We report on synthesis and hyperthermia studies in the water-soluble ferrofluid made of polyacrylic acid-coated cobalt ferrite (CoFe
2
O
4
) nanoparticles with different particle sizes. Magnetic ...nanoparticles were synthesized using co-precipitation method and particle size was varied as 6, 10, and 14 nm by varying the precursor to surfactant concentration. PAA surfactant bonding and surfactant thickness were studied by FTIR and thermogravimetric analysis. At room temperature, nanoparticles show superparamagnetism and saturation magnetization was found to vary from 33 to 44 emu/g with increase in the particle size from 6 to 14 nm, and this increase was attributed to the presence of a magnetic inert layer of 4 Å thick. Effect of particle size, concentration, and alternating magnetic field strength at 275 kHz on specific absorption rate were studied by preparing ferrofluids in deionized water at different concentrations. Ferrofluids at a concentration of 1.25 g/L, with 10 min of AMF exposure of strength ~15.7 kA/m show stable temperatures ~48, 58, and 68 °C with increase in the particle sizes 6, 10, and 14 nm. A maximum specific absorption rate of 251 W/g for ferrofluid with a particle size of 10 nm at 1.25 g/L, 15.7 kA/m, and 275 kHz was observed. Viability of L929 fibroblasts is measured by MTT assay cytotoxicity studies using the polyacrylic acid-coated CoFe
2
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4
nanoparticles.
Studies comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting and bare-metal coronary stents in acute myocardial infarction have been limited in size and duration.
We identified all ...adults undergoing PCI with stenting for acute myocardial infarction between April 1, 2003, and September 30, 2004, at any acute care, nonfederal hospital in Massachusetts with the use of a state-mandated database of PCI procedures. We performed propensity-score matching on three groups of patients: all patients with acute myocardial infarction, all those with acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation, and all those with acute myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation. Propensity-score analyses were based on clinical, procedural, hospital, and insurance information collected at the time of the index procedure. Differences in the risk of death between patients receiving drug-eluting stents and those receiving bare-metal stents were determined from vital-statistics records.
A total of 7217 patients were treated for acute myocardial infarction (4016 with drug-eluting stents and 3201 with bare-metal stents). According to analysis of matched pairs, the 2-year, risk-adjusted mortality rates were lower for drug-eluting stents than for bare-metal stents among all patients with myocardial infarction (10.7% vs. 12.8%, P=0.02), among patients with myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation (8.5% vs. 11.6%, P=0.008), and among patients with myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation (12.8% vs. 15.6%, P=0.04). The 2-year, risk-adjusted rates of recurrent myocardial infarction were reduced in patients with myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation who were treated with drug-eluting stents, and repeat revascularization rates were significantly reduced with the use of drug-eluting stents as compared with bare-metal stents in all groups.
In patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction, treatment with drug-eluting stents is associated with decreased 2-year mortality rates and a reduction in the need for repeat revascularization procedures as compared with treatment with bare-metal stents.
Objective of investigation
Chickpea is a major global food legume for which seed weight and plant growth habit are important yield and harvestability components for plant breeding. This study tested ...seed weight and plant growth habit inheritance and identified quantitative trait loci (QTL).
Experimental material
A 10 nested association mapping (NAM) populations of chickpea were created from crosses between ‘Gokce’, a cultivar and wild crop relative accessions of Cicer reticulatum and Cicer echinospermum. Families were then developed to the F2:4 generation.
Method of investigation
A 10 families were grown at the Field Experiment Station, Harran University near Şanlıurfa, Turkey during 2019.
Data collection
A 100‐seed weight and prostrate or erect growth habit was scored in the field. Two families were genotyped for 60 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP).
Result and conclusions
A 100‐seed weight showed polygenic control, and three QTLs were found. Growth habit was controlled by one or two QTLs. The two traits were significantly correlated for five populations. The crop wild relatives of chickpea contain variations at novel loci affecting seed weight compared to the literature.
The quantitative genetics of the important yield‐related traits of 100‐seed weight and erect or prostrate growth habit across 10 F2:4 nested association mapping (NAM) families of chickpea derived from crosses between a cultivar and wild crop relative accessions were studied. The results reveal variation in inheritance of both the continuous seed‐weight trait and the binary scored growth‐habit trait across families. These traits are associated in five of the mapping families, with implications for breeding from these materials. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of these traits in two of the mapping families was used to identify overlapping and distinct genomic regions associated significantly with each trait in each family. These QTLs reinforce previous findings in the literature and also contribute novel QTLs. The study contributes to understanding natural genetic variation and potential hybridizing value of wild crop relatives affecting yield‐associated traits of chickpea.
Flowering time is a key trait in breeding and crop evolution, due to its importance for adaptation to different environments and for yield. In the particular case of chickpea, selection for early ...phenology was essential for the successful transition of this species from a winter to a summer crop. Here, we used genetic and expression analyses in two different inbred populations to examine the genetic control of domestication-related differences in flowering time and growth habit between domesticated chickpea and its wild progenitor
. A single major quantitative trait locus for flowering time under short-day conditions
(
was mapped to a 59-gene interval on chromosome three containing a cluster of three
genes, which collectively showed upregulated expression in domesticated relative to wild parent lines. An equally strong association with growth habit suggests a pleiotropic effect of the region on both traits. These results indicate the likely molecular explanation for the characteristic early flowering of domesticated chickpea, and the previously described growth habit locus
. More generally, they point to de-repression of this specific gene cluster as a conserved mechanism for achieving adaptive early phenology in temperate legumes.
ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors in Kerala.DesignA community-based, cross-sectional survey.ParticipantsIn 2016–2017 a multistage, cluster sample of ...12 012 (aged 18–69 years) participants from all 14 districts of Kerala were studied.Main outcome measuresNCD risk factors as stipulated in the WHO’s approach to NCD risk factors surveillance were studied. Parameters that were studied included physical activity score, anthropometry, blood pressure (BP), and fasting blood glucose (FBG) and morning urine sample to estimate dietary intake of salt.ResultsThe mean age was 42.5 years (SD=14.8). Abdominal obesity was higher in women (72.6%; 95% CI 70.7 to 74.5) compared with men (39.1%; 95% CI 36.6 to 41.7), and also higher among urban (67.4%; 95% CI 65.0 to 69.7) compared with rural (58.6%; 95% CI 56.6 to 60.5) residents. Current use of tobacco and alcohol in men was 20.3% (95% CI 18.6 to 22.1) and 28.9% (95% CI 26.5 to 31.4), respectively. The estimated daily salt intake was 6.7 g/day. The overall prevalence of raised BP was 30.4% (95% CI 29.1 to 31.7) and raised FBG was 19.2% (95% CI 18.1 to 20.3). Raised BP was higher in men (34.6%; 95% CI 32.6 to 36.7) compared with women (28%; 95% CI 26.4 to 29.4), but was not different between urban (33.1%; 95% CI 31.3 to 34.9) and rural (29.8%; 95% CI 28.3 to 31.3) residents. Only 12.4% of individuals with hypertension and 15.3% of individuals with diabetes were found to have these conditions under control. Only 13.8% of urban and 18.4% of rural residents did not have any of the seven NCD risk factors studied.ConclusionMajority of the participants had more than one NCD risk factor. There was no rural–urban difference in terms of raised BP or raised FBG prevalence in Kerala. The higher rates of NCD risk factors and lower rates of hypertension and diabetes control call for concerted primary and secondary prevention strategies to address the future burden of NCDs.
The failure of blood vessels to revascularize ischemic neural tissue represents a significant challenge for vascular biology. Examples include proliferative retinopathies (PRs) such as retinopathy of ...prematurity and proliferative diabetic retinopathy, which are the leading causes of blindness in children and working-age adults. PRs are characterized by initial microvascular degeneration, followed by a compensatory albeit pathologic hypervascularization mounted by the hypoxic retina attempting to reinstate metabolic equilibrium. Paradoxically, this secondary revascularization fails to grow into the most ischemic regions of the retina. Instead, the new vessels are misdirected toward the vitreous, suggesting that vasorepulsive forces operate in the avascular hypoxic retina. In the present study, we demonstrate that the neuronal guidance cue semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) is secreted by hypoxic neurons in the avascular retina in response to the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β. Sema3A contributes to vascular decay and later forms a chemical barrier that repels neo-vessels toward the vitreous. Conversely, silencing Sema3A expression enhances normal vascular regeneration within the ischemic retina, thereby diminishing aberrant neovascularization and preserving neuroretinal function. Overcoming the chemical barrier (Sema3A) released by ischemic neurons accelerates the vascular regeneration of neural tissues, which restores metabolic supply and improves retinal function. Our findings may be applicable to other neurovascular ischemic conditions such as stroke.
"Stay-green" crop phenotypes have been shown to impact drought tolerance and nutritional content of several crops. We aimed to genetically describe and functionally dissect the particular stay-green ...phenomenon found in chickpeas with a green cotyledon color of mature dry seed and investigate its potential use for improvement of chickpea environmental adaptations and nutritional value. We examined 40 stay-green accessions and a set of 29 BC2F4-5 stay-green introgression lines using a stay-green donor parent ICC 16340 and two Indian elite cultivars (KAK2, JGK1) as recurrent parents. Genetic studies of segregating populations indicated that the green cotyledon trait is controlled by a single recessive gene that is invariantly associated with the delayed degreening (extended chlorophyll retention). We found that the chickpea ortholog of Mendel's I locus of garden pea, encoding a SGR protein as very likely to underlie the persistently green cotyledon color phenotype of chickpea. Further sequence characterization of this chickpea ortholog CaStGR1 (CaStGR1, for carietinum stay-green gene 1) revealed the presence of five different molecular variants (alleles), each of which is likely a loss-of-function of the chickpea protein (CaStGR1) involved in chlorophyll catabolism. We tested the wild type and green cotyledon lines for components of adaptations to dry environments and traits linked to agronomic performance in different experimental systems and different levels of water availability. We found that the plant processes linked to disrupted CaStGR1 gene did not functionality affect transpiration efficiency or water usage. Photosynthetic pigments in grains, including provitaminogenic carotenoids important for human nutrition, were 2-3-fold higher in the stay-green type. Agronomic performance did not appear to be correlated with the presence/absence of the stay-green allele. We conclude that allelic variation in chickpea CaStGR1 does not compromise traits linked to environmental adaptation and agronomic performance, and is a promising genetic technology for biofortification of provitaminogenic carotenoids in chickpea.
KEY MESSAGE: We report a likely candidate gene, CcTFL1, for determinacy in pigeonpea through candidate gene sequencing analysis, mapping, QTL analysis together with comparative genomics and ...expression profiling. Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is the sixth most important legume crop grown on ~5 million hectares globally. Determinacy is an agronomically important trait selected during pigeonpea domestication. In the present study, seven genes related to determinacy/flowering pattern in pigeonpea were isolated through a comparative genomics approach. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of these candidate genes on 142 pigeonpea lines found a strong association of SNPs with the determinacy trait for three of the genes. Subsequently, QTL analysis highlighted one gene, CcTFL1, as a likely candidate for determinacy in pigeonpea since it explained 45–96 % of phenotypic variation for determinacy, 45 % for flowering time and 77 % for plant height. Comparative genomics analysis of CcTFL1 with the soybean (Glycine max) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) genomes at the micro-syntenic level further enhanced our confidence in CcTFL1 as a likely candidate gene. These findings have been validated by expression analysis that showed down regulation of CcTFL1 in a determinate line in comparison to an indeterminate line. Gene-based markers developed in the present study will allow faster manipulation of the determinacy trait in future breeding programs of pigeonpea and will also help in the development of markers for these traits in other related legume species.
High quality undoped and silver (Ag) doped Mg2Sn cast products with relatively less cracking were obtained using radio-frequency (RF) induction method under argon atmosphere. The thermoelectric ...properties of cast alloys were studied as a function of magnesium added up to ∼10.8 wt. % in the temperature range of 323 K (50 °C) to 723 K (450 °C). It was observed that the electrical and thermal conductivity at 323 K (50 °C) was increased by approximately 12 and 4 times as the magnesium concentration changed from 2 to 10.8 wt.%. The lattice thermal conductivity of the near stoichiometric alloy decreased by at least 2 times due to silver doping. However, such effect is faded with an increase in magnesium concentration. This was attributed to the probable increase in the electronic contribution due to metallic magnesium phase. Interestingly, the electrical (and thermal) conductivity was irreversible during the first cycle of heating and cooling. The irreversibility in the conductivity was attributed to the inhomogeneous distribution of tin (Sn) in the Mg phase prior to heating. The Seebeck coefficient of the Ag doped alloy with 10.8 wt. % Mg was ∼120 μV/K and it was reduced to 55 μV/K after the first cycle of heating. However, the decrease in the Seebeck coefficient following cooling was not systematic across all the alloys investigated here. The inability to obtain a unique Seebeck coefficient in the cast alloys at ∼323 K (50 °C) was primarily due to the coarse grain size of Mg2Sn and Mg phases and their respective grain orientations. Consequently, a maximum ZT of 0.055 was obtained at 323 K. However, a ZT of the order of 0.015 can be readily obtained in near stoichiometric silver doped cast Mg2Sn alloys at high temperatures ∼723 K.
•Studied TE properties as a function of magnesium (Mg) addition in Mg2Sn alloys.•Inhomogeneous distribution of Sn in Mg phase lead to irreversibility in properties.•Coarse grain size and their orientations lead to inconsistent Seebeck coefficient.
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