One hundred and sixty accessions representing global germplasm of guinea grass (Panicum maximum Jacq.), an important apomictic (aposporous) fodder crop, were subjected to study on reproductive diversity in apomictic seed development utilizing ovule clearing and Xow cytometric seed screen (FCSS). Single seed FCSS of selected 14 tetraploid and Wve hexaploid lines demonstrated uncoupling between the three apomixis components, viz. apomeiosis, parthenogenesis and functional endosperm development, in natural as well as experimental populations, though it diVered across ploidy levels and genotypes. Reconstruction of reproductive pathways yielded a total of eight diVerent pathways of seed development, arising by uncoupling/recombination between apomixis components. Amongst these, two pathways involving modiWcations in embryo-sac (ES) (presence of two polar nuclei in aposporous ES that fuse prior to fertilization) and fertilization process (fusion of only one polar nucleus in a sexual ES) have been reported for the Wrst time. Some of the combinations, such as M I (haploids arising from parthenogenetic development of reduced egg cell), were found viable only in hexaploid background.Germplasm lines with higher expression of individual components were also identiWed. These components (including autonomous endosperm development) were also experimentally partitioned in hexaploid progenies (derived from a tetraploid parent viz. accession IG 04-164) that showed segregation in their reproductive capacities, and are reported for the Wrst time. Occurrence of several apomixis recombinants (phenotypic) in guinea grass lines suggested their hybrid origin, favors a multigene model for apomixis, with their penetrance aVected by modiWers and epigenetic mechanisms, in contrast to earlier reports of single locus control. Implications of partitioning components on apomixis research are discussed.

Breast cancer is known from ancient time,and the treatment strategy evolved as our understanding of the disease changed with time. In 460 BC Hippocrates described breast cancer as a humoral disease and presently after a lot of studies breast cancer is considered as a local disease with systemic roots. For most of the twentieth century Halsted radical mastectomy was the "established and standardized operation for cancer of the breast in all stages, early or late". New information about tumor biology and its behavior suggested that less radical surgery might be just as effective as the more extensive one. Eventually, with the use of adjuvant therapy likeradiation and systemic therapy, the extent of surgical resection in the breast and axilla got reduced further and led to an era of breast conservation. The radiation treatment of breast cancer has evolved from 2D to 3D Conformal and to accelarated partial breast irradiation, aiming to reduce normal tissue toxicity and overall treatment time. Systemic therapy in the form of hormone therapy, chemotherapy and biological agents is now a well-established modality in treatment of breast cancer. The current perspective of breast cancer management is based on the rapidly evolving and increasingly integrated study on the genetic, molecular , biochemical and cellular basis of disease. The challenge for the future is to take advantage of this knowledge for the prediction of therapeutic outcome and develop therapies and rapidly apply more novel biologic therapeutics.

HNC accounts for 21.2% of total body malignancy and 47% of all malignancies in males and 2.5% in females. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histological type (97%). Maximum incidence of HNC (>60%) was in 40-60 year of age. Male:female ratio was 16:1. Oral cancers were most common HNC in patients below 40 year age group, whereas carcinoma oropharynx and larynx were more common in patients above 40 year age group. Tobacco smoking was a most prevalent risk factor for carcinoma oropharynx, larynx, and hypopharynx. Tobacco chewing was a most prevalent risk factor in females, young males, and carcinoma buccal mucosa patients. Habit of tobacco consumption in HNC patients was much higher than their normal counterpart. Alcohols drinking alone was observed in <1% patient as a risk factor. In oral tongue cancer, smoking and tobacco chewing were equally prevalent. Habit of tobacco chewing and alcohol were significantly higher in carcinoma buccal mucosa than other HNC suggesting synergistic effect specific to this site.

The primary objective of this research is to develop a better understanding of consumer's post-purchase psychological state by examining the influence of sales promotion and emotional brand attachment on post-purchase cognitive dissonance, taking into account the mediating role of impulse buying behavior. The current study addresses several gaps in literature. Firstly, it is hard to find the direct impact of sales promotion and emotional brand attachment on post-purchase cognitive dissonance. Secondly, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have investigated the mediating role of impulse buying behavior in consumer research. A sample of 256 respondents was collected from Pakistani retail consumers. The statistical findings of this study show that sales promotion has a significant positive effect on the impulse buying behavior and post-purchase cognitive dissonance. Furthermore, results indicate that emotional brand attachment has a negative influence on impulse buying behavior but has a significant positive impact on post-purchase cognitive dissonance. Meanwhile, impulse buying behavior is a potential mediator between sales promotion, emotional brand attachment, and post-purchase cognitive dissonance relationships. The moderating role of Gender describes that the positive relationship between sales promotion and post-purchase cognitive dissonance will be stronger for women as compared to men at a higher level of sales promotion.

Clinical evaluation of smartphone-based fluorescence imaging for guidance and monitoring of ALA-PDT treatment of early oral cancer," J. AbstractSignificance: India has one of the highest rates of oral cancer incidence in the world, accounting for 30% of reported cancers. In rural areas, a lack of adequate medical infrastructure contributes to unchecked disease progression and dismal mortality rates. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as an effective modality with potential for treating early stage disease in resourcelimited settings, while photosensitizer fluorescence can be leveraged for treatment guidance.Aim: Our aim was to assess the capability of a simple smartphone-based device for imaging 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) fluorescence for treatment guidance and monitoring as part of an ongoing clinical study evaluating low-cost technology for ALA-based PDT treatment of early oral cancer.Approach: A total of 29 subjects with <2 cm diameter moderately/well-differentiated microinvasive (< 5 mm depth) oral squamous cell carcinoma lesions (33 lesions total, mean area ∼1.23 cm 2 ) were administered 60 mg∕kg ALA in oral solution and imaged before and after delivery of 100 J∕cm 2 total light dose to the lesion surface. Smartphone-based fluorescence and white light (WL) images were analyzed and compared with ultrasound (US) imaging of the same lesions.Results: We present a comparative analysis of pre-and post-treatment fluorescence, WL, and US images of oral lesions. There was no significant difference in the distribution of lesion widths measured by fluorescence and US (mean widths of 14.5 and 15.3 mm, respectively) and linear regression shows good agreement (R 2 ¼ 0.91). In general, PpIX fluorescence images obtained prior to therapeutic light delivery are able to resolve lesion margins while dramatic photobleaching (∼42%) is visible post-treatment. Segmentation of the photobleached area confirms the boundaries of the irradiated zone. Conclusions:A simple smartphone-based approach for imaging oral lesions is shown to agree in most cases with US, suggesting that this approach may be a useful tool to aid in PDT treatment guidance and monitoring photobleaching as part of a low-cost platform for intraoral PDT.

SUMMARYPrimary squamous cell carcinoma of the parotid gland is a rare aggressive malignancy. It is a rapidly advancing lesion which, if not recognised and treated early, results in high morbidity and mortality. Despite radical surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy, prognosis of this cancer continues to be poor. Careful clinical and histological examination is mandatory to differentiate this tumour from metastatic squamous cell carcinoma and other primary malignancies of the parotid. The authors hereby report the case of a 50-year-old male patient who presented with a progressively increasing, painless mass in parotid region of 6 months duration. An initial fineneedle aspiration cytology and subsequent histopathological examination confirmed that the tumour was squamous cell carcinoma. As no other primary source could be demonstrated in the patient, a final diagnosis of primary squamous cell carcinoma of parotid was offered. Currently the patient is on regular follow-up without any signs of recurrence. BACKGROUND

Twenty isolates of fluorescent pseudomonads and Bacillus spp. were obtained from pathogen suppressive soil of a pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) field showing wilt disease complex. These isolates were evaluated in the laboratory and screen-house for the biocontrol of wilt disease complex. Six isolates were considered to have potential for the biocontrol of the disease on the basis of antibiotic sensitivity, antifungal activity, fluorescence produced by Pseudomonas, inhibitory effect on the hatching and penetration of nematodes and colonization of pigeonpea roots by these isolates. These isolates will be further tested for their biocontrol of wilt disease complex of pigeonpea under field conditions.

Ploidy manipulations are achieved by utilizing unreduced gametes, somatic chromosome doubling or haploidization. Apomixis, the asexual mode of reproduction through seeds, involves two of these phenomena viz., apomeiosis (unreduced embryo-sac formation) and parthenogenesis (fertilization-independent embryogenesis). The two components when partitioned may yield high frequencies of triploids and haploids, and thus, serve as a tool to manipulate ploidy levels when appropriately supplemented with hybridization schemes. Utilizing this Hybridization-supplemented Apomixis-components Partitioning Approach (HAPA), the largest ploidy series in a crop plant was generated in guinea grass (Panicum maximum Jacq.). Eighty-nine diverse guinea grass accessions were characterized for their reproductive capacities to identify tetraploid (2n = 4x = 32) accession(s) with high apospory but reduced parthenogenetic capacity, thereby producing a high frequency of hexaploid seeds. Seeds from accession IG 04-164 were utilized to produce a ploidy series by appropriately combining partitioned apomixis components and hybridizations in two seasonal cycles. We successfully obtained plants representing ploidies 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 8x and 9x, all derived from a single 4x progenitor. Production methodology, reproducibility and utilization of HAPA in cytogenetic and molecular studies are discussed.