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Placental overproduction of anti-angiogenic soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and soluble endoglin (sEng) has a key role in the development of preeclampsia (PE). Circulating endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels are also elevated in PE. In this study, we investigated the correlation between ET-1 and sFlt-1, placental growth factor (PlGF), sEng levels during uncomplicated normotensive pregnancy and PE. A total of 218 pregnant primigravid women were enrolled: 110 with PE and 108 uncomplicated normotensive pregnancies. PE was defined as new onset of elevated blood pressure (BP) >140/90 mm Hg and ⩾2+ proteinuria on two occasions after 20 weeks of gestation in previously normotensive pregnant women. Circulating ET-1, sFlt-1, sEng and PlGF levels were estimated using enzyme immunoassays, and correlation between variables was ascertained. Women with PE showed higher levels of sFlt-1 (41.5±15.7 vs 6.15±3.4 ng ml –1 , P <0.001), sEng (84.9±38.8 vs 13.2±6.3 ng ml –1 , P <0.001), ET-1 (1.52±0.55 vs 0.88±0.35 pg ml –1 , P <0.001) and sFlt-1:PlGF ratio (591.1±468.4 vs 18.3±2.1, P <0.001); and lower levels of PlGF (96.3±47.2 vs 497.6±328.2pg ml –1 , P <0.001). BP levels showed an independent relationship with sFlt-1:PlGF ratio in normotensive pregnant women and with sFlt-1:PlGF ratio and ET-1 in PE. sFlt-1 and sFlt-1:PlGF ratio correlated with proteinuria. ET-1 correlated significantly with sFlt-1, sEng and sFlt-1:PlGF ratio in PE. Our results show an association between elevation of sFlt-1 and sEng and ET-1 in the maternal circulation in PE, and strengthen the possibility that ET-1 may be a mediator in genesis of PE syndrome secondary to anti-angiogenic factors released by the placenta.

Wheat yields in many parts of India are stagnant. The main reason for this is conventional blanket fertilizer recommendation, lower fertilizer use efficiency, and imbalanced use of fertilizers. Estimation of fertilizer requirements based on quantitative approaches can assist in improving wheat yields and increasing nutrient use efficiency.We used the QUEFTS (QUantitative Evaluation of Fertility of Tropical Soils) model for estimation of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) requirements and fertilizer recommendations for a target yield of wheat. The model considers the interactions of N, P, and K, and climate adjusted potential yield of the region. Published data from several field experiments dealing with N, P, and K conducted during the years 1970 to 1998 across wheat-growing environments of India, covering a wide range of soil and climatic conditions, were used to reflect the environmental variability. The relationships between indigenous N, P, and K supply and soil organic carbon, Olsen P, and ammonium acetate-extractable K, respectively, were established. The required N, P, and K accumulation in the plant for 1 tonne grain yield was 23.1, 3.5, and 28.5 kg, respectively, suggesting an average NPK ratio in the plant dry matter of about 6.6:1:8.1. The constants for minimum and maximum accumulation (kg 21 grain kg-1) of N (27 and 60), P (162 and 390), and K (20 and 59) were derived as the standard model parameters in QUEFTS for fertilizer recommendation for irrigated wheat in the tropical and subtropical regions of India. Relationships of apparent recovery efficiencies of fertilizer N, P, and K with levels of their application were also determined. The observed yields of wheat with different amounts of these nutrients were in good agreement with the values predicted by the model, indicating that the model can be used for fertilizer recommendations.

With a global market of 30 billion USD, agricultural insurance plays a key role in risk finance and contributes to climate change adaptation by achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including no poverty, zero hunger, and climate action. The existing evidence in agricultural insurance is scattered across regions, topics and risks, and a structured synthesis is unavailable. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review of 796 peer-reviewed papers on agricultural insurance published between 2000 and 2019. The goal of this review was twofold: (a) categorizing agricultural insurance literature by agricultural product insured, research theme, geographical study area, insurance type and hazards covered, and (b) mapping country-wise research intensity of these indicators vis-à-vis historical and projected risk and crisis events—extreme weather disasters, projected temperature increase under SSP5 (Shared Socioeconomic Pathways) scenario and livestock epidemics. We find that insurance research is focused on high-income countries while crops are the dominating agricultural product insured (33% of the papers). Large producers in production systems like fruits and vegetables (South America), millets (Africa) and fisheries and aquaculture (South-east Asia) are not focused upon in the literature. Research on crop insurance is taking place where historical extreme weather disasters are frequent (correlation coefficient of 0.75), while we find a surprisingly low correlation between climate change induced temperature increases in the future and current research on crop insurance, even when sub-setting for papers on the research theme of climate change and insurance (−.04). There is also limited evidence on the role of insurance to scale adaptation and mitigation measures to de-risk farming. Further, we find that the study area of livestock insurance papers is weakly correlated to the occurrence of livestock epidemics in the past (−.06) and highly correlated to the historical drought frequency (.51). For insurance to play its relevant role in climate change adaptation as described in the SDGs, we recommend governments, insurance companies and researchers to better tune their interest to risk-prone areas and include novel developments in agriculture which will require major investments, and, hence, insurability, in the coming years.

Recent reports of increased serum levels of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) and decreased levels of placental growth factor (PlGF) suggest the key role of angiogenic factors in development of pre-eclampsia. PlGF is excreted in urine, and reduced urinary level has been suggested as a marker of this condition as well as help in its prediction. We measured urinary PlGF and creatinine values in 69 pregnant women (35 with pre-eclampsia and 34 normotensive controls). Over 70% patients had severe pre-eclampsia. Compared to controls, the urinary PlGF and PlGF/creatinine levels were significantly reduced in women with pre-eclampsia. The hospital stay was longer and fetal outcomes poorer in this group. Three normotensive women who showed very low levels developed pre-eclampsia 2–6 weeks later. Reduced urinary PlGF level in a pregnant woman is a marker of pre-eclampsia. The value of reduced urinary PlGF levels in predicting pre-eclampsia in currently normotensive pregnant women needs to be evaluated. A simple predictive test is likely to be of value in the developing countries.

Crop models are essential tools for assessing the threat of climate change to local and global food production(1). Present models used to predict wheat grain yield are highly uncertain when simulating how crops respond to temperature(2). Here we systematically tested 30 different wheat crop models of the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project against field experiments in which growing season mean temperatures ranged from 15 degrees C to 32 degrees C, including experiments with artificial heating. Many models simulated yields well, but were less accurate at higher temperatures. The model ensemble median was consistently more accurate in simulating the crop temperature response than any single model, regardless of the input information used. Extrapolating the model ensemble temperature response indicates that warming is already slowing yield gains at a majority of wheat-growing locations. Global wheat production is estimated to fall by 6% for each degrees C of further temperature increase and become more variable over space and time.