Genetic distance and phylogenetic studies of two Indian snakehead and one carp fish species

Aim: To study genetic distance and phylogenetic relationship of two different stock of three important fish species, i.e., Channa stewartii, C. striatus and Labeo gonius of Assam. Methodology: Three fish species, namely Channa stewartii, C. striatus and Labeo gonius were collected from two beels, i.e., Thekera and Samaguri beels of Assam, India. Standard procedures were followed for isolation of their DNA and sequencing. Thereafter, genetic distance and diversity and phylogenetic studies of three species were calculated using computer based softwares ClustalW and MEGA6. Results: In the present study, the pairwise genetic distance of three fish species ranged from 0 to 20.436. No pairwise distance was found between two stocks at different locations Thekera and Samaguri beels of Assam for each of three species C. stewartii, C. striatus and L. gonius. The highest values (20.436) of pairwise distance were found between C. striatus and L. gonius population of Thekera beel; Thekera and Samaguri beels; and L. gonius population of the Thekera and Samaguri beels. The overall average distance for the two populations of three fish species was 15.387. No significant intraspecific difference was observed in the phylogenetic studies of two stocks of three fish species. Interpretation: The overall average distance (15.387) of three fish species could be attributed to genetic distance from each other. The high value of coefficient of differentiation (1.000) for three fish species from two stocks indicated that all the species were different from each other. Overall genetic and phylogenetic studies revealed that C. stewartii, C. striatus and L. gonius. were less differentiated from each other.

Effect of deferasirox on serum ferritin level in children with thalassemia major: impact of transfusional iron load

Background: Ongoing transfusional iron load (TIL) is an important determinant while deciding starting and subsequent dose adjustment of deferasirox during course of chelation therapy. So present study aims to find out effect of different dosing of deferasirox over the serum ferritin level in children with thalassemia major with impact of rate of transfusional iron load.Methods: This one year observational study was carried out in 35 transfusion dependent ?-thalassemic patients aged 2-18 years. Patients with baseline serum ferritin 1000-1500ng/ml and/or receiving TIL 0.2-0.3mg/kg/day were started 20mg/kg/day deferasirox and patients with ferritin>1500ng/ml and/or having TIL > 0.3mg/kg/day were started 30mg/kg/day deferasirox. Serum ferritin was repeated in every three months. Dose adjustments were performed on serum ferritin trends in steps of 5-10mg/kg /day to maximum 40mg/kg/day. Evaluation of relationship between dose adjustment, percentage of reduction in serum ferritin and TIL was done.Results: Group-1 patients(42.8%) had TIL 0.2 to 0.3mg/kg/day whereas Group-2(37.1%) and Group-3(20%) children had TIL >0.3-0.4mg/kg/day and >0.4 mg/kg/day respectively. Starting dose of deferasirox in 25.7% patients was 20mg/kg/day and in rest were 30mg/kg/day. Average dose of deferasirox in group-1 was significantly lower as compared to group-2 and group-3 patients ( p< 0.05). Significant decline in mean serum ferritin was observed in all three groups (p < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between TIL and average drug dose prescribed (r=0.5411and p=0.0007) but negative insignificant correlation was observed with percentage of reduction in serum ferritin(r=0.0027and p=0.98).Conclusions: Deferasirox 30mg/kg/day significantly reduces serum ferritin and is well tolerated in majority of patients having TIL 0.3-0.4mg/kg/day where as 20mg/kg/day is required in patients having low transfusional iron intake.

25-Year trends in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control in an Indian urban population: Jaipur Heart Watch

Objectives We evaluated trends in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment and control in an Indian urban population over 25 years. Trends were projected to year 2030 to determine attainment of World Health Organization (WHO) Global Monitoring Framework targets. Methods Adult participants (n = 7440, men 4237, women 3203) enrolled in successive population based studies in Jaipur, India from years 1991 to 2015 were evaluated for hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment and control. The studies were performed in years 1991–93 (n = 2212), 1999–01 (n = 1123), 2003–04 (n = 458), 2006–07 (n = 1127), 2009–10 (n = 739) and 2012–15 (n = 1781). Descriptive statistics are reported. We used logarithmic forecasting to year 2030 and compared outcomes to WHO target of 25% lower prevalence and >50% control. Results The age-adjusted hypertension prevalence (%) among adults in successive studies increased from 29.5, 30.2, 36.5, 42.1, 34.4 to 36.1 (R2 = 0.41). Increasing trends were observed for hypertension awareness (13, 44, 49, 44, 49, 56; R2 = 0.63); treatment in all (9, 22, 38, 34, 41, 36; R2 = 0.68) and aware hypertensives (61, 66, 77, 79, 70, 64; R2 = 0.46); and control in all (2, 14, 13, 18, 21, 21; R2 = 0.82), aware (12, 33, 27, 46, 37, 37; R2 = 0.54) and treated (9, 20, 21, 48, 36, 49; R2 = 0.80) hypertensive participants. Projections to year 2030 show increases in prevalence to 44% (95% CI 43–45), awareness to 82% (81–83), treatment to 62% (61–63), and control to 36% (35–37). Conclusion Hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment and control rates are increasing among urban populations in India. Better awareness is associated with greater control. The rates of increase are off-target for WHO Global Monitoring Framework and UN Sustainable Development Goals.

An Ergonomic Approach For Designing A Seat For Fish Processing Workers

The present study aimed to design a sitting stool for fish processing worker to reduce the postural stress during work. The study was conducted on 74 male and female fish processing workers selected randomly. The Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) of the subjects was assessed by the modified Nordic Questionnaire method. The body joint angles were measured by a digital goniometer. The results revealed that MSD was highly prevalent in lower back region in both male (78.57%) and female (93.47%) workers. The results of body joint angles suggested a high degree of forward bending during work. Efforts were made to design a sitting stool considering the human factors of the users to reduce the postural problems. The stool was designed by considering 5th and 95th percentile values of different anthropometric dimensions of the male and female workers. Paired comparison tests were employed to determine optimum dimensions of the stool for ensuring the compatibility of the physical characteristics of the stool with human body. From the results of paired comparison test and anthropometric characteristics of the users, physical dimensions of the sitting stool were settled for final designing. From the results, the height of the stool was determined separately for male and female workers. In the suggested design the height of the seat was 25cm for male and 20cm for female where the length and depth of the seat were 40cm and 32cm respectively for both sexes.A mechanical system was incorporated in the design so that the same stool could be used by the male and female workers. Subjective evaluation indicated that most of the subjects (>75%) rated the seat as good or very good. The joint angle study with suggested seat showed improved working posture.

Diversity of Globins in Myxobacteria.

Globins are heme proteins that are capable of reversible oxygen binding. All globins can be classified into three families: the M (myoglobin-like), S (sensor) and T (truncated) globins. M and S globins exhibit the canonical 3/3 α-helical fold, and T globins are characterized by a 2/2 α-helical fold. Globins in the genomes of myxobacteria have not been characterized till date. Myxobacteria have very large genomes relative to other bacteria and have a unique life cycle that involves the aggregation of cells into fruiting bodies under starvation conditions. The diversity of globin like sequences in 14 sequenced genomes of myxobacteria is presented in this review. In myxobacterial globins some unusual domain architectures are identified that have not been characterized in bacteria so far; these are: i) a unique chimeric group I 2/2 HbN in the genome of Corallococcus coralloides DSM 2259; ii) M globin chimera harboring a central and a C-terminal globin domain in Sorangium cellulosum ‘so ce 56’ and Plesiocystis pacifica SIR-1 respectively; iii) two tandem globin domains on the same M globin polypeptide in the genomes of Sorangium cellulosum.

Hypobaric hypoxia-mediated protein expression in plasma of susceptible & tolerant rats.

Background & objectives: Low availability of oxygen at high altitudes has a great impact on the human life processes. There is a widespread interest and need to find out protein(s) that are possibly involved in mediating tolerance to hypobaric hypoxia. We undertook this study to identify and characterize protein expression in plasma of hypoxia susceptible and tolerant rats. Methods: Male albino Sprague Dawley rats were segregated into susceptible and tolerant groups on the basis of their gasping time when exposed to simulated hypobaric hypoxia of 32,000 ft (9,754 m) at 32ºC. Comparative proteome profiling of blood plasma of hypoxia susceptible and tolerant individuals was performed using 2-dimentional (2-D) gel electrophoresis. Results: Three proteins with higher expression levels were selected separately from tolerant and susceptible samples. Characterization of these proteins from tolerant sample using MALDI-TOF/TOF and MASCOT search indicated their homology with two different super-families viz. NADB-Rossmann superfamily (Rab GDP dissociation inhibitor β) and Transferrin superfamily (two Serotransferrins), having potential role in imparting tolerance against hypoxia. Three high level upregulated proteins were characterized from blood plasma of hypoxia susceptible animals showing similarity with threonine tRNA ligase (mitochondrial), carbohydrate sulphotransferase 7 and aspartate tRNA ligase (cytoplasmic) that play a role in ATP binding, carbohydrate metabolism and protein biosynthesis, respectively. Interpretation & conclusions: Our results indicated that rats segregated into hypoxia sensitive and tolerant based on their gasping time showed differential expression of proteins in blood plasma. Characterization of these differentially expressed proteins will lead to better understanding of molecular responses occurring during hypoxia and subsequently development of biomarkers for categorization of hypoxia susceptible and tolerant individuals.

Awareness of pro-tobacco advertising and promotion and beliefs about tobacco use: Findings from the Tobacco Control Policy [TCP] India Pilot Survey

Tobacco companies are utilizing similar strategies to advertise and promote their products in developing countries as they have used successfully for over 50 years in developed countries. The present study describes how adult smokers, smokeless tobacco users, and non-users of tobacco from the Tobacco Control Project [TCP] India Pilot Survey, conducted in 2006, responded to questions regarding their perceptions and observations of pro-tobacco advertising and promotion and beliefs about tobacco use. Analyses found that 74% [n = 562] of respondents reported seeing some form of pro-tobacco advertising in the last six months, with no differences observed between smokers [74%], smokeless tobacco users [74%], and nonsmokers [73%]. More than half of respondents reported seeing pro-tobacco advertising on store windows or inside shops. Overall, this study found that a significant percentage of tobacco users and non-users in India report seeing some form of pro-tobacco advertising and promotion messages. Additional analyses found that smokers were more likely to perceive tobacco use as harmful to their health compared with smokeless tobacco users and non-users [p < 0.01]. The findings from this study reiterate the need for stronger legislation and strict enforcement of bans on direct and indirect advertising and promotion of tobacco products in India

Oral Myiasis: Case report.

Oral myiasis is a rare disease caused by larvae of dipteran flies. Houseflies are strongly suspected of transmitting at least 65 diseases to humans, including typhoid fever, dysentery and cholera. Flies regurgitate and excrete wherever they come to rest and thereby mechanically are the root cause for disease organisms. A case of oral myiasis caused by Chrysomya bezziana in the maxillary anterior region in a 40‑year‑old patient is presented. Manual removal of maggots, and surgical debridement of wound was done followed by broad‑spectrum anti‑parasitic medications. A note on the identification of the larva and histopathology of the tissue is also highlighted here.

Implication of microsatellite instability in human gastric cancers.

Microsatellite instability, one of the phenomena implicated in gastric cancer, is mainly associated with the expansion or contraction of microsatellite sequences due to replication errors caused most frequently by mutations in the mismatch repair (MMR) and tumour suppressor genes. Tumours exhibiting microsatellite instability are proven to have truncated products resulting from frequent mutations in mononucleotide or dinucleotide runs in coding and non-coding regions of the targeted genes. Epigenetic changes like hypermethylation of the promoter region of MMR genes as well as gene silencing are also responsible for the microsatellite instability phenotypes. Assessing microsatellite instability in tumours has proved to be an efficient tool for the prognosis of various cancers including colorectal and gastric cancers. Such tumours are characterized by distinct clinicopathological profiles. Biotic agents like Epstein Barr Virus and H. pylori along with other factors like family history, diet and geographical location also play an important role in the onset of gastric carcinogenesis. Instability of mitochondrial DNA has also been investigated and claimed to be involved in the occurrence of gastric cancers in humans. Development of simplified but robust and reproducible microsatellite instability based molecular tools promises efficient prognostic assessment of gastric tumours.

Smokeless tobacco: A major public health problem in the SEA region: A review.

Smokeless tobacco use is on the upswing in some parts of the world, including parts of SEAR. It is therefore important to monitor this problem and understand the possible consequences on public health. Material for this review was obtained from documents and data of the World Health Organization, co-authors, colleagues, and searches on key words in PubMed and on Google. Smokeless tobacco use in SEAR, as betel quid with tobacco, declined with increased marketing of cigarettes from the early twentieth century. Smokeless tobacco use began to increase in the 1970s in South Asia, with the marketing of new products made from areca nut and tobacco and convenient packaging. As a consequence, oral precancerous conditions and cancer incidence in young adults have increased significantly. Thailand's successful policies in reducing betel quid use through school health education from the 1920s and in preventing imports of smokeless tobacco products from 1992 are worth emulating by many SEAR countries. India, the largest manufacturing country of smokeless tobacco in the Region, is considering ways to regulate its production. Best practices require the simultaneous control of smokeless and smoking forms of tobacco. Governments in SEAR would do well to adopt strong measures now to control this problem.

Retrospective analysis of duodenal injuries: a comprehensive overview

Duodenal injury is an uncommon finding, accounting for about about 3 - 5% of abdominal trauma, mainly resulting from both penetrating and blunt trauma, and is associated with significant mortality [6 - 25%] and morbidity [30 - 60%]. Retrospective analysis was performed in terms of presentation, management, morbidity and mortality on 14 patients of duodenal injuries out of a total of 172 patients of abdominal trauma attending Subharti Medical College. Epigastric pain [100%] along with vomiting [100%] is the usual presentation of duodenal injuries in blunt abdominal trauma, especially to the upper abdomen. Computed tomography [CT] was diagnostic in all cases. Isolated duodenal injury is a rare finding and the second part is mostly affected. Duodenal injury should always be suspected in blunt upper abdominal trauma, especially in those presenting with epigastric pain and vomiting. Investigation by CT and early surgical intervention in these patients are valuable tools to reduce the morbidity and mortality

The relationship between tobacco advertisements and smoking status of youth in India.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between tobacco advertisements, counter-advertisements, and smoking status among Indian youth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) data was used; the data encompassed a representative two-stage probability sample of 60,001 students aged 13-15 years in 24 states in India. These students were interviewed with an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed with smoking status as the dependent variable, and exposure to cigarette advertisements or counter-advertisements as independent variables. RESULTS: Students watching anti-smoking media messages were less likely to be current smokers, which was true for both boys [OR = 0.89, 95% CI (0.81-0.98)] and girls [OR = 0.79, 95% CI (0.69-.90)]. This relationship was stronger among past smokers for boys [OR = 0.56, 95%CI (0.52-0.60)] and girls [OR = 0.49, 95% CI (0.45-0.53)]. On the other hand, students who were exposed to cigarette brand names during sports events and other televised programs, newspapers or magazines, and being offered free cigarette or cigarette-branded merchandise promotions were significantly more likely to be smokers, with effects ranging from moderate (OR=1.19) to very strong (OR=3.83). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first attempt from India to investigate the relationship between smoking and advertising. When the data were collected, cigarette advertising was legal and highly correlated with smoking behavior. Today, indirect surrogate advertising still exists; future research should examine its effect, as it is likely to have the same impact as direct advertising on smoking behavior. Finally, counter-advertising has a protective effect on youth and may function as a cessation aid.

Bilateral fibular hemimelia with recto-vestibular fistula associated with amniotic bands.

Fibular Hemimelia is a rare congenital disorder of deficiency to complete absence of fibula. It has been associated with post axial skeletal anomalies like shortening of femur, absence of lateral rays of foot and syndactyle, polydactyle etc. We report this case because of associated amniotic constriction bands over both the forearm, suggesting amniotic bands may be one of the causal factors of Fibular Hemimelia due to insult to the growing limb bud.

Obesity is major determinant of coronary risk factors in India: Jaipur Heart Watch studies.

OBJECTIVE: The impact of rising population-wide obesity on cardiovascular risk factors has not been well studied in low-income countries. To correlate the prevalence of obesity with risk factors we performed epidemiological studies in India. METHODS: Multiple cross-sectional epidemiological studies, Jaipur Heart Watch (JHW), were performed in India in rural and urban locations. From these cohorts, subjects aged 20-59 years (men 4102, women 2872) were included. Prevalence of various risk factors: smoking/tobacco use, overweight/obesity (body mass index > or = 25 kg/m2) truncal obesity (waist:hip > or = 0.95 men, > or = 0.85 women), hypertension, dyslipidemias, metabolic syndrome and diabetes was determined. Trends were examined using least squares regression. RESULTS: Smoking/tobacco use was more in rural men (50.0% vs 40.6%) and urban women (8.9% vs 4.5%, p < 0.01). Obesity, truncal obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome were more in urban cohorts (p < 0.001). Age-adjusted prevalence (%) of obesity in various cohorts, rural JHW, and urban JHW-1, JHW-2, JHW-3, and JHW-4 respectively, in men was 9.4, 21.1, 35.6, 54.0, and 50.9 (r2 = 0.92, p = 0.009) and in women 8.9, 15.7, 45.1, 61.5, and 57.7 (r2 = 0.88, p = 0.018). Prevalence of truncal obesity in men was 3.2, 19.6, 39.6, 41.4, and 31.1 (r2 = 0.60, p = 0.124) and in women 10.1, 49.5, 42.1, 51.7, and 50.5 (r2 = 0.56, p = 0.1467). In successive cohorts increasing trends were observed in the prevalence of hypertension (r2 = 0.93, p = 0.008) and metabolic syndrome (r2 = 0.99, p = 0.005) with weaker trends for hypercholesterolemia (r2 = 0.41, p = 0.241) and diabetes (r2 = 0.79, p = 0.299) in men. In women, significant trends were observed for hypertension (r2 = 0.98, p = 0.001) and weaker trends for others. Increase in generalized obesity correlated significantly with hypertension (two-line regression r2, men 0.91, women 0.88), hypercholesterolemia (0.53, 0.44), metabolic syndrome (0.87, 0.94) and diabetes (0.84, 0.93). Truncal obesity correlated less strongly with the risk factors like hypertension (0.50, 0.57), hypercholesterolemia (0.88, 0.61), metabolic syndrome (0.76, 0.33), and diabetes (0.75, 0.33). CONCLUSIONS: In Asian Indian subjects, escalating population-wide generalized obesity correlates strongly with increasing cardiovascular risk factors.

Tobacco use among students and school personnel in India.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco usage is addictive and causative for several diseases and premature death. Concerted efforts by the individual and society are needed for control and for surveillance. The habit is initiated during early youth and this age group requires constant monitoring and timely appropriate action to curtail usage. The WHO FCTC has recommended actions to monitor and limit the tobacco use in young age groups. One of the actions is to examine the prevalence of tobacco habits in school children 13-15 years of age and of personnel employed in schools. METHODS: WHO & CDC designed the study systems for Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) and Global School Personnel Survey (GSPS). In 2006 we conducted GYTS and GSPS in several parts of the country. The schools were chosen by strict sampling procedure and a well structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on tobacco usage from 13 to 15 year old students of chosen schools and personnel of these schools. RESULTS: Current use of any tobacco product was 14.1% among students (17.3% boys, 9.8% girls) and among school personnel it was 29.2%(35.0% males and 13.7% females). The prevalence was highest among male students in North East (34%) and the lowest was 4.9% among female students of western states. Cigarettes and Bidi smoking were more prevalent among boys. Smokeless tobacco use prevalence rate varied between 20% and 4.5% among boys and between 21.5% and 1.6% among girl students. Among male school personnel, the prevalence varied from 57.9% in NE to 25.7% in South. Among females 26.5% were tobacco users in the NE and in Western region it was 6.6%. CONCLUSION: It is essential to adopt forceful strategies, which are area specific, in order to undo the harm inflicted by tobacco use upon the individuals &society. Periodic surveys for surveillance of trends are essential to evaluate the outcome of programmes among students and school personnels.

Stage at diagnosis and relative differences in breast and prostate cancer incidence in India: comparison with the United States.

PURPOSE: To examine and reconcile differences in incidence rates and stage-at-initial-presentation of prostate and breast cancers in India, a country in epidemiologic transition. METHODS: Age-adjusted prostate and female breast cancer incidence rates and proportion of cases by stage-at-diagnosis were compared. Data were derived from the National Cancer Registry Program of India, other Indian registries, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the US/ NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. RESULTS: Average annual cancer incidence rates in India ranged from 5.0 to 9.1 per 100,000/year for prostate and 7.2 to 31.3 per 100,000/year for female breast. Comparative rates in the US for prostate cancer are 110.4 for Whites and 180.9 for Blacks; for female breast, the rates are 86.6 for Blacks and 96.4 for Whites. Notable differences were observed between rural and urban areas in India, while such differences by rurality appear to be much smaller in the US. Overall, about 50-55% of breast cancer cases and about 85% of prostate cancers were detected at late (III and IV) stage; in contrast to the US where 15% of either cancer is diagnosed at late stage. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in stage-at-diagnosis help explain variations in incidence rates among cancer registries in India and rate differences between India and the US. These findings indicate that erroneous inferences will result from incidence-rate comparisons that do not take into account stage-at-diagnosis. Results also point to epidemiologic studies that could be conducted to deepen understanding of the etiology of these cancers. By enhancing data on staging, the Indian cancer registries could widen the scope of collaborative, cross-national research.