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Background: Although determined partly by genetics, physical fitness can be affected by a series of factors, such as sedentary behaviors, physical activity, and obesity. In general, medical students have considerable information about healthy lifestyle and dietary habits compared to other professional courses. Unfortunately, knowledge does not always translate into practice in terms of maintaining good health. Aims and Objectives: The study aims to assess the physical fitness and evaluate its association with body mass index (BMI) in medical students. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional was conducted in the Department of Physiology among the 1st-year students of Government Medical College, Srinagar, from December 2022 to February 2023. A total of 116 students in the age group of 18–22 years participated in the study. Descriptive data for age (years), gender height (m), and weight (Kg) were obtained and BMI was calculated. Physical fitness index (PFI) was measured using the modified Harvard step test. Results: The prevalence of overweight/obesity according to BMI was 41.3% (34.4% were overweight and 6.0% were obese). Among the participants, 81.7% of participants had a PFI of average to excellent while as 18.3% of participants had a PFI of low to poor. The study found a weak negative association (r-value=−0.07) between BMI and physical fitness, which was statistically not significant. Conclusion: The present study found a weak association between physical fitness and BMI which was statistically not significant. Although majority of students had good to excellent PFI, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be quite high in them.

Anaphylaxis is a rapid-onset, life-threatening allergic reaction that needs immediate medical intervention. Typically, immunoglobulin E (IgE) mediated, these reactions necessitate skin testing for assessing drug hypersensitivity. A 31-year-old woman with cervical carcinoma, scheduled for a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy under general anesthesia (GA), experienced preoperative urticaria and palpitations, during a blood transfusion. Administering intravenous (IV) pheniramine, ranitidine, and dexamethasone resolved symptoms, allowing surgery under GA. However, post atracurium injection, she developed generalized urticaria and mild hypotension. IV pheniramine and hydrocortisone stabilized her, prompting surgery deferral for an allergology workup. The skin testing was performed, and all drugs tested negative. To prevent non-IgE-mediated reactions, a preoperative regimen of pheniramine 25 mg, prednisolone 50 mg, and famotidine 20 mg was recommended. Subsequently, surgery was performed under GA, using propofol and rocuronium, with the whole perioperative period remaining uneventful. This case underscores the imperative role of skin testing in elucidating perioperative drug usage amid suspected or encountered drug allergies.

The composition of seed storage proteins determines the suitability of bread wheat cultivar for different end-use products. high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits are the major determinants of the processing quality of bread wheat flour. The spontaneous translocation of the 1RS arm of Secale cereale L. in bread wheat is associated with higher grain yield and abiotic stress tolerance, but it leads to deterioration in the end-use quality due to the presence of rye storage secalin protein encoded by Sec-1 locus. The 1RSWR.1BL recombinant line W1635 without Sec-1, over-expressed Glu1-Bx7 (Bx7OE) and two stripe rust resistance genes Yr5 and Yr17 were used as the donor for marker-assisted breeding in the bread wheat cultivars UP2338 and HS240 with 1RS.1BL translocation. A strong positive correlation was found between the micro-SDS sedimentation test (MST) values and Bx7OE in the derivatives along with Glu-D1 (5 + 10) indicating the efficacy of Bx7OE in improving the end-use quality. In addition to this, the introgression of Yr5 and Yr17 genes led to stripe rust resistance in the derivatives for their stable and environment friendly production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Prediabetes is a state that people have blood glucose levels higher than normal but still not in diabetes range. There is a close relationship between impaired lung function and diabetes mellitus (DM). Reduced lung function can be present before the clinical evidence of diabetes or insulin resistance. Materials and Methods: The total number of subjects in this longitudinal study was 503 and compared with apparently healthy Kashmiri adults. All the subjects, at the time of their first visit, underwent Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) estimation, 2- hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and spirometry (FVC, FEV1 & FEV1/FVC). Those subjects who had normal glucose tolerance (NGT) were retested for glycemic status and spirometric values after a follow-up period of 2-18 (mean=10) months. Results: Out of total 503 subjects on follow up 483 (96%) had NGT and 20 (4%) had prediabetes. Percent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC) and % predicted forced expiratory volume in 1st second (FEV1) were significantly lower (P-value< 0.001) while as % predicted FEV1/FVC was significantly higher (P-value< 0.001) in prediabetes as compared to NGT group. Conclusion: Results of our study point out a predominantly restrictive pattern of lung dysfunction in the prediabetes group as compared to the NGT group.

Market-driven deployment of inexpensive (but intermittent) renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, in the electric power grid necessitates grid-stabilization through energy storage systems Redox flow batteries (RFBs), with their rated power and energy decoupled (resulting in a sub-linear scaling of cost), are an inexpensive solution for the efficient electrochemical storage of large amounts of electrical energy. Titanium-based RFBs, first developed by NASA in the 1970s, are an interesting albeit less examined chemistry and are the focus of the present review. Ti, constituting 0.6% of the Earth’s crust and an ingredient in inexpensive white paints, is amongst the few elements (V and Mn being some others) which exhibit multiple soluble oxidation states in aqueous electrolytes. Further, the very high (approaching 10 M) solubility of Ti in low pH solutions suggests the possibility of developing exceptionally high energy density aqueous Redox Flow Batteries systems. With these advantages in mind, we present the state-of the-art in Ti-RFBs with a focus on Ti/Mn, Ti/Fe and Ti/Ce couples and systems that use Ti as an additive (such as Ti/V/Mn). The inherent advantages of inexpensive Ti actives and relatively high energy density is contrasted with potential side-reactions resulting in reduced energy efficiency. Technological pathways are presented with a view to overcoming critical bottlenecks and a vision is presented for the future development of Ti-RFBs.

The wheat–rye 1RS.1BL translocation has been extensively utilized in wheat breeding programs across the world for multiple disease resistances, abiotic stress tolerance and higher grain yield. The Sec-1 locus present on the 1RS and codes for rye storage protein secalin which causes stickiness in the dough leading to poor bread quality. In addition to this, the absence of Glu-B3/Gli-B1 on 1BS in this translocation further deteriorates the bread-making quality of wheat. In the present study, Pavon MA1 was used as the donor parent, and two elite wheat cultivars HS240 and UP2338, having 1RS.1BL translocation, were used as the recipient parents. Pavon MA1 has 1RSWW.1BL translocation in which the Sec-1 locus is absent whereas Glu-B3/Gli-B1 is present. This 1RSWW.1BL translocation was introgressed in the two wheat cultivars using marker-assisted backcross breeding, and BC2F5 derivatives were developed for both the cultivars. The dough quality of these derivatives was analyzed through the micro-SDS-sedimentation test (MST), high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMWGS), loaf volume and micro-dough laboratory test. The dough analysis showed that the elimination of secalin in the derivatives led to the higher loaf volume, dough development time, dough stability and water absorption thus improving its bread-making quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]