Haem oxygenase (HO) degrades free haem released from haem proteins with the generation of ferrous iron (Fe2+), biliverdin-IXalpha (BV-IXalpha), and carbon monoxide (CO). The mechanism of haem cleavage has been conserved between plants and other organisms even though the function, subcellular localization, and cofactor requirements of HO differ substantially. The crystal structure of HO1, a monomeric protein, has been extensively reported in mammals, pathogenic bacteria, and cyanobacteria, but no such reports are available for higher plant HOs except a predicted model for pea HO1. Along with haem degradation, HO performs various cellular processes including iron acquisition/mobilization, phytochrome chromophore synthesis, cell protection, and stomatal regulation. To date, four HO genes (HO1, HO2, HO3, and HO4) have been reported in plants. HO1 has been well explored in cell metabolism; however, the divergent roles of the other three HOs is less known. The transcriptional up-regulation of HO1 in plants responds to many agents, such as light, UV, iron deprivation, reactive oxygen species (ROS), abscisic acid (ABA), and haematin. Recently the HO1/CO system has gained more attention due to its physiological cytoprotective role in plants. This review focuses on the recent advances made in plant HO research involving its role in environmental stresses. Moreover, the review emphasizes physiological, biochemical, and molecular aspects of this enzyme in plants.

Research on NO in plants has achieved huge attention in recent years mainly due to its function in plant growth and development under biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present study, we investigated Cd induced NO generation and its relationship to ROS and antioxidant regulation in Brassica juncea. Cd accumulated rapidly in roots and caused oxidative stress as indicated by increased level of lipid peroxidation and H2O2 thus, inhibiting the overall plant growth. It significantly decreased the root length, leaf water content and photosynthetic pigments. A rapid induction in intracellular NO was observed at initial exposures and low concentrations of Cd. A 2.74-fold increase in intracellular NO was recorded in roots treated with 25 μM Cd than control. NO effects on Malondialdehyde (MDA) content and on antioxidant system was investigated by using sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO donor and a scavenger, [2-(4-carboxy-2-phenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylinidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide] (cPTIO). Roots pretreated with 5 mM SNP for 6 h when exposed to 25 μM Cd for 24 h reduced the level of proline, non-protein thiols, SOD, APX and CAT in comparison to only Cd treatments. However, this effect was almost blocked by 100 μM cPTIO pretreatment to roots for 1 h. This ameliorating effect of NO was specific because cPTIO completely reversed the effect in the presence of Cd. Thus, the present study report that NO strongly counteracts Cd induced ROS mediated cytotoxicity in B. juncea by controlling antioxidant metabolism as the related studies are not well reported in this species.

In vitro grown callus and seedlings of Brassica juncea were treated with equimolar concentrations of cadmium and compared for their respective tolerance to cadmium. Calli cultures were grown on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with alpha 6-benzyl aminopurine (200 microg (-1), naphthalene acetic acid 200 microg L(-1)) and 2,4-dichloro-phenoxy acetic acid (65 microg L(-1)) while the seedlings grown on Hoagland's nutrient solution have been carried out. Cellular homeostasis and detoxification to cadmium in B. juncea were studied by analyzing the growth in terms of fresh weight and dry weight, lipid peroxidation, proline accumulation, and antioxidative enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase (CAT)). At 200 microM cadmium, callus and seedlings showed 73.61% and 74.76% reduction in tolerance, respectively. A significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) content was found in both calli and seedlings; however, the amount of MDA content was more in seedlings. Proline content increased on lower concentration of cadmium (up to 50 microM), and it further decreased (up to 200 microM). But the accumulation of proline was higher in callus cultures. The overall activity of antioxidative enzymes (SOD, CAT, and APX) was found to be higher in callus in comparison to seedlings of B. juncea. Callus and seedlings showed a significant (P

Original Research ArticleAwareness, attitude and practice of family planning methods in a tertiary care hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India Uruj Jahan, Kavita Verma*, Shruti Gupta, Renu Gupta, Simmi Mahour, Neha Kirti, Poonam Verma INTRODUCTIONIncreasing population growth is a worldwide problem today and our country with a growth rate of 16 million each year is the second most populous in the world. Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACTBackground: Family planning services have the potential to improve the quality of the lives of people and their economic welfare. The objective of the study was to assess the level of awareness, attitude, and current practice of different family planning methods and to elicit reasons for couples not using any method. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was done among 1050 married women of reproductive age . Results: Most of the women were between 21-34 years of age (60.1%) and had primary level of education (40%).It was observed that with increase in level of education, awareness also increased (77.7%). The most common source of information was mass media (53.2%). Contraceptive prevalence rate was 62.9%, higher than the national data as 28.5%. Most of them (93.1%) were aware of atleast one family planning method. The most commonly known were OCPs (74.8%), condom (68.8%) and IUCD (56.6%). Awareness about female sterilisation (36.4%) was more than male sterilisation (25.3%). 62.9% had used atleast one contraceptive method, three prevailing methods used were condom (65.1%), OCPs (31.8%) and IUCD (9.09%). Reasons precluding women from practicing contraception were desire to have a child (60.5%), lack of knowledge (42.4%), and unbearable side effects (25.5%). Majority (92.4%) thought that contraceptive use was beneficial but only (27.2%) expressed the willingness to start practicing contraception if they received more information about the subject. Conclusions: Majority of women had optimal knowledge and favourable attitude, still there is need to educate and motivate couples to improve family planning services.