A review on bacterial stalk rot disease of maize caused by Dickeya zeae

Bacterial stalk rot of maize caused by Dickeya zeae previously known as E. chrysanthemi pv. zeaehave economic importance of reduced crop yield up to 98.8%. The disease is more prevalent in rainy season in India. The bacterium prefers high temperature and moisture for their growth result is plant toppled down within week. The pathogen has wide host range (maize, rice, tomato, chilli and brinjal etc.) which help to pathogen for long survival in soil. The bacterium characterized by biochemical and molecular tactics. In present, Pel gene and rDNA specific primers are frequently used for D. zeae characterization. The pathogen significantly controls under in vitro and in vivo condition via bleaching powder (drenching of 100 ppm) and antibiotics. The present studies generated data on pathogen nomenclature, etiology, epidemiology, host range, pathogen survival, biochemical, physiological and molecular characterization, germplasm evaluation and disease management

Association between poor oral health and diabetes among Indian adult population: potential for integration with NCDs.

BACKGROUND: Studies in high-income countries have reported associations between oral health and diabetes. There is however a lack of evidence on this association from low and middle-income countries, especially India. The current study aimed to assess the prevalence of common oral diseases and their association with diabetes. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was nested within the second Cardiometabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia Surveillance Study. A subset of study participants residing in Delhi were administered the World Health Organization's Oral Health Assessment Questionnaire and underwent oral examination for caries experience and periodontal health assessment using standard indices. Diabetes status was ascertained by fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin values or self-reported medication use. Information was captured on co-variates of interest. The association between oral health and diabetes was investigated using Multivariable Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression analysis. RESULTS: Out of 2045 participants, 47% were women and the mean age of study participants was 42.17 (12.8) years. The age-standardised prevalence (95% confidence interval) estimates were 78.9% (75.6-81.7) for dental caries, 35.9% (32.3-39.6) for periodontitis. Nearly 85% participants suffered from at least one oral disease. Compared to diabetes-free counterparts, participants with diabetes had more severe caries experience [Mean Count Ratio (MCR)?=?1.07 (1.03-1.12)] and attachment loss [MCR?=?1.10 (1.04-1.17)]. Also, the adjusted prevalence of periodontitis was significantly higher among participants with diabetes [42.3%(40.0-45.0)] compared to those without diabetes [31.3%(30.3-32.2)]. CONCLUSION: We found that eight out of ten participants in urban Delhi suffered from some form of oral disease and participants with diabetes had worse oral health. This highlights the need for public health strategies to integrate oral health within the existing Non-Communicable Disease control programs

Global burden of chronic respiratory diseases and risk factors, 1990–2019: an update from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Updated data on chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are vital in their prevention, control, and treatment in the path to achieving the third UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a one-third reduction in premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2030. We provided global, regional, and national estimates of the burden of CRDs and their attributable risks from 1990 to 2019. Methods: Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we estimated mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), prevalence, and incidence of CRDs, i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, pneumoconiosis, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis, and other CRDs, from 1990 to 2019 by sex, age, region, and Socio-demographic Index (SDI) in 204 countries and territories. Deaths and DALYs from CRDs attributable to each risk factor were estimated according to relative risks, risk exposure, and the theoretical minimum risk exposure level input. Findings: In 2019, CRDs were the third leading cause of death responsible for 4.0 million deaths (95% uncertainty interval 3.6–4.3) with a prevalence of 454.6 million cases (417.4–499.1) globally. While the total deaths and prevalence of CRDs have increased by 28.5% and 39.8%, the age-standardised rates have dropped by 41.7% and 16.9% from 1990 to 2019, respectively. COPD, with 212.3 million (200.4–225.1) prevalent cases, was the primary cause of deaths from CRDs, accounting for 3.3 million (2.9–3.6) deaths. With 262.4 million (224.1–309.5) prevalent cases, asthma had the highest prevalence among CRDs. The age-standardised rates of all burden measures of COPD, asthma, and pneumoconiosis have reduced globally from 1990 to 2019. Nevertheless, the age-standardised rates of incidence and prevalence of interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis have increased throughout this period. Low- and low-middle SDI countries had the highest age-standardised death and DALYs rates while the high SDI quintile had the highest prevalence rate of CRDs. The highest deaths and DALYs from CRDs were attributed to smoking globally, followed by air pollution and occupational risks. Non-optimal temperature and high body-mass index were additional risk factors for COPD and asthma, respectively. Interpretation: Albeit the age-standardised prevalence, death, and DALYs rates of CRDs have decreased, they still cause a substantial burden and deaths worldwide. The high death and DALYs rates in low and low-middle SDI countries highlights the urgent need for improved preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures. Global strategies for tobacco control, enhancing air quality, reducing occupational hazards, and fostering clean cooking fuels are crucial steps in reducing the burden of CRDs, especially in low- and lower-middle income countries

Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4–40·7) to 50·3% (50·0–50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1–46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5–29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2–89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664–711) of the 1830 (1797–1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6–80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6–59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

Magnetorheological Finishing of Chemically Treated Electroless Nickel Plating

Electroless nickel plating with a nanofinished surface is used in space mirrors, automobile parts, aircraft components, optical instruments, and electronic equipment. Finishing of these components using conventional finishing techniques is limited due to size, shape, material, and process constraints. This work reports the nanofinishing of electroless nickel-plated surfaces using a magnetorheological finishing process where the surfaces are pre-treated with chemicals. The chemicals used in this work are hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydrofluoric acid (HF). The effect of exposure time and concentration on the microhardness and roughness is studied to understand the surface chemistry after chemical treatment. The hydrogen peroxide forms a passivated layer, and it helps in easy material removal. Hydrofluoric acid improves surface quality and also helps in the removal of contaminants. The finished surface is characterized to understand the effect of chemical treatment on the finishing rate and surface topography. Normal and tangential forces are mainly affected by the hardness and surface condition after the chemical treatment. The best combination of parameters (chemical treatment with 1% HF for 30 min) was obtained and finishing was carried out to obtain a nanofinished surface with its areal surface roughness (Sa) reduced to 10 nm

Magnetorheological Finishing of Chemically Treated Electroless Nickel Plating

Electroless nickel plating with a nanofinished surface is used in space mirrors, automobile parts, aircraft components, optical instruments, and electronic equipment. Finishing of these components using conventional finishing techniques is limited due to size, shape, material, and process constraints. This work reports the nanofinishing of electroless nickel-plated surfaces using a magnetorheological finishing process where the surfaces are pre-treated with chemicals. The chemicals used in this work are hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydrofluoric acid (HF). The effect of exposure time and concentration on the microhardness and roughness is studied to understand the surface chemistry after chemical treatment. The hydrogen peroxide forms a passivated layer, and it helps in easy material removal. Hydrofluoric acid improves surface quality and also helps in the removal of contaminants. The finished surface is characterized to understand the effect of chemical treatment on the finishing rate and surface topography. Normal and tangential forces are mainly affected by the hardness and surface condition after the chemical treatment. The best combination of parameters (chemical treatment with 1% HF for 30 min) was obtained and finishing was carried out to obtain a nanofinished surface with its areal surface roughness (Sa) reduced to 10 nm

Is robot-assisted radical cystectomy superior to standard open radical cystectomy? An Indian perspective

Introduction: Open radical cystectomy (ORC) has been the standard treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, but this is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) has been proposed as minimally invasive alternative with improved morbidity and acceptable oncological outcomes, but a large series featuring RARC and their comparison with ORC is still lacking in India despite more than a decade of its inception. We have conducted this study with an objective to see the feasibility of RARC in the Indian context and compare it with contemporary standard. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study conducted at two tertiary cancer institutes. We have evaluated the patients pertaining to operative and early post-operative factors from January 2014 to December 2015. Necessary statistical tests applied to see comparability of the arms and their outcomes. Results: A total of 170 patients underwent surgery for carcinoma bladder (45 ORC while 125 RARC). Intraoperative blood loss (RARC and ORC: 228 and 529 ml) and average transfusion rate were lower with RARC. A trend towards benefit was noted in favour of robotic arm in terms of mean complication rate (RARC and ORC: 54 and 39%). Conclusions: The present study has shown comparable surgical and early post-operative outcomes with clear advantage of robotic approach in terms of intraoperative blood transfusion and lymph node yield. Although the study was non-randomised in nature, it should provide substantial evidence on safety and feasibility of RARC in the Indian context and a reference point of evidence to look ahead