The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD), especially the early stages, is still not exactly known. This is also true for CKD stage 3, when cardiovascular and other major complications generally appear. The NANHES data have shown a steady increase in the prevalence of CKD 3 up to 7.7% in 2004. Chronic kidney disease and renal failure are underdiagnosed all over the world. In Italy, prevalence estimates for stage 3 to 5 CKD are around 4 million yet, less than 30% of these subjects are believed to be followed at nephrology clinics. This means that in Italy for every dialyzed patient there are about 85 individuals with possibly progressive kidney disease, while fewer than five (mainly stage 4 and 5 patients) are actually followed by a nephrologist.

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease

Advances in cereal genomics and applications in crop breeding [Erratum: 2007 Jan., v. 25, issue 1, p. 1.]

Integrated analysis i

Rice (Oryza sativa L) is the major food source for more than three billion people of the world In the last few decades, the classical, mutational, and molecular breeding approaches have brought about tremendous increase in rice productivity with the development of novel rice varieties However, stagnation in rice yield has been reported in recent decade owing to several factors including the emergence of pests and phyto pathogens, climate change, and other environmental issues posing great threat to global food security There is an urgent need to produce more rice and associated cereals to satisfy the mammoth task of feeding a still growing population expected to reach 97 billion by 2050 Advances in genomics and emergence of multiple genome-editing technologies through use of engineered site-specific nucleases (SSNs) have revolutionized the field of plant science and agriculture Among them, the CRISPR/Cas9 system is the most advanced and widely accepted because of its simplicity, robustness, and high efficiency The availability of huge genomic resources together with a small genome size makes rice more suitable and feasible for genetic manipulation As such, rice has been increasingly used to test the efficiency of different types of genome editing technologies to study the functions of various genes and demonstrate their potential in genetic improvement Recently developed approaches including CRISPR/Cpf1 system and base editors have evolved as more efficient and accurate genome editing tools which might accelerate the pace of crop improvement In the present review, we focus on the genome editing strategies for rice improvement, thereby highlighting the applications and advancements of CRISPR/Cas9 system This review also sheds light on the role of CRISPR/Cpf1 and base editors in the field of genome editing highlighting major challenges and future implications of these tools in rice improvement

/pdf/genome-editing-in-rice-recent-advances-challenges-and-future-4poz0x76a7.pdf

Genome Editing in Rice: Recent Advances, Challenges, and Future Implications.

There is a need to explore renewable alternatives (e.g., biofuels) that can produce energy sources to help reduce the reliance on fossil oils. In addition, the consumption of fossil oils adversely affects the environment and human health via the generation of waste water, greenhouse gases, and waste solids. Camelina sativa, originated from southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, is being re-embraced as an industrial oilseed crop due to its high seed oil content (36-47%) and high unsaturated fatty acid composition (>90%), which are suitable for jet fuel, biodiesel, high-value lubricants and animal feed. C. sativa's agronomic advantages include short time to maturation, low water and nutrient requirements, adaptability to adverse environmental conditions and resistance to common pests and pathogens. These characteristics make it an ideal crop for sustainable agricultural systems and regions of marginal land. However, the lack of genetic and genomic resources has slowed the enhancement of this emerging oilseed crop and exploration of its full agronomic and breeding potential. Here, a core of 213 spring C. sativa accessions was collected and genotyped. The genotypic data was used to characterize genetic diversity and population structure to infer how natural selection and plant breeding may have affected the formation and differentiation within the C. sativa natural populations, and how the genetic diversity of this species can be used in future breeding efforts. A total of 6,192 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) value of 0.29 indicate moderate genetic diversity for the C. sativa spring panel evaluated in this report. Population structure and principal coordinates analyses (PCoA) based on SNPs revealed two distinct subpopulations. Sub-population 1 (POP1) contains accessions that mainly originated from Germany while the majority of POP2 accessions (>75%) were collected from Eastern Europe. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) identified 4% variance among and 96% variance within subpopulations, indicating a high gene exchange (or low genetic differentiation) between the two subpopulations. These findings provide important information for future allele/gene identification using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and marker-assisted selection (MAS) to enhance genetic gain in C. sativa breeding programs.

/pdf/genetic-diversity-and-population-structure-of-a-camelina-gej8u4v4ja.pdf

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of a Camelina sativa Spring Panel.

Daily injections of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA, dopamine precursor) given 4 h after 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP, serotonin precursor) induced inhibitory responses in recrudescing gonad (in the first week of December) of Indian palm squirrel, a seasonally breeding subtropical animal. Other temporal relations (L-DOPA given at 0, 8, 12, 16, and 20 h after 5-HTP administration) did not show any effect on the recrudescing gonad. This inhibitory effect of 4 h was evident under short day length (6 : 18) group but was masked by the increasing day length of nature (NDL, late December onwards) and increased photoperiod of long day group (16 : 8). It is apparent that seasonal testicular recrudescence of Indian palm squirrel during short day length by 4 h relation of 5-HTP and L-DOPA is not a pharmacological effect but actually is an alteration of seasonality in this annually breeding mammal. It seems that endogenous mechanism controlling seasonal testicular recrudescence of Indian palm squirrel is reset by timed daily injections of these neurotransmitter drugs. It is suggested that in spite of different environmental factors (photoperiod, humidity, etc.) used by different species to time their annual reproduction, basic mechanism of seasonality appears to be the same, that is, the temporal synergism of neurotransmitter activity.

/pdf/four-hour-temporal-relation-of-5-htp-and-l-dopa-induces-fm7x8tdere.pdf

Four Hour Temporal Relation of 5-HTP and L-DOPA Induces Inhibitory Responses in Recrudescing Gonad of Indian Palm Squirrel (Funambulus pennantii).

A desolvation method was used for the synthesis of β-galactosidase (β-GAL) and glucose oxidase (GOD) nanoparticles (NPs) using ethanol. The enzyme nanoparticles (ENPs) were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform Infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and were co-immobilized covalently onto surface of polycrystalline Au electrode. An improved amperometric lactose biosensor was constructed using ENPs (β-GALNPs/GODNPs) modified Au electrode as working electrode, Ag/AgCl as reference electrode and Pt wire as auxiliary electrode connected through potentiostat. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used for the study of working electrode before and after immobilization of ENPs. The biosensor showed maximum current at 0.25V within 5s, at pH 6.5 and 25oC. The limit of detection (LOD) was i.e. 1mg/ml and working range was 1-10 mg/mL. The analytical recovery of added lactose (5 and 10 mg/mL) was 94.73±0.5% and 96.4±0.9%, respectively. Coefficient of variation (CV) within and between batch were <3.0 and <4.0 respectively. The biosensor exhibited a good correlation (R2=0.91) between lactose level in milk as measured by standard (enzymatic colorimetric) method and present biosensor. The biosensor was employed for quantification of lactose in milk from human, cow, buffalo and goat. The working electrode lost 50% of its initial activity within 3 months, after its 120 uses, while being stored dry at 4ºC. 
Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 10(1): 21-30.

An Improved Amperometric Lactose Biosensor Based on Enzyme Nanoparticles

Corrigendum to "Parveen Kumar, Vinay Narwal, Ranjana Jaiwal, C.S. Pundir, Construction and application of amperometric sarcosine biosensor based on SOxNPs/AuE for determination of prostate cancer" [Biosens. Bioelectron. 122 (2018) 144-146].

A simple and generally fast Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system with no tissue culture and selection steps has been developed for the first time in a recalcitrant food legume, cowpea. The approach involves wounding of 1-day-old germinated seeds with a needle or sonication either alone or in combination of vacuum infiltration with A. tumefaciens EH105 (pCAMBIA2301) carrying a β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene (uidA) and a neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) gene for stable transformation. Sonicated and vacuum infiltrated seedlings showed the highest transient GUS activity in 90% of the explants. The sprouted co-cultured seeds directly established in soil and without selection were allowed to develop into plants which on maturity produced T0 seeds. The presence of the alien genes, nptII and uidA in T0 plants and their integration into the genome of T1 plants were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blot analyses, respectively. The transgenes were inherited in the subsequent T2 generation in a Mendelian fashion and their expression was confirmed by semi-quantitative PCR. The transformation frequency of 1.90% was obtained with sonication followed by vacuum infiltration with Agrobacterium. This approach provides favorable circumstances for the rapid meristem transformation and likely makes translational research ease in an important recalcitrant food legume, cowpea.

Tissue Culture- and Selection-Independent Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation of a Recalcitrant Grain Legume, Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)

Production of Bovine Rotavirus VP6 Subunit Vaccine in a Transgenic Fodder Crop, Egyptian Clover (Berseem, Trifolium alexandrinum) that Elicits Immune Responses in Rabbit.

Ranjana Jaiwal

Papers

Four Hour Temporal Relation of 5-HTP and L-DOPA Induces Inhibitory Responses in Recrudescing Gonad of Indian Palm Squirrel (Funambulus pennantii).

An Improved Amperometric Lactose Biosensor Based on Enzyme Nanoparticles

Corrigendum to "Parveen Kumar, Vinay Narwal, Ranjana Jaiwal, C.S. Pundir, Construction and application of amperometric sarcosine biosensor based on SOxNPs/AuE for determination of prostate cancer" [Biosens. Bioelectron. 122 (2018) 144-146].

Tissue Culture- and Selection-Independent Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation of a Recalcitrant Grain Legume, Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)

Production of Bovine Rotavirus VP6 Subunit Vaccine in a Transgenic Fodder Crop, Egyptian Clover (Berseem, Trifolium alexandrinum) that Elicits Immune Responses in Rabbit.