Epidemiology of Diarrhea among under-five Children in a Village in Sunderbans, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India

Background: Though various studies have been carried out on the problem of diarrheal disease in under-five children in various parts of India, no comprehensive study has so far been done on this problem in deltaic region of West Bengal, the Sunderbans.Objectives: A study was undertaken in a prototype village, in Sunderban area to assess the prevalence of diarrheal disease in under-five children and to assess various factors which influence its occurrence.Methods: Information was collected from all households from village Hogolduri, in Sunderban area, South 24 Parganas regarding socioeconomic characteristics, water source, and sanitation status of the population. Frequency of occurrence of Diarrhea during last three months in each child under-five years of age was recorded and maternal characteristics and child’s nutrition were also noted.Results: Among the 5264 people residing in 1231 households in Hogolduri village, majority of the people were Muslims (79%). Majority (80.7%) of the families belonged to below-poverty-line (BPL). Out of 486 children living in the village, from which all the data were available, diarrhea occurred during last three months in 45.68% of children. Important contributing factors for such morbidity of children were found to be absence of toilets in households, non-use of soap for hand washing after defecation and after child’s stool cleaning by mothers, absence of vaccination against measles and low nutritional status of children.Conclusions: Multiple factors are responsible for high incidence of diarrheal disease in children in a prototype village in Sunderban area

Long-term reduction of jaundice in gunn rats by nonviral liver-targeted delivery of sleeping beauty transposon

Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR)-mediated endocytosis has been used to target genes to hepatocytes in vivo. However, the level and duration of transgene expression have been low because of lysosomal translocation and degradation of the DNA and lack of its integration into the host genome. In this study we packaged the DNA of interest in proteoliposomes containing the fusogenic galactose-terminated F-glycoprotein of the Sendai virus (FPL) for targeted delivery to hepatocytes. After the FPL binds to ASGPR on the hepatocyte surface, fusogenic activity of the F-protein delivers the DNA into the cytosol, bypassing the endosomal pathway. For transgene integration we designed plasmids containing one transcription unit expressing the Sleeping Beauty transposase (SB) and another expressing human uridinediphosphoglucuronate glucuronosyltransferase-1A1 (pSB-hUGT1A1). The latter was flanked by inverted/direct repeats that are substrates of SB. In cell culture, FPL-mediated delivery of the E. coli β-galactosidase gene (LacZ) resulted in transduction of ASGPR-positive cells (rat hepatocytes or Hepa1 cell line), but not of ASGPR-negative 293 cells. Intravenous injection of the FPL-entrapped pSB-hUGT1A1 (4-8 μg/day, 1-4 doses) into UGT1A1-deficient hyperbilirubinemic Gunn rats (model of Crigler-Najjar syndrome type 1) resulted in hUGT1A1 expression in 5%-10% of hepatocytes, but not in other cell types. Serum bilirubin levels declined by 30% ± 4% in 2 weeks and remained at that level throughout the 7-month study duration. With histidine containing FPL, serum bilirubin was reduced by 40% ± 5%, and bilirubin glucuronides were excreted into bile. No antibodies were detectable in the recipient rats against the F-protein or human UGT1A1. Conclusion: FPL is an efficient hepatocyte-targeted gene delivery platform in vivo that warrants further exploration toward clinical application

Appearance of T-cell Markers in Bone Marrow Rosette-Forming Cells after Incubation with Thymosin, a Thymic Hormone

After incubation with thymosin, a thymic hormone, normal bone marrow rosette-forming cells acquire T-cell characteristics, including increased sensitivity to azathioprine, anti-lymphocyte serum, and anti-theta serum. This activity of thymosin provides a new sensitive and reproducible bioassay for thymosin, and is well correlated with an in vivo graft-versus-host assay. In addition, incubation of spleen cells from adult thymectomized mice with thymosin in vitro restores to normal their diminished sensitivity to azathioprine and anti-lymphocte serum