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Kidney beans, considered a vital component of global food security, undergo a profound transformation during germination, providing new insights into their nutritional profile. This study meticulously examines the impact of germination durations (24, 48, and 72 hours) on whole and dehusked kidney beans. During germination, a notable surge in protein content occurs, reaching 19.05% for whole beans and 17.23% for dehusked beans. Following 72 hours of germination, whole kidney beans show remarkable increases in crude fiber (121.07%), calcium (158.75%), iron (135.31%), zinc (79.6%), and antioxidant properties (58.18%). Moreover, the present study demonstrates significant improvements in attributes such as α-amylase activity (20.10 mg maltose/3 min), foaming capacity (110.74%), foaming stability (92.04%), emulsion capacity (184.02%), and emulsion stability (274.67%) after 72 hours. The levels of phytic acid and tannin content decreased by approximately 36.24% and 31.48%, respectively, after 72 hours of germination in dehusked kidney beans. In comparison, the whole germinated kidney beans exhibited lower levels, with reductions of about 26.60% in phytic acid and 25.31% in tannin content during the same period. In the future, it will be worth exploring the development of machinery for dehusking kidney beans and to utilize whole and dehusked matrices in food and beverage formulations.

Abstract Kidney beans (KBs) are a nutrient‐dense and inexpensive legume crop that plays a crucial role in ensuring food security and is consumed globally. They are a treasure trove of nearly 20–30% protein, called vicilin or phaseolin, and these beans are also fair sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and bioactive compounds. These protein compounds have significant potential as plant‐based protein sources, owing to their functional properties and nutritional benefits. The current article provides an enthralling insight into the nutritional profile, constraints on its usage, production, and other basic details of KB. It highlighted the processing technology of the kidney bean protein isolates (KBPIs), and an in‐depth discussion was done on the KBPI's structural and functional traits to explore their potential, which is helpful in the formulation of novel foods and beverages. In the present scenario, KBPI in large‐scale industrial applications is skimpy; hence, the present article provides the applications of KB proteins in foods and edible films, which could be beneficial in the futuristic world. The current article opens up new avenues for investigating the utilization of KBs and their proteins in research and development (R&D) and manufacturing. This approach encourages further exploration of KB and their proteins in R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization. Such efforts have the potential to add significant value to KBs, promote healthy lifestyles among consumers, and boost the economy. Overall, the article presents a compelling case for expanding the utilization of KB in various applications, highlighting the possibilities for innovation and Legume Science development in this area.

The Omicron variant rapidly outpaced Delta with documented community transmission in most countries and has led to an upsurge in cases in most regions. Since its initial detection from a specimen collected on November 8th 2021, Omicron amounted to 74.0% of the genome sequenced in South Africa and more than 99.0% in rest of the world.

Abstract Pulse beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, is the major pest infesting in the stored legumes. The present study is aimed to evaluate the comparative efficacy of radio frequency (RF) and microwave (MW) heating treatments to eradicate the problem of infestation at all four life stages in blackgram (Vigna mungo). Infested blackgram kernels in a single egg, larvae, pupae, and adult stage were subjected to RF and MW irradiation at 180‐, 190‐, 200‐, and 210‐mm electrode heights for RF and at 365, 295, 250, and 230 W MW power. The lethal time for 99.99% mortality (LT99.99) was found to be 3.62 to 8.23 min for the egg stage, 4.70 to 7.27 min for larvae, and 7.10 to 8.96 min for pupae, and 5.40 to 7.73 min for adults. For MW heating treatment, the time for complete mortality of the single egg stage, larvae, pupae, and adult was found to be in the range of 5.33 to 7.83, 8.28 to 9.82, 8.87 to 10.68, and 8.86 to 10.18 min, respectively. The pupa stage was found to be the most heat tolerant in comparison with other life stages. The MW‐treated blackgram samples depicted a significant decrease in the lysine, aspartic acid, and proline content as compared with RF‐treated samples. This suggests a negative effect of the MW on the amino acids which in turn led to its deterioration. Therefore, the RF heating holds potency to disinfest legumes without affecting the major properties of legumes which was the major drawback of using the MW heating.

Mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) is a dynamically reconfigurable wireless network without any centralized administration or infrastructure. Here each node acts as a router for each other nodes. Data transmission over a wireless ad hoc network links in adverse weather condition affects the network performance. Therefore, deployment of MANET during rainstorm or unfavorable environment conditions should pay special attention to the probability of data loss and delay. Previous works carried to analyze the performance of routing protocol for MANET did not include the study of impact of weather condition. For real time implementation of MANETs, this type of study is more helpful. In this paper, the impact of weather condition on the performance of routing protocols AODV, DSR and ZRP is analyzed using QualNet 5.0 simulator. The results of simulation shows that, with the increase in intensity of precipitation, performance of the protocol is degraded in the metrics like packet delivery ratio, throughput, jitter and end-to-end delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs) in patients with Primary Immunodeficiency (PID) is a threat to the polio-eradication program. In a first of its kind pilot study for successful screening and identification of VDPV excretion among patients with PID in India, enteroviruses were assessed in stool specimens of 154 PID patients across India in a period of two years. A total of 21.42% of patients were tested positive for enteroviruses, 2.59% tested positive for polioviruses (PV), whereas 18.83% of patients were positive for non-polio enteroviruses (NPEV). A male child of 3 years and 6 months of age diagnosed with Hyper IgM syndrome was detected positive for type1 VDPV (iVDPV1) with 1.6% nucleotide divergence from the parent Sabin strain. E21 (19.4%), E14 (9%), E11 (9%), E16 (7.5%), and CVA2 (7.5%) were the five most frequently observed NPEV types in PID patients. Patients with combined immunodeficiency were at a higher risk for enterovirus infection as compared to antibody deficiency. The high susceptibility of PID patients to enterovirus infection emphasizes the need for enhanced surveillance of these patients until the use of OPV is stopped. The expansion of PID surveillance and integration with a national program will facilitate early detection and follow-up of iVDPV excretion to mitigate the risk for iVDPV spread.

The recent emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has reassessed the usefulness of historic convalescent plasma transfusion (CPT). This review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of CPT therapy in COVID-19 patients based on the publications reported till date. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review on convalescent plasma on clinically relevant outcomes in individuals with COVID-19. PubMed, EMBASE, and Medline databases were searched upto 19 April 2020. All records were screened as per the protocol eligibility criteria. We included five studies reporting CPT to COVID-19 patients. The main findings from available data are as follows: (a) Convalescent plasma may reduce mortality in critically ill patients, (b) Increase in neutralizing antibody titers and disappearance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was observed in almost all the patients after CPT therapy, and (c) Beneficial effect on clinical symptoms after administration of convalescent plasma. Based on the limited scientific data, CPT therapy in COVID-19 patients appears safe, clinically effective, and reduces mortality. Well-designed large multicenter clinical trial studies should be conducted urgently to establish the efficacy of CPT to COVID-19 patients., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Introduction Parenting style plays a major role in child development by influencing cognitive, social-emotional development, academic performance, and behavioral problems. These characteristics are fairly stable right into adulthood. The influence of risk factors in children on the parenting style of mothers and fathers has not been studied in developing countries. Aims and methods The aim of this study is to determine the parenting style of mothers and fathers of children (3-12 years) born with and without high risk and to analyze the influence of this on parenting style. This is an analytical, cross-sectional, comparative study. Sixty-four out of 90 parents of children who have been newborn intensive care unit (NICU) graduates, with moderate to severe risk factors at birth as per the National Neonatology Forum guidelines of India, and 73 parents of children without risk factors at birth were enrolled. A parenting style and dimension questionnaire was used. The commonest parenting style in mothers and fathers and a correlation between parenting style and risk factors in children at birth were identified. Results Baseline characteristics were comparable between the high-risk and non-high-risk groups. Eighty percent of mothers and 70% of fathers followed the authoritative parenting style. There was no significant correlation between risk factors and gender, family type or socioeconomic status and the parenting style. Lack of follow-through was the only factor that was significantly present in fathers of children born without risk factors. Conclusion Authoritative was the most common parenting style, with no significant difference between parenting in the high-risk and non-high-risk groups. Adopting the appropriate parenting style will optimize developmental outcomes. Further studies are required to look at the influence of proactive positive parenting practices., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2020, Rangarajan et al.)

Importance: Neonates born to overweight or obese women are larger and at higher risk of birth complications. Many maternal obesity-related traits are observationally associated with birth weight, but the causal nature of these associations is uncertain., Objective: To test for genetic evidence of causal associations of maternal body mass index (BMI) and related traits with birth weight., Design, Setting, and Participants: Mendelian randomization to test whether maternal BMI and obesity-related traits are potentially causally related to offspring birth weight. Data from 30,487 women in 18 studies were analyzed. Participants were of European ancestry from population- or community-based studies in Europe, North America, or Australia and were part of the Early Growth Genetics Consortium. Live, term, singleton offspring born between 1929 and 2013 were included., Exposures: Genetic scores for BMI, fasting glucose level, type 2 diabetes, systolic blood pressure (SBP), triglyceride level, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level, vitamin D status, and adiponectin level., Main Outcome and Measure: Offspring birth weight from 18 studies., Results: Among the 30,487 newborns the mean birth weight in the various cohorts ranged from 3325 g to 3679 g. The maternal genetic score for BMI was associated with a 2-g (95% CI, 0 to 3 g) higher offspring birth weight per maternal BMI-raising allele (P = .008). The maternal genetic scores for fasting glucose and SBP were also associated with birth weight with effect sizes of 8 g (95% CI, 6 to 10 g) per glucose-raising allele (P = 7 × 10(-14)) and -4 g (95% CI, -6 to -2 g) per SBP-raising allele (P = 1×10(-5)), respectively. A 1-SD ( ≈ 4 points) genetically higher maternal BMI was associated with a 55-g higher offspring birth weight (95% CI, 17 to 93 g). A 1-SD ( ≈ 7.2 mg/dL) genetically higher maternal fasting glucose concentration was associated with 114-g higher offspring birth weight (95% CI, 80 to 147 g). However, a 1-SD ( ≈ 10 mm Hg) genetically higher maternal SBP was associated with a 208-g lower offspring birth weight (95% CI, -394 to -21 g). For BMI and fasting glucose, genetic associations were consistent with the observational associations, but for systolic blood pressure, the genetic and observational associations were in opposite directions., Conclusions and Relevance: In this mendelian randomization study, genetically elevated maternal BMI and blood glucose levels were potentially causally associated with higher offspring birth weight, whereas genetically elevated maternal SBP was potentially causally related to lower birth weight. If replicated, these findings may have implications for counseling and managing pregnancies to avoid adverse weight-related birth outcomes.

In a heuristic endeavor based on electrostatics-dynamics considerations, an attempt has been made to explain the significant enhancement (∼20%) observed in initial capacity for the as-synthesized, sharp-edged cathode particles of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, and lithium nickel manganese oxide cathode systems which are considered here as illustrative examples. Also, the impressive capacity retention (∼90%) observed for the milled blend of these, comprising smooth surfaced particles with cells made using respective cathode particles, has been explained. Enhancement in initial capacity observed for the edged particles can be squarely attributed to a corona-gain process. On the contrary, impressive capacity retention possible for the milled blend (of near-spherical particles) can be rationalized in terms of the absence of predominant energy drain encountered while shuttling charges across edges of the as-synthesized cathode particles, a process described as corona yank.

Context: Macrosomic infants are at increased risk for adverse metabolic outcomes. Improving prediction of large-for-gestational-age (LGA) birth may help prevent these outcomes., Objective: This study sought to determine whether genes associated with obesity-related traits in adults are associated with newborn size, and whether a genetic risk score (GRS) predicts LGA birth., Setting and Design: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 40 regions associated with adult obesity-related traits were tested for association with newborn size. GRS's for birth weight and sum of skinfolds (SSF) specific to ancestry were calculated using the most highly associated SNP for each ancestry in genomic regions with one or more SNPs associated with birth weight and/or SSF in at least one ancestry group or meta-analyses., Participants: Newborns from the Hyperglycemia Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Study were studied (942 Afro-Caribbean, 1294 Northern European, 573 Mexican-American, and 1182 Thai)., Outcome Measures: Birth weight >90th percentile (LGA) and newborn SSF >90th percentile were primary outcomes., Results: After adjustment for ancestry, sex, gestational age at delivery, parity, maternal genotype, maternal smoking/alcohol intake, age, body mass index, height, blood pressure and glucose, 25 and 23 SNPs were associated (P < .001) with birth weight and newborn SSF, respectively. The GRS was highly associated with both phenotypes as continuous variables across all ancestries (P ≤ 1.6 × 10(-19)) and improved prediction of birth weight and SSF >90th percentile when added to a baseline model incorporating the covariates listed above., Conclusions: A GRS comprised of SNPs associated with adult obesity-related traits may provide an approach for predicting LGA birth and newborn adiposity beyond established risk factors.

The siglec family of sialic acid-binding proteins are endocytic immune cell receptors that are recognized as potential targets for cell directed therapies. CD33 and CD22 are prototypical members and are validated candidates for targeting acute myeloid leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas due to their restricted expression on myeloid cells and B-cells, respectively. While nanoparticles decorated with high affinity siglec ligands represent an attractive platform for delivery of therapeutic agents to these cells, a lack of ligands with suitable affinity and/or selectivity has hampered progress. Herein we describe selective ligands for both of these siglecs, which when displayed on liposomal nanoparticles, can efficiently target the cells expressing them in peripheral human blood. Key to their identification was the development of a facile method for chemo-enzymatic synthesis of disubstituted sialic acid analogues, combined with iterative rounds of synthesis and rapid functional analysis using glycan microarrays.

Endogenous neural stem cells have the potential to facilitate therapy for various neurodegenerative brain disorders. To increase our understanding of neural stem and progenitor cell biology in healthy and diseased brain, methods to label and visualize stem cells and their progeny in vivo are indispensable. Iron oxide particle based cell-labeling approaches enable cell tracking by MRI with high resolution and good soft tissue contrast in the brain. However, in addition to important concerns about unspecific labeling and low labeling efficiency, the dilution effect upon cell division is a major drawback for longitudinal follow-up of highly proliferating neural progenitor cells with MRI. Stable viral vector-mediated marking of endogenous stem cells and their progeny with a reporter gene for MRI could overcome these limitations. We stably and efficiently labeled endogenous neural stem/progenitor cells in the subventricular zone in situ by injecting a lentiviral vector expressing ferritin, a reporter for MRI. We developed an image analysis pipeline to quantify MRI signal changes at the level of the olfactory bulb as a result of migration of ferritin-labeled neuroblasts along the rostral migratory stream. We were able to detect ferritin-labeled endogenous neural stem cell progeny into the olfactory bulb of individual animals with ex vivo MRI at 30 weeks post injection, but could not demonstrate reliable in vivo detection and longitudinal tracking of neuroblast migration to the OB in individual animals. Therefore, although LV-mediated labeling of endogenous neural stem and progenitor cells resulted in efficient and stable ferritin-labeling of stem cell progeny in the OB, even with quantitative image analysis, sensitivity remains a limitation for in vivo applications., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Human influenza viruses are proposed to recognize sialic acids (pink diamonds) on glycans extended with poly-LacNAc chains (LacNAc=(yellow circle+blue square)). N- and O-linked glycans were extended with different poly-LacNAc chains with α2-3- and α2-6-linked sialic acids recognized by human and avian influenza viruses, respectively. The specificity of recombinant hemagglutinins (receptors in green) was investigated by using glycan microarray technology., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Protocadherins (Pcdhs), a major subfamily of cadherins, play an important role in specific intercellular interactions in development. These molecules are characterized by their unique extracellular domain (EC) with more than 5 cadherin-like repeats, a transmembrane domain (TM) and a variable cytoplasmic domain. PCNS (Protocadherin in Neural crest and Somites), a novel Pcdh in Xenopus, is initially expressed in the mesoderm during gastrulation, followed by expression in the cranial neural crest (CNC) and somites. PCNS has 65% amino acid identity to Xenopus paraxial protocadherin (PAPC) and 42-49% amino acid identity to Pcdh 8 in human, mouse, and zebrafish genomes. Overexpression of PCNS resulted in gastrulation failure but conferred little if any specific adhesion on ectodermal cells. Loss of function accomplished independently with two non-overlapping antisense morpholino oligonucleotides resulted in failure of CNC migration, leading to severe defects in the craniofacial skeleton. Somites and axial muscles also failed to undergo normal morphogenesis in these embryos. Thus, PCNS has essential functions in these two important developmental processes in Xenopus.

The transcription factor AP2 (TFAP2) has an important role in regulating gene expression in both epidermis and neural crest cells. In order to further characterize these functions we have used a hormone inducible TFAP2alpha fusion protein in a Xenopus animal cap assay to identify downstream targets of this factor. The most common pattern comprised genes predominantly expressed in the epidermis. A second group was expressed at high levels in the neural crest, but all of these were also expressed in the epidermis as well as in other tissues in which TFAP2alpha has not been detected, suggesting modular control involving both TFAP2-dependent and TFAP2-independent components. In addition, a few strongly induced genes did not overlap at all in expression pattern with that of TFAP2alpha in the early embryo, and were also activated precociously in the experimentally manipulated ectoderm, and thus likely represent inappropriate regulatory interactions. A final group was identified that were repressed by TFAP2alpha and were expressed in the neural plate. These results provide further support for the importance of TFAP2alpha in ectoderm development, and also highlight the molecular linkage between the epidermis and neural crest in the Xenopus embryo.

This study provides the first report in which spliceosomal intron losses within a single-copy gene create functional polymorphic alleles in a population. 4f-rnp has previously been shown to be a nuclear gene that is localized on the X chromosome in D. melanogaster and to have eight short spliceosomal introns. An insect species survey was done via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing of a 1028-bp gene fragment spanning introns 4-8, which are located in the 3' half of the gene. The results show that 4f-rnp and (thus far) introns 7 and 8 are at least as old as order Odonata (dragonflies), an early-diverging insect line. Unexpectedly, several species within the dipteran family Drosophilidae were found to contain two differently sized 4f-rnp gene sequence variants, owing to precise in-frame intron losses. Results of single-male D. melanogaster PCR analyses show that the two gene size variants are allelic and that the intron loss mechanism appears to be biased toward the 3' end of the gene. A stable potential stem-loop has been identified in D. melanogaster, predicted to fold the 4f-rnp mRNA 3' terminus into a natural primer for subsequent reverse transcription into cDNA. When results are displayed in a phylogenetic context, multiple independent intron loss events are identified. These observations support a model in which frequently occurring cDNAs have led to numerous independent intron losses via homologous recombination/gene conversion during 4f-rnp gene evolution. The results provide insights into the evolution of intron loss and may lead to improved understanding of the dynamics of this process in natural populations.