National Allergy Asthma Bronchitis Institute

Abstract The improvement of commercial triploids of banana through conventional breeding or sexual hybridization has been very difficult due to female sterility, parthenocarpy and polyploidy. Mutation breeding appears to be a promising alternative that may induce the desired variability by altering one or more traits of a usually acceptable cultivar without retaining its original genotype unaltered. Given this background, the present study was designed to determine the radiosensitivity of corm buds and macropropagation of irradiated corms of banana cv. ‘Martaman’ (Musa AAB) with the objective of determining the lethal dose (LD50) for macropropagated buds and optimizing the radiation dose for the induction of putative mutants with one or more desired traits, such as biotic and abiotic stress tolerance or resistance, dwarfness, increased yield or improved fruit quality. Healthy decorticated corms (12–13 cm in diameter) were exposed to various doses of gamma rays (60Co) at strengths of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 Gy, with an effective dose rate of 04.348 KGy/hr. The control plants received no radiation exposure. The results revealed that the survival rate of corm buds was the lowest (19.50%) due to the irradiation dose of 60 Gy, while it was the highest (96.25%) under the control (without irradiation). The lethal dose (LD50) for the irradiated corms of banana cv. ‘Martaman’ on the basis of the 50% survival rate and number of induced primary buds per corm were 37.71 Gy and 38.95 Gy, respectively, followed by a significant decrease in growth. The growth characteristics decreased in proportion to an increase in the gamma-ray dose. The results suggest that gamma irradiation between 20-30 Gy (below the LD50) could be used to induce morphological variation among populations via the macropropagation technique and the selection of putative mutant plants, which can be used in future breeding programs for the banana cv. ‘Martaman’.

Modern educational institutions typically employ three major learning styles, which are conventional, e-learning, and flipped classroom. Traditional teaching is face to face where students only record notes rather than understand the meaning behind the information that they learn. However online learning is characterized by a relationship gap between student and faculty which can hinder personalized feedbacks or interactions Flipped teaching enables an initial understanding through pre- class preparation of materials. However it does not allow teachers to determine how focused students are in class as well as their comprehension levels. Understanding learners’ cognitive states such as misunderstanding is essential in improving academic outcomes and guiding teaching tactics. Electroencephalography (EEG), a technique that records electrical activity in the brain offers a new approach to understanding engagement in learning among students. The use of EEG during the lessons may help to detect if students really understand what they have learned thus this can solve some drawbacks of the current ways of education. The proposed methodological framework seeks to build up a robust model that predicts whether a learner is confused or not based on his/her EEG brainwave patterns. It will involve gathering EEG data from pupils during their learning sessions which would then be used to detect particular brain wave patterns that are linked with confusion. As a result, machine learning algorithms will be applied to teach and test, in order to ensure the prediction of confusion among students is done accurately. This will enable instructors receive immediate feedback on student understanding through real-time integration of such predictive models into educational contexts; thus it enables them to intervene or support as soon as possible. In this way, not only does it improve the learning experience but also creates a bridge between how teachers offer instructions and students comprehend them thus creating an efficient education environment.

Background- Blood eosinophil count (BEC) is an important biomarker that predicts response to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and frequency of acute exacerbation in patients with COPD. The current cut-off value of 300 cells/µL to decide the use of ICS is based on western data. We aimed to determine BECs in healthy, asthmatic, and COPD Indian populations. Methods - Healthy subjects who came for routine health check-ups, physician-diagnosed asthmatics, and COPD subjects who came for routine follow-ups were invited to participate in this study in this nationwide cross-sectional study from 24 sites across India. Absolute BEC was obtained from accredited laboratories. Results - Table 1 lists the median (IQR) BEC levels among 3,763 healthy, asthmatics, and COPD subjects across India. Age, gender and smoking habits had no correlation with BEC. Conclusion - Compared to the western population, Indians have significantly higher blood eosinophil counts. The current recommended cut-off value of 300 cells/µL to decide the use of ICS for COPD patients may not be appropriate for the Indian population. The high BEC could be attributed to parasitic infection and /or exposure to air pollution.

Background. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a specific type of chronic fibrosing interstitial lung disease (ILD) that is progressive in course. Although evidence-based guidelines for IPF are available, these are difficult to interpret for the average physician and may not be suitable for use in resource-constrained settings. There was an unmet need to formulate guidelines that are pragmatic, easy to understand and suited for application in resource-limited settings.

The Indian flapshell turtle Lissemys punctata is a freshwater softshell turtle species distributed throughout Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Here, we report first observation of melanism in L. punctata among rescued turtles from a turtle trading market. Although L. punctata is under Schedule-I in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 of India still it sold in open markets in different parts of West Bengal. A systematic market survey and study on community perception are needed to understand the dynamics and factors influencing turtle trading in West Bengal. Enforcement of laws and mass community awareness are suggested to stop illegal turtle trading and consumption.

This article investigates the impact of COVID-19 on the health and lived experiences of the transgender community in India. In particular, the study analyses how COVID-19 affects the lives of the transgender community in terms of their interaction with the government policymaking and identity negotiation, livelihoods, access to health resources, availability of gender transition services and status of mental health. The analysis shows that the COVID-19 pandemic and the government strategies to curb the spread of infection have exacerbated the challenges faced by the transgender community in India and threatened their survival. As disease outbreaks traditionally perpetuate gender inequities and increase vulnerabilities borne by marginalised groups, the analysis has implications for purposefully creating appropriate platforms for participation of the transgender community and designing and delivering suitable programs and services to enhance their welling and human dignity.

<b>Aims and Objectives:</b> The international study of asthma and allergies in childhood (ISAAC) I and III were conducted in India in 1994-95 and 2001-03 respectively with no further studies since. Global asthma network(GAN) was initiated with the aim to assess the change in prevalence of asthma across the world. <b>Methods:</b> The GAN was a questionnaire and school based study conducted in 9 centres across India from 2017-2018 with similar methodology as previous ISAAC studies for 6-7y and 13-14y old children. Prevalence per 1000 and 95% confidence intervals(95%CI) were calculated. <b>Results:</b> The prevalence of wheeze in the past 12 months for 6-7y group was 5.6%(N=31697), 5.3%(N=46761) and 3.2%(N=20084) for ISAAC phase I, III and GAN respectively. The prevalence in 13-14y group was 6% (N=37171), 5.8% (N=52098) and 3.7% (N=25887) respectively. Comparing GAN and ISAAC phase III, there was significant decrease in prevalence for all centres in both age groups except for 2 centres in 13-14years age group (Jaipur: little change, Pune: significant increase). Comparing ISAAC phase I and III, there was little change in 6-7y group in all cities except Pune (significant increase), for 13-14y group there was little change except Jodhpur and Delhi (significant decrease)(figure 1). <b>Conclusion:</b> The prevalence of asthma was lower in most of the centres across India in both age groups possibly reflecting evolution in environmental factors.

Individual preference of sleep and activity (chronotype) might play an important role on asthma and allergic diseases in adolescents: this link underscores a potential plausible behavioural intervention for asthma and allergic diseases in young population https://bit.ly/2THta9I