Constitutive expression of apple endo-POLYGALACTURONASE1 in fruit induces early maturation, alters skin structure and accelerates softening.

During fruit ripening, polygalacturonases (PGs) are key contributors to the softening process in many species. Apple is a crisp fruit that normally exhibits only minor changes to cell walls and limited fruit softening. Here, we explore the effects of PG overexpression during fruit development using transgenic apple lines overexpressing the ripening-related endo-POLYGALACTURONASE1 gene.

A MADS-box gene-induced early flowering pear ( L.) for accelerated pear breeding.

There have been a considerable number of studies that have successfully sped up the flowering cycle in woody perennial horticultural species. One particularly successful study in apple () accelerated flowering using a silver birch () MADS-box gene hich yielded a good balance of vegetative growth to support subsequent flower and fruit development. In this study, was constitutively expressed in European pear () to establish whether this could be used as a tool in a rapid pear breeding program.

An assessment of childhood cancer care services in India - gaps, challenges and the way forward.

Background: Childhood cancers are emerging as an essential concern in India where there is lack of a specific programme component or policy to address childhood cancer control. There is limited information on the status and quality of childhood cancer care services in India. This paper describes the childhood cancer care services available at secondary and tertiary-level hospitals in India through a cross sectional study design.

Modified neoadjuvant clinicopathological risk stratification as a prognostic score in early and locally advanced triple-negative breast cancer.

Background: Triple-negative subtype is an aggressive breast cancer with inferior survival. Pathological complete remission (pCR) is a good surrogate endpoint for survival among patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). We attempted to validate the clinical pathological score (CPS) with a modified risk grouping among Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients receiving NACT at our center.

Malignant melanoma of urethra in a young female - Case report and Literature review.

Malignant mucosal melanoma (MM) is a rare and aggressive neoplasm, which behaves differently from its cutaneous counterpart. MM of head and neck account for 55.4%, genital tracts - 18%, ano-rectal - 23.

Blending of microbial inocula: An effective strategy for performance enhancement of clayware Biophotovoltaics microbial fuel cells.

Performance of clayware Biophotovoltaics (BPVs) with three variants of inocula namely anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria (APB) rich Effective microbes (EM), Up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) sludge, SUPER-MIX the blend of EM and UASB inoculum were evaluated on the basis of electrical output and pollutant removal. SUPER-MIX inocula with microbial community comprising of 28.42% APB and 71.

147 Pancreatoduodenectomies: a Single Center's Perspective into the Epidemiology and Surgical Outcomes of Periampullary and Pancreatic Cancers in South India.

Background: Pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) is the only curative procedure for resectable periampullary cancers. This study aims to survey the various outcome variables of the procedure at our institute, which is in the early process of evolving into a high-volume center for PDs.

Methods: Data of patients, who underwent PDs, was collected retrospectively from January 2010 to December 2017 and prospectively from January 2018 to December 2019.

Biosynthesis of the Dihydrochalcone Sweetener Trilobatin Requires .

Epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes drive strong consumer interest in plant-based low-calorie sweeteners. Trilobatin is a sweetener found at high concentrations in the leaves of a range of crabapple () species, but not in domesticated apple ( × ) leaves, which contain trilobatin's bitter positional isomer phloridzin. Variation in trilobatin content was mapped to the locus on LG 7 in a segregating population developed from a cross between domesticated apples and crabapples.

Validity and Reliability of Tamil translated University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire for Head and Neck Cancers.

Background: Quality of life is an important outcome measure used both in research and patient care across all cultural healthcare settings.

Objective: This study is aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of interviewer-administered Tamil translated University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (Version 4) in a setting with low literacy.

Methods: The study was done in a tertiary care teaching institute in Puducherry, South India.

A manually annotated Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis (kiwifruit) genome highlights the challenges associated with draft genomes and gene prediction in plants.

Background: Most published genome sequences are drafts, and most are dominated by computational gene prediction. Draft genomes typically incorporate considerable sequence data that are not assigned to chromosomes, and predicted genes without quality confidence measures. The current Actinidia chinensis (kiwifruit) 'Hongyang' draft genome has 164 Mb of sequences unassigned to pseudo-chromosomes, and omissions have been identified in the gene models.

The hybrid non-ethylene and ethylene ripening response in kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis) is associated with differential regulation of MADS-box transcription factors.

Background: Ripening in tomato is predominantly controlled by ethylene, whilst in fruit such as grape, it is predominantly controlled by other hormones. The ripening response of many kiwifruit (Actinidia) species is atypical. The majority of ripening-associated fruit starch hydrolysis, colour change and softening occurs in the apparent absence of ethylene production (Phase 1 ripening) whilst Phase 2 ripening requires autocatalytic ethylene production and is associated with further softening and an increase in aroma volatiles.

Allele and genotype distributions of DNA repair gene polymorphisms in South Indian healthy population.

Various DNA repair pathways protect the structural and chemical integrity of the human genome from environmental and endogenous threats. Polymorphisms of genes encoding the proteins involved in DNA repair have been found to be associated with cancer risk and chemotherapeutic response. In this study, we aim to establish the normative frequencies of DNA repair genes in South Indian healthy population and compare with HapMap populations.

Frequency distribution of DNA repair genes ERCC1 and ERCC2 polymorphisms in South Indian healthy population.

DNA repair genes are crucial in maintaining the integrity of the whole genome. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DNA repair genes have been attributed to the development of various cancers. SNPs of DNA repair genes (ERCC1 and ERCC2) have been implicated in the causation of various cancers as well as inter-individual variability in the therapeutic outcomes of platinum based therapy.

Ethylene regulates Apple (Malus x domestica) fruit softening through a dose x time-dependent mechanism and through differential sensitivities and dependencies of cell wall-modifying genes.

In fleshy fruit species that have a strong requirement for ethylene to ripen, ethylene is synthesized autocatalytically, producing increasing concentrations as the fruits ripen. Apple fruit with the ACC OXIDASE 1 (ACO1) gene suppressed cannot produce ethylene autocatalytically at ripening. Using these apple lines, an ethylene sensitivity dependency model was previously proposed, with traits such as softening showing a high dependency for ethylene as well as low sensitivity.

Apple SEPALLATA1/2-like genes control fruit flesh development and ripening.

Flowering plants utilize different floral structures to develop flesh tissue in fruits. Here we show that suppression of the homeologous SEPALLATA1/2-like genes MADS8 and MADS9 in the fleshy fruit apple (Malus x domestica) leads to sepaloid petals and greatly reduced fruit flesh. Immunolabelling of cell-wall epitopes and differential staining showed that the developing hypanthium (from which the apple flesh develops) of MADS8/9-suppressed apple flowers lacks a tissue layer, and the remaining flesh tissue of fully developed apples has considerably smaller cells.

A genomics approach to understanding the role of auxin in apple (Malus x domestica) fruit size control.

Background: Auxin is an important phytohormone for fleshy fruit development, having been shown to be involved in the initial signal for fertilisation, fruit size through the control of cell division and cell expansion, and ripening related events. There is considerable knowledge of auxin-related genes, mostly from work in model species. With the apple genome now available, it is possible to carry out genomics studies on auxin-related genes to identify genes that may play roles in specific stages of apple fruit development.

Fruit development of the diploid kiwifruit, Actinidia chinensis 'Hort16A'.

Background: With the advent of high throughput genomic tools, it is now possible to undertake detailed molecular studies of individual species outside traditional model organisms. Combined with a good understanding of physiological processes, these tools allow researchers to explore natural diversity, giving a better understanding of biological mechanisms. Here a detailed study of fruit development from anthesis through to fruit senescence is presented for a non-model organism, kiwifruit, Actinidia chinensis ('Hort16A').

Dissecting the role of climacteric ethylene in kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis) ripening using a 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase knockdown line.

During climacteric fruit ripening, autocatalytic (Type II) ethylene production initiates a transcriptional cascade that controls the production of many important fruit quality traits including flavour production and softening. The last step in ethylene biosynthesis is the conversion of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) to ethylene by the enzyme ACC oxidase (ACO). Ten independent kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis) lines were generated targeting suppression of fruit ripening-related ACO genes and the fruit from one of these lines (TK2) did not produce detectable levels of climacteric ethylene.

Adverse drug reaction profile of cisplatin-based chemotherapy regimen in a tertiary care hospital in India: An evaluative study.

Aims: This prospective study was designed to monitor and analyze the pattern of occurrence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to cisplatin-based chemotherapy regimen in the cancer ward of a tertiary care hospital.

Materials And Methods: Cancer patients who received cisplatin-based cancer chemotherapy were monitored for adverse reactions. The collected reports were analyzed for demographic and drug details, causality, preventability and severity of adverse effects.

Surface modifications of nanocarriers for effective intracellular delivery of anti-HIV drugs.

A variety of nanocarriers such as bioconjugates, dendrimers, liposomes, and nanoparticles have been widely evaluated as potential targeted drug delivery systems. Passive targeting of nanoscale carriers is based on a size-flow-filtration phenomenon that is usually limited to tumors, the reticular endothelial system, and possibly lymph nodes (LNs). In fact, targeting the delivery of drugs to pivotal physiological sites such as the lymph nodes has emerged as a promising strategy in treating HIV disease.

Effects of temperature and emulsifier concentration on alpha-tocopherol distribution in a stirred, fluid, emulsion. Thermodynamics of alpha-tocopherol transfer between the oil and interfacial regions.

The combined linear sweep voltammetry (LSV)/pseudophase kinetic model method was used to obtain the first estimates of the free energies, enthalpy, and entropies of transfer of alpha-tocopherol (TOC) between the oil and interfacial regions of fluid, opaque, emulsions of n-octane, acidic water, and the nonionic surfactant hexaethyleneglycol mono dodecyl ether (C12E6) from the temperature dependence of TOC's partition constant. Determining structure-reactivity relationships for chemical reactions in emulsions is difficult because traditional methods for monitoring reactions are unsuitable and because the partitioning of reactive components between the oil, interfacial, and aqueous regions of opaque emulsions are difficult to measure. The dependence of the observed rate constant, k(obs), for the reaction of an arenediazonium probe, 16-ArN2+, with TOC was determined as a function of C12E6 volume fraction.

Co-ordination of early and late ripening events in apples is regulated through differential sensitivities to ethylene.

In this study, it is shown that anti-sense suppression of Malus domestica 1-AMINO-CYCLOPROPANE-CARBOXYLASE OXIDASE (MdACO1) resulted in fruit with an ethylene production sufficiently low to be able to assess ripening in the absence of ethylene. Exposure of these fruit to different concentrations of exogenous ethylene showed that flesh softening, volatile biosynthesis, and starch degradation, had differing ethylene sensitivity and dependency. Early ripening events such as the conversion of starch to sugars showed a low dependency for ethylene, but a high sensitivity to low concentrations of ethylene (0.