Assessment of the effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (-OH functionalized) on growth characteristics and biochemical profile of Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. & Coss.

This study investigated the effect of various levels of OH-MWCNTs mediated seed priming on germination, growth, and biochemical responses of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. & Coss.

Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes (TILLING): advances and opportunities for fast tracking crop breeding.

The intensification of food production conventional crop breeding alone is inadequate to cater for global hunger. The development of precise and expeditious high throughput reverse genetics approaches has hugely benefited modern plant breeding programs. Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes (TILLING) is one such reverse genetics approach which employs chemical/physical mutagenesis to create new genetic sources and identifies superior/novel alleles.

A Review on Anticancer Profile of Flavonoids: Sources, Chemistry, Mechanisms, Structure-activity Relationship and Anticancer Activity.

Epidemiological studies have suggested that a regular intake of flavonoids is beneficial for cellular homeostasis and in the prevention of the transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells. Because of their multiple biological targets, flavonoids have been studied and investigated as phytoconstituents with potential anticancer properties. Flavonoids interfere in the development of cancerous cells by inhibition of topoisomerases, protein kinases, angiogenesis, induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, modulation of multidrug resistance, and improvement in anti-oxidative activities.

Population Dynamics of Wide Compatibility System and Evaluation of Intersubspecific Hybrids by - Hybridization in Rice.

The exploitation of heterosis through intersubspecific hybridisation between and has been a major breeding target in rice, but is marred by the cross incompatibility between the genomes. Wide compatibility (WC) is a triallelic system at the locus on chromosome 6 that ensures the specificity of hybridisation within and between and The allele that favours intercrossing is sparsely distributed in the rice gene pool and therefore warrants identification of diverse WC sources to develop superior intersubspecific hybrids. In this study, we have identified several novel WC sources through the marker-assisted screening of a large set of 950 rice genotypes.

Population Structure of a Worldwide Collection of Tropical Rice Indicates Limited Geographic Differentiation and Shows Promising Genetic Variability Associated with New Plant Type.

Abating the approaching yield plateau in rice requires taking advantage of potential technologies that requires knowledge on genetic diversity. Hybrid breeding, particularly in rice, requires the recruitment of large genetic variability from outside because the available genetic diversity of the cultivated pool has already been utilized to a great extent. In this study, we examined an assembly of 200 tropical lines collected worldwide for population genetic structure and variability in yield-associated traits.

Neuroprotective Role of Nutritional Supplementation in Athletes.

Background: Neurodegenerative disorders belong to different classes of progressive/ chronic conditions that affect the peripheral/central nervous system. It has been shown through studies that athletes who play sports involving repeated head trauma and sub-concussive impacts are more likely to experience neurological impairments and neurodegenerative disorders in the long run Aims: The aim of the current narrative review article is to provide a summary of various nutraceuticals that offer promise in the prevention or management of sports-related injuries, especially concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries.

Methods: This article reviews the various potential nutraceutical agents and their possible mechanisms in providing a beneficial effect in the injury recovery process.

Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors as potential anticancer agents: An update of recent progress.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a vital intermediate in cell signaling pathway including cell proliferation, angiogenesis, apoptosis, and metastatic spread and also having four divergent members with similar structural features, such as EGFR (HER1/ErbB1), ErbB2 (HER2/neu), ErbB3 (HER3), and ErbB4 (HER4). Despite this, clinically exploited inhibitors of EGFR (including erlotinib, lapatinib, gefitinib, selumetinib, etc.) are not specific thus provoking unenviable adverse effects.

Prospects of Treating Prostate Cancer through Apalutamide: A Mini-Review.

Background: Prostate cancer is considered the second most diagnosed cancer, and one of the most common causes of death from cancer in men. Apalutamide is an effective, safe, and well-tolerated agent used for the treatment of men with non-metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (nmCRPC) and metastatic Hormone-Naive Prostate Cancer (mHNPC). Androgen receptor signaling is a leading factor that drives these prostate tumors.

Advancements in the Use of Platinum Complexes as Anticancer Agents.

Background: The platinum (II) complexes as anticancer agents have been well explored for the development of novel analogs. Yet, none of them achieved clinical importance in oncology. At present, anticancer compounds containing platinum (II) complexes have been employed in the treatment of colorectal, lung, and genitourinary tumors.

Recent developments in mitogen activated protein kinase inhibitors as potential anticancer agents.

The mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) belongs to group of kinase that links the extracellular stimuli to intracellular response. The MAPK signalling pathway (RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK) involved in different pathological conditions like cancer, caused due to genetic or any other factor such as physical or environmental. Many studies have been conducted on the pathological view of MAPK cascade and its associated element like RAS, RAF, MEK, ERK or its isoforms, and still the research is going on particularly with respect to its activation, regulation and inhibition.

Plant epigenomics for extenuation of abiotic stresses: challenges and future perspectives.

Climate change has escalated abiotic stresses, leading to adverse effects on plant growth and development, eventually having deleterious consequences on crop productivity. Environmental stresses induce epigenetic changes, namely cytosine DNA methylation and histone post-translational modifications, thus altering chromatin structure and gene expression. Stable epigenetic changes are inheritable across generations and this enables plants to adapt to environmental changes (epipriming).

A Preliminary Experience of Integration of an Electronic Witness System, its Validation, Efficacy on Lab Performance, and Staff Satisfaction Assessment in a Busy Indian Fertilization Laboratory.

Background: Electronic witness system (EWS) is one of the recent advancements in the field of fertilization (IVF) that uses radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology to monitor all critical work carried out in each stage of IVF procedures cycle.

Objective: The main objective of the study was validation and integration of electronic witnessing system, assessment of its efficacy on lab performance, and staff satisfaction in a busy tertiary IVF center.

Materials And Methods: The study data included analysis of 187 consecutive cycles for installation and validation of EWS.

WA-CMS-based iso-cytoplasmic restorers derived from commercial rice hybrids reveal distinct population structure and genetic divergence towards restorer diversification.

One hundred diverse iso-cytoplasmic restorer (ICR) lines carrying WA cytoplasm indicated significant but moderate variability for agro-morphological traits as well as for the microsatellite-based allele patterns. There were two major groups of ICRs based on agro-morphological clustering. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers identified allelic variants with an average of 2.

Marker-assisted identification of restorer gene(s) in iso-cytoplasmic restorer lines of WA cytoplasm in rice and assessment of their fertility restoration potential across environments.

Iso-cytoplasmic restorers possess the same male sterile cytoplasm as the cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines, thereby minimizing the potential cyto-nuclear conflict in the hybrids. Restoration of fertility of the wild abortive CMS is governed by two major genes namely, and . Therefore, assessing the allelic status of these restorer genes in the iso-cytoplasmic restorers using molecular markers will not only help in estimating the efficiency of these genes either alone or in combination, in fertility restoration in the hybrids in different environments, but will also be useful in determining the efficacy of these markers.

Sperm Chromatin Immaturity Observed in Short Abstinence Ejaculates Affects DNA Integrity and Longevity In Vitro.

Background: The influence of ejaculatory abstinence (EA) on semen parameters and subsequent reproductive outcome is still debatable; hence understanding the impact of EA on sperm structural and functional integrity may provide a valuable information on predicting successful clinical outcome.

Objective: To understand the influence of EA on sperm chromatin maturity, integrity, longevity and global methylation status.

Methods: This experimental prospective study included 76 ejaculates from 19 healthy volunteers who provided ejaculates after observing 1, 3, 5 and 7 days of abstinence.

In vitro matured oocytes are more susceptible than in vivo matured oocytes to mock ICSI induced functional and genetic changes.

Background: Concerns regarding the safety of ICSI have been intensified recently due to increased risk of birth defects in ICSI born children. Although fertilization rate is significantly higher in ICSI cycles, studies have failed to demonstrate the benefits of ICSI in improving the pregnancy rate. Poor technical skill, and suboptimal in vitro conditions may account for the ICSI results however, there is no report on the effects of oocyte manipulations on the ICSI outcome.

Methyl parathion inhibits the nuclear maturation, decreases the cytoplasmic quality in oocytes and alters the developmental potential of embryos of Swiss albino mice.

Methyl parathion (MP) is one of the most commonly used and extremely toxic organophosphorous group of pesticide. A large number of studies in the literature suggest that it has adverse effects on the male reproductive system. However, there is limited information about its toxicity to the female reproductive system.

Brahmarasayana protects against Ethyl methanesulfonate or Methyl methanesulfonate induced chromosomal aberrations in mouse bone marrow cells.

Background: Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine has given great emphasis to the promotion of health. Rasayana is one of the eight branches of Ayurveda which refers to rejuvenant therapy. It has been reported that rasayanas have immuno-modulatory, antioxidant and antitumor functions, however, the genotoxic potential and modulation of DNA repair of many rasayanas have not been evaluated.