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In the present study F2 and F3 generations were evaluated for yield and yield contributing traits to understand genetic variability and to identify transgressive segregants in three pigeonpea crosses. High variance, high heritability and high genetic advance were recorded for secondary branches per plant, number of pods per plant and seed yield in F2 and F3 generations. There was decrease in variability from F2 to F3 generation for some traits. High heritability and high genetic advances indicates that traits are under the control of additive gene action and selection will be effective. Among the three crosses transgressive segregants were high in the cross TTB 7 × ICPL87119 indicating the superiority of this cross over the others.

Introduction: Intertrochanteric fractures in osteoporotic bones which are grossly comminuted are highly unstable and difficult to treat. Conservative treatment with traction and prolonged immobilization lands up with many complications and often fatality. Rate of failure with internal fixation, with dynamic hip screws has been found to be high, especially in osteoporotic bones. Revision osteosynthesis is technically demanding and it leads to complications. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of cemented hemiarthroplasty in the management of proximal femoral fractures in elderly patients with severe osteoporosis. Material and Methods: Twenty patients (11 males and 9 females- all were 65 years old or above) who underwent bipolar arthroplasty for unstable intertrochanteric fractures were prospectively evaluated. Moore’s approach was used in all patients. Greater Trochanter encirclage was done in 10 (50%) patients. Harris hip score was used for the clinical evaluation. The mean follow up period was 9 months. Results: In our study which was done on 20 cases which had a mean age 72.4 years, 14 cases were of type 2 fractures, 3 were of type 3, 2 were of type 1 fractures and 1 was of type 4. The average Harris hip score was 75. Excellent to fair results were obtained at follow-up in 18 (90%) cases and in 2 (10%) cases, the results were poor. Average hospital stay was 13.3 days. There was one case of a superficial operative site infection and one case of a deep infection. There was no case with loosening of the prosthesis, break in the cement or sinking of the prosthesis. Conclusion: The treatment of unstable intertrochanteric fractures in elderly patients with severe osteoporosis differs from the treatment of patients with other proximal femoral fractures. These fractures are better treated with cemented hemi-arthroplasty than with internal fixation. Besides an early ambulation and less hospital stay, cemented hemi-arthroplasty provides stable and mobile hips. Weight bearing can be started earlier than in other methods of treatment, which prevents any recumbency related complications.

Introduction: Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) are one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. In this study, the authors have attempted to study the correlation between conditions of roads and incidence of non - fatal RTA admitted in Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Research Institute, Pondicherry. Materials and Method: The prospective study was conducted by the Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology and the Emergency Medicine Department, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Research Institute, Pondicherry. It was conducted from November 2012 to May 2014 and a total of 186 cases were taken. Only RTA cases admitted in the hospital were included and cases other than RTA, RTA cases admitted elsewhere or brought - dead cases were excluded from the study. Data was obtained by interviewing the victims or relatives of the victims. Informed written consent was taken. Medicolegal records, case sheets and lab or radiological reports were used for collecting additional data. Results: Majority of accidents (46.2%) took place on straight roads followed by narrow roads (23.7%), curved roads (17.2%) and junctions (12.9%). According to the type of roads, most cases (43.5%) occurred on tarred highways, followed by rural dirt roads (31.2%), tarred rural roads (21.5%), tarred city roads (3.2%) and cemented roads (0.5%). Discussion: Incidences of RTA are increasing by leaps and bounds in India. India has to take concrete steps to bring down incidence of such cases. With this view, the government has formulated the National Road Safety Policy. It is left to us citizens to see that such policies are strictly adhered to so that the coming years see a decline in the incidences of such cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-crystal of phenazine and chloroanilic acid is known to display paraelectric properties at room temperature. It shows a paraelectric to ferroelectric phase transition at 253 K and has an incommensurately modulated ferroelectric phase below 137 K. High-resolution synchrotron X-ray data were collected at 160 K to model the experimental electron-density distributions, and derived topological properties from the electron density were used to quantify the weak interactions responsible for the origin of the ferroelectric phase. The structure and non-covalent interactions are analysed using Hirshfeld surfaces and energy frameworks. The topological properties, energies, atomic charges and molecular electrostatic potential surfaces are determined from the experimental data, further supported by theoretical calculations. The results from the ferroelectric phase are compared with the paraelectric phase. Although the structural descriptions indicate neutral phenazine and chloroanilic acid molecules in the ferroelectric phase, the topological properties of the electron density indicate a considerable amount of proton transfer in the O-H...O hydrogen bond. Indeed, the displaced H atom in the O-H...O hydrogen bond suggests a mixed covalent/polar nature of chemical bonding. Subtle changes in the chemical bonding and proton-transfer pathways could be detected from the high-resolution electron-density studies.

Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

The present study examines the preheated (95 °C) and unheated (35 °C) Vateria indica methyl ester (VIME) blends by studying the engine performance, combustion, and emission characteristics at various loads. A single-cylinder, TV1 Kirloskar direct injection diesel engine is used to carry out the tests. Biodiesel produced from Dhupa fat through the transesterification process is used as a renewable fuel in a diesel engine. In this work, diesel (B0), VIME (B100), and two binary blends (B30 and B50) are used. VIME has a higher viscosity, higher density, and lower calorific value than diesel, resulting in lesser brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and higher brake specific energy consumption (BSEC). Due to high viscosity of the biodiesel, preheating of fuel is done before injecting into cylinder. Preheating reduces the viscosity, and enhances the atomization and vaporization of fuel, resulting in improved engine performance. For a given blend of VIME biodiesel and diesel, the preheated blend has better BTE, decreased BSEC and lesser CO and HC emissions, with a slight increment in NO X emission compared to the unheated blend. The preheated B30 blend has a BTE value of 30.3% which is close to the BTE value of 30.1% of unheated diesel at 100% load condition. CO, HC, and soot emissions are decreased by 16.2%, 34.4%, and 16.5%, respectively, for preheated B100 fuel compared to unheated B100, at full load., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is defined in terms of serum creatinine (SrCrt) and urine output (UO). AKI occurs in 25% of critically ill patients, which increases the risk of morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis of AKI is challenging, as utility of biomarkers is limited. This study is the first of its kind to estimate urinary potassium (UrK) excretion and its association with AKI in an Indian intensive care unit (ICU)., Aims and Objectives: To study the association between UrK excretion and its ability to predict AKI in ICU patients., Material and Methods: During this prospective observational study, the patient's urinary indices and renal function tests were measured on day 1 of the ICU admission. UrK excretion and creatinine clearance (CrCl) were calculated from a 2-hour morning urine sample. Association between 2-hour UrK excretion and calculated CrCl and their ability to predict AKI in the subsequent 7 days was evaluated by Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcome (KDIGO)-AKI grading., Results: Hundred patients admitted to ICU with a mean age of 53.59 ± 15.8 years were studied. The mean UrK excretion of 4.39 ± 2.52 was correlated linearly with CrCl and has a better prediction to AKI with the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve value of 0.809 (CI 0.719-0.899), with a significant p -value ( p <0.05). UrK excretion value of 3.49 on day 1 of ICU admission had 87% sensitivity and 74% specificity in predicting AKI. Thirty-one (31%) developed AKI, of which seven (22.58%) required renal replacement therapy (RRT), with 19% of all-cause mortality., Conclusion: Diagnosis of AKI with traditional methods is not promising. UrK excretion correlates well with CrCl, which can be considered as the simplest accessible marker for predicting AKI in ICUs., How to Cite This Article: Kumar NS, Kumar GN, Misra KC, Rao M, Chitithoti S, Prakash SY . Association between Urinary Potassium Excretion and Acute Kidney Injury in Critically Ill Patients. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021;25(7):768-772., Competing Interests: Source of support: Nil Conflict of interest: None, (Copyright © 2021; Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd.)

The beneficial associations between Arachis hypogaea L. (peanut) and fluorescent Pseudomonas species have been poorly explored despite their predominance in the peanut rhizosphere. The present study explores the mutually beneficial interactions between peanut roots and P. aeruginosa P4 (P4) in terms of their impact on plant growth, defence physiology and the root-rhizobacterial interface. The efficient phosphate solubilizer P4 exhibited biocontrol abilities, including the production of siderophores, pyocyanin, indole-3-acetic acid and hydrogen cyanide. The bacterization of peanut seeds with multi-potential P4 significantly enhanced in vitro seed germination and seedling vigour. Under sand-based gnotobiotic (10 days post-inoculation) and sterile soil-based cultivation systems (30 days post-inoculation), sustained P4 colonization enhanced the peanut root length and dry plant biomass. The subsequent increase in catalase, polyphenol oxidase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase activities with increased phenolic contents in the peanut roots and shoots suggested the systemic priming of defences. Consequently, the altered root exudate composition caused enhanced chemo-attraction towards P4 itself and the symbiotic N 2 -fixing Bradyrhizobium strain. Co-inoculating peanuts with P4 and Bradyrhizobium confirmed the improved total bacterial colonization (∼2 fold) of the root tip, with the successful co-localization of both, as substantiated by scanning electron microscopy. Collectively, the peanut-P4 association could potentially model the beneficial Pseudomonas-driven multi-trophic rhizosphere benefits, emphasizing the plausible role of non-rhizobium PGPR in promoting N 2 fixation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

In the title compound, C 18 H 15 ClN 2 O·H 2 O, a benzohydrazide derivative, the dihedral angle between the mean plane of the di-hydro-naphthalene ring system and the phenyl ring is 17.1 (2)°. In the crystal, O-H⋯O, N-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the benzohydrazide and water mol-ecules, forming a layer parallel to the bc plane. Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots indicate that the most important contributions to the crystal packing are from H⋯H (45.7%) and H⋯C/C⋯H (20.2%) contacts., (© Arjun et al. 2020.)

The emergence of drug resistance in infectious microbial strains can be overcome by development of novel drug molecules against unexploited microbial target. The success of Bedaquiline in recent years, as F o F 1 ATP synthase inhibitor against XDR and MDR mycobacterium strains, has resulted in further exploration to identify more potent and safe drug molecules against resistant strains. F o F 1 ATP synthase is the main energy production enzyme in almost all eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Development of bacterial ATP synthase inhibitors is a safe approach, without causing harm to mammalian cells due to structural difference between bacterial and mammalian ATP synthase target sites. This review emphasizes on providing the structural insights for F o F 1 ATP synthase of different prokaryotes and will help in the design of new potent antimicrobial agents with better efficacy. Further, applications of synthetic and natural active antimicrobial ATP synthase inhibitors, reported by different research groups are summarized. Their SAR and mode of actions are also analysed., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Nucleoside bases like uracil, pharmacophoric triazoles and benzimidazolones have been used during the present study to design molecular matrices for antitubercular activity, employing Click Chemistry. Click triazoles 4/7/10 have been obtained by the reaction of 4-(Azidomethyl)-2H-chromen-2-ones/quinolin-2(1H)-ones 3 and propargyl ethers 2/6/9 derived from theophylline/6-methyl uracil/2-benzimidazolone respectively. In addition to spectral data structures have been confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies in case of uracil bis alkyne (6) and theophylline mono triazole (4c). Theophylline linked mono triazoles, 4(a-d) and 6-methyl uracil linked bis triazoles, 7(a-e) have been found to inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv with MIC values in the range 55.62-115.62 μM. Benzimidazolone bis triazoles, 10(a-n) showed better activity with MIC in the range 2.33-18.34 μM. Molecular modeling studies using Surflex-Dock algorithm supported our results., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Metal plates are the fixation devices used most frequently to proximal humeral fractures (PHFs). However, in recent years carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFR-PEEK) plates have become increasingly common. This study compares the clinical and radiographic outcomes of 42 Neer three- and four-part PHFs treated with CFR-PEEK or metal (titanium) plates., Materials and Methods: Forty-two PHF patients were managed with CFR-PEEK plates (n = 21, males/females 9/12; mean age 57.4 years; mean follow-up 30.7 months; CFR-PEEK group) or metal plates (n = 21; males/females 7/14; mean age 55.8 years; mean follow-up 52.7 months; Metal group). Active shoulder mobility (anterior elevation, lateral elevation, external rotation, and internal rotation), the Constant-Murley Score, the Simple Shoulder Test Score, and the pain score were recorded. Preoperative computed tomography scans and X-rays were obtained. Postoperative fracture healing and displacement, tuberosity resorption and/or malposition, hardware position, and cortical thinning (CT) under the plate were assessed radiographically., Results: Shoulder mobility, clinical, and pain scores were similar in both patient groups. CT was significantly greater in CFR-PEEK patients (mean difference, 1.14 mm; p = 0.0003). In both groups, incomplete or poor calcar reduction was associated to a significantly higher complication rate, especially stiffness and muscle weakness (p = 0.016). The rate of tuberosity resorption was significantly higher in the Metal group (p = 0.040). Two patients required revision to a hemiarthroplasty (CFR-PEEK) and reverse arthroplasty (Metal group)., Conclusions: CFR-PEEK plates provide a viable alternative to conventional titanium plates in PHFs, ensuring similar clinical outcomes and a lower rate of tuberosity resorption, but they involve higher stress shielding under the plate.

Objectives: Quinolone antibiotics have been widely used to treat diarrhoeal diseases caused by bacterial agents such as those belonging to the genera Vibrio and Shigella. As these pathogens are accumulating quinolone resistance, treating infections caused by them has become complicated., Methods: In this study, Vibrio and Shigella spp. isolates obtained from diarrhoeal patients from Kolkata, India, over a period of 12 years (1998-2009) were analysed for quinolone resistance. A total of 27 Vibrio spp. (9 Vibrio cholerae, 11 Vibrio fluvialis and 7 Vibrio parahaemolyticus) and 10 Shigella spp. isolates (7 Shigella flexneri, 2 Shigella dysenteriae and 1 Shigella sonnei) showing reduced susceptibility to quinolones were studied to unravel the genetic factors responsible for quinolone resistance., Results: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed a wide spectrum and varying degree of resistance to different generations of quinolones. Genotypic characterisation revealed the involvement of GyrA(S83I) and ParC(S85L) mutations in V. cholerae and V. fluvialis, whereas Shigella spp. isolates showed the mutations S83L and/or D87N/Y in GyrA and S80I or E84K in ParC. Analysis of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes showed that qnrVC5 was detected in three V. fluvialis isolates, aac(6')-Ib-cr in one V. fluvialis isolate and qnrS1 in a S. flexneri isolate., Conclusions: These results emphasise that quinolone resistance is widespread and therefore quinolones should be used prudently. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study where resistance to various generations of quinolones in Vibrio and Shigella spp. has been examined in terms of detailed genotype-phenotype correlation., (Copyright © 2017 International Society for Chemotherapy of Infection and Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)