548 amino acids (accession number OP125853). The expression of TaCPK-1 was observed maximum (3.1-fold) in leaf of wheat cv. HD2985 (thermotolerant) under T2 (38 ± 3 °C, 2 h), as compared to control. A positive correlation was observed between the expression of TaCPK-1 and other stress-associated genes (MAPK6, CDPK4, HSFA6e, HSF3, HSP17, HSP70, SOD and CAT) involved in thermotolerance. Global protein kinase assay showed maximum activity in leaves, as compared to root, stem and spike under heat stress. Immunoblot analysis showed abundance of CDPK protein in wheat cv. HD2985 (thermotolerant) in response to T2 (38 ± 3 °C, 2 h), as compared to HD2329 (thermosusceptible). Calcium ion (Ca2+), being inducer of CDPK, showed strong Ca-signature in the leaf tissue (Ca-622 ppm) of thermotolerant wheat cv. under heat stress, whereas it was minimum (Ca-201 ppm) in spike tissue. We observed significant variations in the ionome of wheat under HS. To conclude, TaCPK-1 plays important role in triggering signaling network and in modulation of HS-tolerance in wheat. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-024-03989-6.

Exploring the heat-responsive chaperones and microsatellite markers associated with terminal heat stress tolerance in developing wheat.

Global warming is a major threat for agriculture and food security, and in many cases the negative impacts are already apparent. Wheat is one of the most important staple food crops and is highly sensitive to the heat stress (HS) during reproductive and grain-filling stages. Here, whole transcriptome analysis of thermotolerant wheat cv. HD2985 was carried out at the post-anthesis stage under control (22 ± 3 °C) and HS-treated (42 °C, 2 h) conditions using Illumina Hiseq and Roche GS-FLX 454 platforms. We assembled ~24 million (control) and ~23 million (HS-treated) high-quality trimmed reads using different assemblers with optimal parameters. De novo assembly yielded 52,567 (control) and 59,658 (HS-treated) unigenes. We observed 785 transcripts to be upregulated and 431 transcripts to be downregulated under HS; 78 transcripts showed >10-fold upregulation such as HSPs, metabolic pathway-related genes, etc. Maximum number of upregulated genes was observed to be associated with processes such as HS-response, protein-folding, oxidation-reduction and photosynthesis. We identified 2008 and 2483 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers from control and HS-treated samples; 243 SSRs were observed to be overlying on stress-associated genes. Polymorphic study validated four SSRs to be heat-responsive in nature. Expression analysis of identified differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) showed very high fold increase in the expression of catalytic chaperones (HSP26, HSP17, and Rca) in contrasting wheat cvs. HD2985 and HD2329 under HS. We observed positive correlation between RNA-seq and qRT-PCR expression data. The present study culminated in greater understanding of the heat-response of tolerant genotype and has provided good candidate genes for the marker development and screening of wheat germplasm for thermotolerance.

Management of otogenic lateral sinus thrombosis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the changing clinical course and trends in management of otogenic lateral sinus thrombosis (OLST), in view of the rarity of the said lesion and antibiotic abuse. METHODS: A retrospective case study was done in 6 patients referred to our tertiary care centre with OLST over a period of three years from May 2007 to May 2010: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi - a tertiary care university teaching hospital under central government of India. Medical records of all the patients were scrutinized and data pertaining to patient profile, type of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), clinical course with any other complication and management were tabulated. The said data was scientifically analyzed w.r.t. current medical literature on the subject. RESULTS: Clinically, it was observed that all patients had protracted CSOM - attico antral type, with history of rampant misuse of antibiotics. The attack of OLST in each case was triggered off by an acute attack of suppurative otitis media. Moreover, in all the cases OLST was masquerading as an intra-cranial complication, with no specific clinical features thereby causing missed diagnosis initially. All these patients were diagnosed by CT scan, and underwent modified radical mastoidectomy (MRM) with needle aspiration of sinus under antibiotic cover. The said treatment protocol resulted in excellent prognosis with no morbidity or mortality whatsoever. Pathologically, cholesteatoma was detected in 5 of the six cases with one case having only granulations. CONCLUSIONS: In this era of antibiotic abuse, the clinical presentation of OLST has altered substantially, and mimics other intra-cranial complication with vague signs and symptoms. There are conflicting views in contemporary medical literature regarding management of OLST. In our experience, MRM with needle aspiration under antibiotic cover is the treatment of choice for all cases of OLST associated with CSOM attico antral disease/cholesteatoma disease.

Evaluation of simultaneous bilateral same day tympanoplasty type I in chronic suppurative otitis media.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the concept of bilateral same day tympanoplasty type I (BSDT) in accordance with the principle of evidence based medicine. METHODS: A study with control was carried out in a tertiary care setting in a sample size of 60 patients suffering from chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). The patients were divided into two groups of 30 patients each, group-A comprised of unilateral CSOM cases and group-B comprised of bilateral CSOM cases. All the patients underwent tympanoplasty type I by post auricular inlay technique using temporalis fascia graft. BSDT was done in group-B. Graft and audiological success rates were tabulated and put to statistical examination using Student's 't' test. In addition, post-operative pain was measured by visual analogue scale and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: A graft uptake of 90% and 93% was recorded in group-A and B, respectively. 27 (90%) patients reported an air-bone gap of less than 20 dB post-operatively in group-A and 94% (56 of the operated 60 ears) had an air bone gap less than 20 dB post-operatively in group-B. No case of iatrogenic sensorinueral hearing loss was recorded in this study. Further, pain was not found to be a statistically significant factor detrimental to BSDT. CONCLUSION: Bilateral same day tympanoplasty type I is a feasible treatment option in modern otology for a specific group of patients suffering from CSOM.

A rare case of congenital simple cystic ranula in a neonate.

Congenital ranula in a neonate is an uncommon occurrence. We present one such case of the said lesion where the clinical presentation and management were found to be interesting, hitherto unreported in the medical literature. This clinical record also reviews the scant medical literature on congenital ranula in neonates.

A rare case of lateral sinus thrombosis with carotid space abscess.

This case report describes a case of carotid space abscess secondary to lateral sinus thrombosis associated with internal jugular vein thrombosis. With this case, we illustrate a rare entity that presented in an extremely rare manner. To the authors knowledge such a case has not been previously reported.

A rare case of survival after complete traumatic cricotracheal separation.

We report the survival of an extremely rare case of complete cricotracheal transection following incisional trauma with knife. The clinical record underlines the importance of prompt airway management and immediate neck exploration in such cases. To the authors knowledge, such a case has not been reported previously in the literature.

A rare case of coin impaction in larynx in an adult.

Impaction of foreign body in larynx is reported exclusively in paediatric population only. Moreover impaction of coin in larynx has never been reported previously. With this background, we report a rare case of coin impaction in larynx in a healthy adult.

The BHU bicentric bipolar prosthesis in fracture neck femur in active elderly.

BACKGROUND: 55 BHU bicentric bipolar hemiarthroplasties were reviewed after a mean follow up of 4 years (range 1-5 years). Patients with displaced subcapital fractures were selected for operation on the basis of good mobility before the fracture. Object of the study was to see the efficacy of BHU bipolar prostheses and functional outcome. RESULTS: There were no incidences of dislocation. Modified Harris hip scoring system scoring system was used which included sitting crosslegged and squatting in view of the sociocultural needs of the patients of Indian subcontinent. Modified Harris hip scoring system 89% had a good or excellent result and 94% had no or only occasional pain. Majority of the patients returned to their prefracture activity. CONCLUSION: Thus at follow up of 4 year the BHU bicentric bipolar prosthesis has been shown to be a good option for intracapsular fractures of neck femur with encouraging results.

Descending necrotizing mediastinitis: trends in a developing country.

Descending necrotizing mediastinitis is believed to be a rare and serious complication of odontogenic and oropharyngeal infections. It is associated with a high (up to 40%) mortality rate, which can be attributed to delays in diagnosis and inadequate surgical drainage. Between May 1999 and September 2002, we treated 7 cases at our institution in New Delhi, indicating that such fulminating infections are not so rare in developing countries. In our 7 cases, a high index of suspicion and early computed tomography helped us make a rapid diagnosis and initiate prompt treatment, which resulted in a favorable outcome in 6 cases (mortality rate: 14.3%).

Augmentation of seizure induction in electroconvulsive therapy: a clinical reappraisal.

OBJECTIVE: Missed or abortive seizures during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may preclude completion of an effective course of treatment in some cases. Seizure augmentation, using proconvulsant agents, has been used to overcome resistance to the induction and continuation of seizure activity. In this review, we analyze published clinical data on the effects and safety of seizure augmentation techniques. METHOD: Clinical studies and case reports were obtained through a MEDLINE literature search from 1966 to 2001, cross-referencing ECT and proconvulsant agents. Article references were also scanned for relevant studies. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Data from clinical trials indicate that augmentation facilitates seizure induction when maximal electrical stimuli fail. Anesthetic modifications, including hyperventilation and substitution with etomidate, ketamine, or other agents, often are successful in overcoming seizure resistance and compare favorably with the use of caffeine. In a few studies, augmentation enabled the use of lower stimulus intensities and fewer treatments without loss of efficacy, even in patients not resistant to seizure induction. However, effects of proconvulsants must be reconciled with increasing evidence of the importance of stimulus dosing relative to seizure threshold and other parameters, now considered key to the efficacy of ECT. Further investigations of pharmacologic augmentation could facilitate the administration of ECT and could provide further insights concerning parameters of seizure efficacy and the mechanism of action underlying convulsive therapies.