Search

Climate change is real and inevitable, incessantly threatening the terrestrial ecosystem and global food security. Although the impacts of climate change on crop yield and the environment have received much attention in recent years, there are few studies on its implications for the production of high-quality seeds that provide the basic input for food production. Seeds are the primary planting material for crop cultivation and carry most new agricultural technologies to the field. Climatic abnormalities occurring at harvest and during the post-harvest stages may not always severely impact seed yield but can reduce the morphological, physiological and biochemical quality, ultimately reducing the field performance and planting value of the seed lot. In our preliminary data mining that considered the first 30 species appearing in the search results, seed setting, seed yield and seed quality parameters under temperature, CO2 and drought stresses showed differential response patterns depending on the cotyledon number (monocots vs. dicots), breeding system (self- vs. cross-pollinated), life cycle (annual vs. perennial) and maturity time (seed setting in cooler vs. hotter months). The relative proportions of the 30 species showed that germination and seedling vigour are adversely affected more in dicots and self-pollinated annual species that set seeds in hotter months. Together, these impacts can potentially reduce the quantity and quality of seeds produced. Immediate attention and action are required to understand and mitigate the detrimental impacts of climate change on the production and supply of high-quality seeds. This review summarises the current knowledge on this aspect, predicts the future implications and suggests some potential mitigation strategies in the context of projected population growth, climate change and seed requirement at the global level.

Agriculture continues to be the primary source of income for most rural people in the developing economy. The world’s economy is also strongly reliant on agricultural products, which accounts for a large number of its exports. Despite its growing importance, agriculture is still lagging behind to meet the demands due to crop failure caused by bad weather conditions and unmanaged insect problems. As a result, the quality and quantity of agricultural products are occasionally affected to reduce the farm income. Crop failure could be predicted ahead of time and preventative measures could be taken through a combination of conventional farming practices with contemporary technologies such as agri-drones to address the difficulties plaguing the agricultural sectors. Drones are actually unmanned aerial vehicles that are used for imaging, soil and crop surveillance, and a variety of other purposes in agricultural sectors. Drone technology is now becoming an emerging technology for large-scale applications in agriculture. Although the technology is still in its infancy in developing nations, numerous research and businesses are working to make it easily accessible to the farming community to boost the agricultural productivity.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, microvesicles, and oncosomes, are nano-sized particles enclosed by a lipid bilayer. EVs are released by virtually all eukaryotic cells and have been shown to contribute to intercellular communication by transporting proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. In the context of neurodegenerative diseases, EVs may carry toxic, misfolded forms of amyloidogenic proteins and facilitate their spread to recipient cells in the central nervous system (CNS). CNS-originating EVs can cross the blood–brain barrier into the bloodstream and may be found in other body fluids, including saliva, tears, and urine. EVs originating in the CNS represent an attractive source of biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, because they contain cell- and cell state-specific biological materials. In recent years, multiple papers have reported the use of this strategy for identification and quantitation of biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and atypical parkinsonian disorders. However, certain technical issues have yet to be standardized, such as the best surface markers for isolation of cell type-specific EVs and validating the cellular origin of the EVs. Here, we review recent research using CNS-originating EVs for biomarker studies, primarily in parkinsonian disorders, highlight technical challenges, and propose strategies for overcoming them.

Background: The mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have enormous therapeutic potential owing to their multi-lineage differentiation and self-renewal properties. MSCs express growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, and non-coding regulatory RNAs with immunosuppressive, anti-tumor, and migratory properties. MSCs also release several anti-cancer molecules via extracellular vesicles, that act as pro-apoptotic/tumor suppressor factors. This study aimed to identify the stem cell-derived secretome that could exhibit anti-cancer properties through molecular profiling of cargos in MSC-derived exosomes. Methods: Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) were isolated from umbilical cord tissues and culture expanded. Subsequently, exosomes were isolated from hUCMSC conditioned medium and characterized by DLS, electron microscopy. Western blot for exosome surface marker protein CD63 expression was performed. The miRNA profiling of hUCMSCs and hUCMSC-derived exosomes was performed, followed by functional enrichment analysis. Results: The tri-lineage differentiation potential, fibroblastic morphology, and strong expression of pluripotency genes indicated that isolated fibroblasts are MSCs. The isolated extracellular vesicles were 133.8 ± 42.49 nm in diameter, monodispersed, and strongly expressed the exosome surface marker protein CD63. The miRNA expression profile and gene ontology (GO) depicted the differential expression patterns of high and less-expressed miRNAs that are crucial to be involved in the regulation of apoptosis. The LCMS/MS data and GO analysis indicate that hUCMSC secretomes are involved in several oncogenic and inflammatory signaling cascades. Conclusion: Primary human MSCs released miRNAs and growth factors via exosomes that are increasingly implicated in intercellular communications, and hUCMSC-exosomal miRNAs have a critical influence in regulating cell death and apoptosis of cancer cells. Graphical abstract

In-vivo maternal haploids serve as the basis of doubled haploid (DH) breeding in maize. R1-navajo (R1-nj) gene governing anthocyanin colouration in the endosperm and embryo is widely used to identify haploid seeds. However, the expression of R1-nj depends on genetic-background of source-germplasm used for deriving DH-lines. Further, presence of C1-Inhibitor (C1-I) gene suppresses the expression of R1-nj, thus makes the selection of haploids difficult.In the present study, 178 subtropically-adapted maize inbreds were crossed with two R1-nj donors 'that do not have haploid induction genes'. Of these, 76.4% inbreds developed purple colour in endosperm, while 23.6% did not show any colouration. In case of scutellum, 62.9% inbreds possessed colour and 37.1% were colourless. The anthocyanin intensity varied greatly, with 19.66% and 42.98% inbreds displayed the least intensity, while 16.85% and 0.84% inbreds showed the highest intensity in endosperm and scutellum, respectively. Two C1-I specific breeder-friendly markers (MGU-CI-InDel8 and MGU-C1-SNP1) covering (i) 8 bp InDel and (ii) A to G SNP, respectively, were developed. MGU-CI-InDel8 and MGU-C1-SNP1 markers predicted presence of C1-I allele with 92.9% and 84.7% effectiveness, respectively. However, when both markers were considered together, they provided 100% effectiveness.These markers of C1-I gene would help in saving valuable resources and time during haploid induction in maize. The information generated here assume great significance in DH breeding of maize.

The creation of homozygous parental lines for hybrid development is one of the key components of commercial maize breeding programs. It usually takes up to 6 to 7 generations of selfing to obtain homozygous inbreds from the initial cross using the conventional pedigree method. Using doubled haploid (DH) method, concurrent fixation of all the genes covering entire chromosomes is possible within a single generation. For generation of DH lines, haploids are generated first by several means such as in-vitro method using tissue culture technique and in-vivo method using the haploid inducer (HI) lines. Of which, tissue culture-based methods have shown little promise for large-scale DH production as it needs good infrastructures and technical requirements. In contrast, inducer-based method provides more optimistic solutions for large-scale DH lines production. Due to its rapidity, DH technology is now being adopted in many countries including India for reducing the breeding cycle.

Experiments were undertaken to develop a sustainable, process intensified membrane integrated crystallization technique for the extraction of lactose from cheese whey. The study explored concentrative mode of membrane crystallization and its possible integration with conventional evaporative crystallization. Effects of the membrane module, mass transfer coefficient, nucleation rate, pressure drop and their interdependence were studied through modelling and system design. This was followed by exhaustive experimental investigations and parameter optimization. The effect of antisolvent addition on membrane crystallization was also explored. Following this, the membrane integrated technique was employed for selective lactose recovery from real cheese whey sourced from sweetmeat manufacturers. Competitive lactose crystal yields of 3.8- 4.96 g per 100 ml of cheese whey (from which fat & protein content was isolated) were obtained. The presence of membrane lowered the total crystallization times as compared to evaporative crystallization. Addition of antisolvent reduced crystallization times in the range of 13.5% - 23.1% for membrane integrated & chemical precipitation techniques. In the alcohol series of antisolvent dosing , a progression from methanol to butanol demonstrated enhanced reduction in crystallization. Crossflow NanoFiltration (NF) showed a higher concentration than crossflow UltraFiltration (UF). The membrane integrated crystallization technique successfully demonstrated waste valorization with competitive lactose yields from cheese whey.

Rapid generation advance is a collection of breeding tools for quicker development of homozygous lines from the segregating generations raised from a cross of two divergent parents. An array of techniques including single seed descent, speed breeding, shuttle breeding, doubled haploidy, marker assisted breeding and genomic selection were designed to achieve the maximum genetic gain through reducing the time required for development of such homozygous lines. In addition, utilization of genome editing in agronomically important crops further enhances the genetic advance to alleviate the food supply shortage. Therefore, utilization of these techniques could be more advantageous than the conventional breeding approaches in terms of speed and logistic support. Combination of these methods allows breeders to develop agronomically superior varieties in a very short period of time.

Consistent agricultural production needs a package of methods starting from the improved crop varieties to agronomic practices to fulfil the food demand worldwide. Agricultural productivity is mainly restricted due to poor seed quality coupled with several biotic and abiotic stresses. Therefore, enhancement of agricultural production through improved quality of seed needs additional practice to achieve sustainable growth of farm income. In this context, biopriming could serve as a viable approach to enhance crop productivity as it improves the performance of plants under sub-optimal conditions. In biopriming, the bacterial inoculum is used during the imbibition process that bypasses the need for hazardous agrochemicals linked with crop management practices. The use of microbial solution on the planting material is an economically and environmentally safe method for uniform crop establishment. Alongside biotic stress amelioration, biopriming also serves as a viable solution to enhance the nutrient use efficiency in crop plants. Overall, the introduction of biopriming in agricultural practices allows farmers to achieve better production with a minimum investment of costly inputs.

Provitamin-A (proA) is essentially required for vision in humans but its deficiency affects children and pregnant women especially in the developing world. Biofortified maize rich in proA provides new opportunity for sustainable and cost-effective solution to alleviate malnutrition, however, significant loss of carotenoids during storage reduces its efficacy. Here, we studied the role of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 1 (ccd1) gene on degradation of carotenoids in maize. A set of 24 maize inbreds was analyzed for retention of proA during storage. At harvest, crtRB1-based maize inbreds possessed significantly high proA (β-carotene: 12.30 µg/g, β-cryptoxanthin: 4.36 µg/g) than the traditional inbreds (β-carotene: 1.74 µg/g, β-cryptoxanthin: 1.28 µg/g). However, crtRB1-based inbreds experienced significant degradation of proA carotenoids (β-carotene: 20%, β-cryptoxanthin: 32% retention) following 5 months. Among the crtRB1-based genotypes, V335PV had the lowest retention of proA (β-carotene: 1.63 µg/g, β-cryptoxanthin: 0.82 µg/g), while HKI161PV had the highest retention of proA (β-carotene: 4.17 µg/g, β-cryptoxanthin: 2.32 µg/g). Periodical analysis revealed that ~ 60-70% of proA degraded during the first three months. Expression analysis revealed that high expression of ccd1 led to low retention of proA carotenoids in V335PV, whereas proA retention in HKI161PV was higher due to lower expression. Highest expression of ccd1 was observed during first 3 months of storage. Copy number of ccd1 gene varied among yellow maize (1-6 copies) and white maize (7-35 copies) while wild relatives contained 1-4 copies of ccd1 gene per genome. However, copy number of ccd1 gene did not exhibit any correlation with proA carotenoids. We concluded that lower expression of ccd1 gene increased the retention of proA during storage in maize. Favourable allele of ccd1 can be introgressed into elite maize inbreds for higher retention of proA during storage.

Nanocrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) photocatalyst has been synthesized by a simple solution combustion method using zinc nitrate as the oxidizer and urea as the fuel. Effect of fuel to oxidizer ratio and ignition temperature on the mechanism of combustion synthesis, crystallinity, morphology, surface area, and optical properties were investigated by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Diffuse reflectance UV–Visible spectra and Photoluminescence analyses. Photocatalytic activity of the synthesized materials was evaluated by degrading an azo dye at ambient temperature and solution pH. The prepared photocatalysts at the fuel-rich condition possess small crystallite size and more surface area; consequently, a higher photocatalytic dye degradation capability.The powder samples synthesized at the fuel-oxidant ratio of 1.8 and the ignition temperature at 400 °C have shown the maximum percentage (99%) of dye degradation in 180 min. The pseudo-first order photocatalytic dye degradation rate constant of a catalyst sample synthesized at the fuel-oxidant ratio of 1.8 was 0.0253 min−1and it is 3.14 and 2.88 times higher than that of samples synthesized at fuel-oxidant ratios of 0.6 and 1.The outcomes of the present article help to design more pronounced experiments for the synthesis of photocatalysts by varying ignition temperatures and fuel amounts.

The Indian sugar industry’s growth and residual lignocellulosic sugarcane bagasse (RSB) generation rate are complementary to each other. It is estimated that over 75–90 million tonnes of wet RSB are produced annually from 600 operational sugar mills in India. Therefore, the efficient utilization of residual bagasse needs immediate attention from sugar industries and the scientific community worldwide. Albeit recently developed technologies have shown promising prospects for the sustainable conversion of RSB into fuels and value-added chemicals, there is an apparent lack of consensus among the scientific community on technical understanding and commercial applicability of current RSB conversion technologies. This review discusses applications of RSB in Indian industries for electricity generation, concrete manufacturing from RSB ash, nanocomposite production, as well as pulp and paper, furfural, furfuryl alcohol, bioethanol, and value-added chemical production. Besides, the conversion of RSB major component lignin to fuel and high-value specialty chemicals has been discussed. Moreover, the government of India policies and subsequent revisions in 2018 to promote biomass and RSB conversion technologies has been presented. Subsequently, major challenges associated with the implementation of different conversion technologies have been explored. Overall, it is observed that there is a huge opportunity in India to utilize the RSB for value-added chemicals production, pulp, and paper production, electricity generation, and other applications. Nevertheless, the Government of India current policies directed towards promoting the RSB uses primarily for electricity production via cogenerations.

Catalytic application of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) for the production of high-value chemicals from the lignocellulosic biomass is investigated for the first time. In particular, the synthesis of 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF), and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from biomass-derived resources in the presence of inexpensive and readily available MoS2 catalyst via microwave-assisted heating has been studied. The experiments were performed at 100 to 160 °C temperature for 2 to 30 min reaction time in a microwave reactor. Accordingly, the experimental conditions such as reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst concentration, and feed concentration were optimized for the maximum yield of EMF from the fructose. As a result, maximum 93.3 mol% EMF yield was measured at 160 °C reaction temperature in 30 min when experiments were performed in the presence of 0.3 mmol MoS2 for fructose conversion. It was also observed that the molybdenum disulfide selectively produces EMF in a higher amount with negligible byproducts under optimum operating conditions. Post this, a range of alcohols such as methanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, and 1-pentanol were tested for the production of different alkoxymethylfurfurals, which showed more than 95% fructose conversion in all cases. Similarly, a wide range of substrates such as glucose, galactose, mannose, and cellulose were tested, which resulted in significant production of EMF. Notably, the EMFs obtained from the experiments can be used as a precursor to producing a vast range of chemicals like polymers, fragrance, plasticizer, resins, fuel additives, and fuel.

Background The mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have enormous therapeutic potential owing to their multi-lineage differentiation and self-renewal properties. MSCs express growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, and non-coding regulatory RNAs with immunosuppressive, anti-tumor, and migratory properties. MSCs also release several anti-cancer molecules via extracellular vesicles, that act as pro-apoptotic/tumor suppressor factors. This study aimed to identify the stem cell-derived secretome that could exhibit anti-cancer properties through molecular profiling of cargos in MSC-derived exosomes. Methods Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) were isolated from umbilical cord tissues and cultured expanded. After that, exosomes were isolated from the hUCMSC conditioned medium. The miRNA profiling of hUCMSCs and hUCMSC-derived exosomes was performed, followed by functional enrichment analysis. Results The miRNA expression profile and gene ontology (GO) depicts the differential expression patterns of high and less-expressed miRNAs that are delineated to be involved in the regulation of the apoptosis process. The LCMS/MS data and GO analysis indicate that hUCMSC secretomes are involved in several oncogenic and inflammatory signaling cascades. Conclusion Primary human MSCs releases miRNAs and growth factors via exosomes that are increasingly implicated in intercellular communications, and hUCMSC-exosomal miRNAs may have a critical influence in regulating cell death and apoptosis of cancer cells.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by the aggregation of α-synuclein in glia and neurons. Sirolimus (rapamycin) is an mTOR inhibitor that promotes α-synuclein autophagy and reduces its associated neurotoxicity in preclinical models.To investigate the efficacy and safety of sirolimus in patients with MSA using a futility design. We also analyzed 1-year biomarker trajectories in the trial participants.Randomized, double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled clinical trial at the New York University of patients with probable MSA randomly assigned (3:1) to sirolimus (2-6 mg daily) for 48 weeks or placebo. Primary endpoint was change in the Unified MSA Rating Scale (UMSARS) total score from baseline to 48 weeks. (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03589976).The trial was stopped after a pre-planned interim analysis met futility criteria. Between August 15, 2018 and November 15, 2020, 54 participants were screened, and 47 enrolled and randomly assigned (35 sirolimus, 12 placebo). Of those randomized, 34 were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. There was no difference in change from baseline to week 48 between the sirolimus and placebo in UMSARS total score (mean difference, 2.66; 95% CI, -7.35-6.91; P = 0.648). There was no difference in UMSARS-1 and UMSARS-2 scores either. UMSARS scores changes were similar to those reported in natural history studies. Neuroimaging and blood biomarker results were similar in the sirolimus and placebo groups. Adverse events were more frequent with sirolimus. Analysis of 1-year biomarker trajectories in all participants showed that increases in blood neurofilament light chain (NfL) and reductions in whole brain volume correlated best with UMSARS progression.Sirolimus for 48 weeks was futile to slow the progression of MSA and had no effect on biomarkers compared to placebo. One-year change in blood NfL and whole brain atrophy are promising biomarkers of disease progression for future clinical trials. © 2022 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Three major approaches of cancer therapy can be enunciated as delivery of biotherapeutics, tumor image analysis, and immunotherapy. Liposomes, artificial fat bubbles, are long known for their capacity to encapsulate a diverse range of bioactive molecules and release the payload in a sustained, stimuli-responsive manner. They have already been widely explored as a delivery vehicle for therapeutic drugs as well as imaging agents. They are also extensively being used in cancer immunotherapy. On the other hand, exosomes are naturally occurring nanosized extracellular vesicles that serve an important role in cell-cell communication. Importantly, the exosomes also have proven their capability to carry an array of active pharmaceuticals and diagnostic molecules to the tumor cells. Exosomes, being enriched with tumor antigens, have numerous immunomodulatory effects. Much to our intrigue, in recent times, efforts have been directed toward developing smart, bioengineered, exosome-liposome hybrid nanovesicles, which are augmented by the benefits of both vesicular systems. This review attempts to summarize the contemporary developments in the use of exosome and liposome toward cancer diagnosis, therapy, as a vehicle for drug delivery, diagnostic carrier for tumor imaging, and cancer immunotherapy. We shall also briefly reflect upon the recent advancements of the exosome-liposome hybrids in cancer therapy. Finally, we put forward future directions for the use of exosome/liposome and/or hybrid nanocarriers for accurate diagnosis and personalized therapies for cancers.

In this work, we have analyzed ChaCha against Grover’s search algorithm. We designed a reversible quantum circuit of ChaCha and then estimated the resources required to implement Grover. We showed that for MAXDEPTH = $$ 2^{40} $$ , the ChaCha20 256-bit key can be recovered using Grover’s search algorithm with a gate count of $$ 1.233 \cdot 2^{251} $$ , which is less than the NIST’s requirement of $$ 2^{258} $$ . We also showed that implementing Grover’s algorithm greatly depends on the number of rounds in ChaCha. We deduced that ChaCha would require approximately 166 rounds so that implementing a non parallelized Grover would require a $$ 2^{298} $$ gate count. We implemented a ChaCha-like toy cipher in IBMQ simulator and recovered key using Grover’s algorithm.