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Background: Red-cell distribution width (RDW) is one of the routinely done investigations in complete blood count. Various studies have found that increased RDW has been associated with adverse outcomes in cardiac diseases. Framingham risk score (FRS) is also one of the widely used risk score for assessment in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. This study was conducted with an objective to find association between RDW and FRS in patients with coronary artery disease. This cross-sectional study was conducted among patients visiting tertiary care hospital in Vadodara, Gujarat. Material and methods: A total of 204 patients (104 CAD cases and 100 controls) were enrolled in the study. Clinical and demographic characteristics were obtained from all patients. FRS was calculated on patients in both the groups. Investigations like CBC testing, renal function and lipid profile were also conducted for patients in both the groups. Descriptive statistics for baseline characteristics, clinical and haematological parameters have been mentioned in the form of mean and standard deviation. Association between clinical, haematological parameters and FRS with RDW among CAD patients is calculated by correlation coefficient (r). Results: Baseline characteristics of the patients like gender, BMI and diabetes were similar in both the CAD and the control group. RDW was significantly correlated with the FRS (p

Background: India witnessed a severe second wave of COVID-19 during March and June 2021. We did the fourth nationwide serosurvey to estimate prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the general population aged >=6 years and health care workers (HCWs). Methods: We did a cross-sectional study between 14 June and 6 July 2021 in 700 clusters in the same 70 districts across 21 states/Union Territory. From each district, a minimum of 400 individuals aged >=6 years from general population and 100 HCWs from the district public health facilities were included. The serum samples were tested for the presence of IgG antibodies against S1-RBD and nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 using chemiluminescence immunoassay. We estimated the weighted and test adjusted seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against S1-RBD and/or nucleocapsid protein along with 95% CI. Findings: Of the 28,975 sera tested, the weighted and test adjusted prevalence of IgG antibodies against S1-RBD and/or nucleocapsid protein among the general population aged >=6 years was 67.6% (95% CI: 66.4 – 68.7). The seroprevalence increased with age and was not different in rural and urban areas. Compared to unvaccinated adults (62.3%, 95% CI: 60.9 – 63.7), seroprevalence was significantly higher among individuals who received one (81.0%, 95% CI: 79.6 - 82.3) and two doses (89.8%, 95% CI: 88.4 - 91.1). The seroprevalence of IgG antibodies among 7,252 health care workers was 85.2% (95% CI: 83.5 - 86.7). Interpretation: Nearly one third of the population is still seronegative. It is necessary to accelerate the coverage of COVID-19 vaccination among adults and continue adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions. Funding: Indian Council of Medical Research. Declaration of Interest: None to declare. Ethical Approval: The Institutional Human Ethics Committee of the ICMR National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai approved the study protocol.

A study was conducted to standardize the method and time of grafting on pecan (Carya illinoensis Wangenh). Three grafting method, viz. Tongue grafting, Cleft grafting and Side grafting with four different timings, viz. 4th week of February, 1st week of March, 2nd week of March and 3rd week of March were used. The results indicated that among all the grafting methods, tongue grafting performed during 1st week of March showed highest grafting success (69.16 %) and maximum survival percentage (47.33 %), maximum number of leaves (24.55), plant height (118.38 cm), diameter of rootstock (2.40 cm), diameter of scion (2.19 cm), plant biomass (131.37 g) and leaf area (193.66 cm2). Hence, the grafting performed during the 1st week of March showed better performance as compared to other dates of grafting.

BACKGROUND: Moderate alcohol consumption is thought to confer cardiometabolic protective effects. Inflammatory pathways are hypothesized to partly underlie this association. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the association between typologies of alcohol consumption and markers of inflammation, and their rate of change over time. METHODS: Data were collected from 8209 participants [69% men; mean age, 50 years (SD 6.1)] of the British Whitehall II study. Alcohol consumption typologies were defined using up to three measures during an approximately 10-year period spanning from 1985 to 1994 as (i) stable nondrinkers, (ii) stable moderate drinkers (referent), (iii) stable heavy drinkers, (iv) nonstable drinkers and (v) former drinkers. C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1 RA) were measured up to three times in the following 12 years. RESULTS: Stable moderate drinkers had lower levels of CRP than stable nondrinkers, stable heavy drinkers, former drinkers and nonstable drinkers, but there were no differences in the rate of change in CRP over time between groups. Stable nondrinkers had higher levels of IL-6 as did stable heavy drinkers; rates of change in IL-6 over time were also increased in the latter group. Stable nondrinkers also had higher levels of IL-1 RA. These associations were robust to adjustment for confounding factors. CONCLUSION: Our novel investigation of 10-year drinking typologies shows that stable moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a long-term inflammatory marker profile that is consistent with conferring a reduced risk of developing coronary heart disease.