No abstract

In vitro starch digestibility and glycemic indices of three rice varieties-'Njavara', 'Jyothi' (pigmented rice verities) and 'IR 64' (non-pigmented rice) with similar amylose content were studied. Starch digestibility studies showed differences in glycemic response in three types of rice. The rate of starch hydrolysis was maximum (67.3%) in 'Njavara' rice compared to other two rice varieties. 'Njavara' exhibited the lowest kinetic constant (k) indicating inherent resistance to enzymatic hydrolysis. The glycemic load (GL) and glycemic index (GI) of 'Njavara' were similar to 'Jyothi' and 'IR 64'. Resistant starch content was high in pigmented rice varieties compared to 'IR 64'. The resistant starch content of dehusked and cooked rice increased with the storage time at refrigeration temperature (4°C). 'Njavara' is an easily digestible rice and can be used for baby and geriatric foods.

Skin tissue wound healing proceeds through four major stages, including hematoma formation, inflammation, and neo-tissue formation, and culminates with tissue remodeling. These four steps significantly overlap with each other and are aided by various factors such as cells, cytokines (both anti- and pro-inflammatory), and growth factors that aid in the neo-tissue formation. In all these stages, advanced biomaterials provide several functional advantages, such as removing wound exudates, providing cover, transporting oxygen to the wound site, and preventing infection from microbes. In addition, advanced biomaterials serve as vehicles to carry proteins/drug molecules/growth factors and/or antimicrobial agents to the target wound site. In this review, we report recent advancements in biomaterials-based regenerative strategies that augment the skin tissue wound healing process. In conjunction with other medical sciences, designing nanoengineered biomaterials is gaining significant attention for providing numerous functionalities to trigger wound repair. In this regard, we highlight the advent of nanomaterial-based constructs for wound healing, especially those that are being evaluated in clinical settings. Herein, we also emphasize the competence and versatility of the three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technique for advanced wound management. Finally, we discuss the challenges and clinical perspective of various biomaterial-based wound dressings, along with prospective future directions. With regenerative strategies that utilize a cocktail of cell sources, antimicrobial agents, drugs, and/or growth factors, it is expected that significant patient-specific strategies will be developed in the near future, resulting in complete wound healing with no scar tissue formation.

Salinity is one of the major factors reducing plant growth and productivity worldwide and affects about 7% of world's total land area. In India about 6.73 million hectare of land area is salt affected. Wheat is the second most important crop after rice in India and occupies approximately 28.5 million hectare area. Several tolerance indices comprising of mean productivity (MP), geometric mean productivity (GMP), stress tolerance index (STI), stress stability index (SSI), tolerance index (TOL), yield index (YI) and yield stability index (YSI) were calculated in this investigation for salinity and its ability to understand which one or more predictor among studied indices based on correlation, principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Ten wheat genotypes were evaluated in two successive growing seasons (2012)(2013)(2014), with complete randomized design with three replications under both salinity stress and non-salinity to identify salt tolerant genotypes to the target environment. Multiple indices for salt tolerance were calculated based on the potential yield (Yp) under non-stress and yield (Ys) under stress conditions. The Ys and Yp showed highest significant and positive correlations with GMP, MP and STI among indices studied. Therefore, these indices were considered as a better predictor of Ys and Yp than TOL, SSI and YSI. Principal component analysis classified the genotypes into two groups. The first two PCs with eigen values >1 contributed 99.74% of the variability amongst genotypes. PC1 accounted for about 5.24% of the variation in salt tolerance indices and PC2 for 3.74%. The first PC was related to Ys, Yp, MP, GMP, STI and YI whereas the second PC related to Yp, TOL and SSI. The cluster analysis sequestrated ten genotypes into two clusters based on Ward's method. According to results, salinity significantly reduced the yield of some genotypes while some were found tolerant to stress indicating sufficient genetic variability for salinity tolerance among the studied genotypes. It could be implicated in selection of salinity tolerant wheat genotypes for the development of bread wheat varieties.

An alarming increase in implant failure incidence due to microbial colonization on the administered orthopedic implants has become a horrifying threat to replacement surgeries and related health concerns. In essence, microbial adhesion and its subsequent biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, and the host immune system's deficiency are the main culprits. An advanced class of biomaterials termed anti-infective hydrogel implant coatings are evolving to subdue these complications. On this account, this review provides an insight into the significance of anti-infective hydrogels for preventing orthopedic implant associated infections to improve the bone healing process. We briefly discuss the clinical course of implant failure, with a prime focus on orthopedic implants. We identify the different anti-infective coating strategies and hence several anti-infective agents which could be incorporated in the hydrogel matrix. The fundamental design criteria to be considered while fabricating anti-infective hydrogels for orthopedic implants will be discussed. We highlight the different hydrogel coatings based on the origin of the polymers involved in light of their antimicrobial efficacy. We summarize the relevant patents reported in the prevention of implant infections, including orthopedics. Finally, the challenges concerning the clinical translation of the aforesaid hydrogels are described, and considerable solutions for improved clinical practice and better future prospects are proposed.