Knowledge and Awareness of Thirdhand Smoke among Smokers and Non-smokers - A Comparative cross-sectional study

Third-hand smoke (THS) is the residual tobacco smoke contaminant that remains after a cigarette is extinguished. It can react with the indoor air pollutant nitrous acid to produce a carcinogen. THS exposure may occur long after second-hand smoke appears (SHS). A cross sectional questionnaire study was conducted in which a close-ended self- administered 20 item questionnaire was prepared. The data was collected from the smokers and non-smokers. Demographic characteristics, tobacco use status, attitudes toward awareness of third hand smoke and its adverse effects, was filled by the surveyed subjects. A total of 100 members with the mean age of 15-45 years participated in the study. The awareness of Third hand smoke is more among the non-smokers than compared with the smokers. The precautionary principle, which is a “strategy to cope with possible risks where scientific understanding is yet incomplete,” is widely used in Europe and in radiation protection in the United States. Extended producer responsibility promotes total-lifecycle environmental improvements, placing economic, physical, and informational responsibilities onto the tobacco industry. Efforts to further reduce THS exposure may ultimately reduce tobacco- related diseases and preserve the health of non-smoking adults and children

Assessment of knowledge regarding prevention and treatment of Ebola virus among undergraduate medical students in Chennai, India: a questionnaire based study

Background: Ebola virus disease is a dreadful condition associated with high mortality rate threatening the entire world. Our study was aimed to assess the knowledge and to create awareness about Ebola among undergraduate medical students.Methods: A self-administered, pretested questionnaire with 30 questions focusing on the general information of virus, mode of transmission, clinical features and complications of the infection, diagnosis, treatment, preventive measures, and epidemiological features was given to the study participants. Scoring system was followed, and statistical analysis was done using Chi-square test and comparison between different sections by one-way analysis of variance.Results: Totally, 263 medical students participated in the study. Based on the percentile of scores obtained they were categorized into three groups, better knowledge (18-30), average knowledge (10-17), poor knowledge (0-9). On the whole 70% students had an average level of knowledge 25% students had better knowledge and 5% students had poor knowledge. Female students had better knowledge when compared to male students (p<0.0001). Similarly, second year students had better knowledge than interns and final year students (p<0.0001). Students had less knowledge regarding clinical features, epidemiological features and relatively poor knowledge regarding diagnosis and treatment. Comparatively, knowledge about mode of transmission, preventive measures and general information of virus were better.Conclusion: This study demonstrates apparent lack of knowledge regarding various aspects of Ebola and emphasis to conduct awareness programs to manage the dreadful consequences of the disease if rises

Smn-deficiency increases the intrinsic excitability of motoneurons

During development, motoneurons experience significant changes in their size and in the number and strength of connections that they receive, which requires adaptive changes in their passive and active electrical properties. Even after reaching maturity, motoneurons continue to adjust their intrinsic excitability and synaptic activity for proper functioning of the sensorimotor circuit in accordance with physiological demands. Likewise, if some elements of the circuit become dysfunctional, the system tries to compensate for the alterations to maintain appropriate function. In Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a severe motor disease, spinal motoneurons receive less excitation from glutamatergic sensory fibers and interneurons and are electrically hyperexcitable. Currently, the origin and relationship among these alterations are not completely established. In this study, we investigated whether Survival of Motor Neuron (SMN), the ubiquitous protein defective in SMA, regulates the excitability of motoneurons before and after the establishment of the synaptic contacts. To this end, we performed patch-clamp recordings in embryonic spinal motoneurons forming complex synaptic networks in primary cultures, and in differentiated NSC-34 motoneuron-like cells in the absence of synaptic contacts. Our results show that in both conditions, Smn-deficient cells displayed lower action potential threshold, greater action potential amplitudes, and larger density of voltage-dependent sodium currents than cells with normal Smn-levels. These results indicate that Smn participates in the regulation of the cell-autonomous excitability of motoneurons at an early stage of development. This finding may contribute to a better understanding of motoneuron excitability in SMA during the development of the disease.This study was supported by Fundación Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation/FEDER (BFU2013-43763-P and BFU2016-78934-P), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (PI14/00060), Unión Europea, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) ‘‘Una manera de hacer Europa’’ and Generalitat de Catalunya (SGR740)

5-Fluoro-6′H,7′H,8′H-spiro­[indoline-3,7′-pyrano[3,2-c:5,6-c′]di-1-benzopyran]-2,6′,8′-trione

In the title compound, C26H12FNO6, the central pyran ring and both benzopyran systems are nonplanar, having total puckering amplitudes of 0.139 (2), 0.050 (1) and 0.112 (2) Å, respectively. The central pyran ring adopts a boat conformation. The crystal structure is stabilized by C—H⋯O, N—H⋯O, N—H⋯F and C—H⋯π inter­actions

(2RS,3SR,10SR,11RS)-3,10-Diphen­oxy-18,21-dioxa-5,8-diaza­penta­cyclo­[20.4.0.02,5.08,11.012,17]hexa­cosa-1(26),12,14,16,22,24-hexa­ene-4,9-dione ethyl acetate hemisolvate

In the title compound, C34H30N2O6·0.5C4H8O2, there are two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit and the structure is stabilized by C—H⋯O inter­actions. The two nonsolvent mol­ecules of the asymmetric unit are linked together by a weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bond. The ethyl acetate mol­ecule is present as a space filler and does not participate in the hydrogen-bonding network

9-(Pent-4-en­yl)anthracene

In the title compound, C19H18, the anthracene system is almost planar, with a maximum deviation of −0.039 (1) Å. The structure is stabilized by C—H⋯π inter­actions. The pentene moiety is not planar and is twisted away from the attached anthracene system with a maximum torsion angle of 91.2 (1)°

Reliability of Three Landmarking Methods for Dual Inclinometry Measurements of Lumbar Flexion and Extension

Background To examine the intra and inter-rater reliability of lumbar flexion and extension measurements attained using three landmarking methods for dual inclinometry. Methods This was a repeated measures reliability study. Convenience sampling was used to obtain forty volunteer subjects. Two assessors measured a series of lumbar flexion and extension movements using the J-Tech™ dual inclinometer. Three different landmarking methods were used: 1) straight palpation of PSIS and L1, 2) palpation of PSIS and the site of the nearest 5 cm interval point closest to L1 and 3) location of PSIS and 15 cm cephalad. Upon landmarking, adhesive tape was used to mark landmarks and the inclinometer was placed on sites for three trials of flexion and extension. Tape was removed and landmarks were relocated by the same assessor (intra-rater) for an additional three trials; and this process was repeated by a second assessor (inter-rater). Reliability was determined using intra-class correlation coefficients. Results Reliability within a set of three repetitions was very high (ICCs \u3e 0.90); intra-rater reliability after relocating landmarks was high (ICCs \u3e 0.80); reliability between therapists was moderate to high (0.60 \u3e ICCs \u3c 0.76). Assessment of flexion and extension movements by straight palpation of bony landmarks as in the Straight palpation of PSIS and L1 method (ICC: Flexion 0.60; Extension 0.74) was found to be marginally less reliable than the other two landmarking measurement strategies (ICC: Flexion 0.66; Extension 0.76). Conclusion All three methods of land marking are reliable. We recommend the use of the PSIS to 15 cm cephalad method as used in the modified-modified Schobers test as it is the simplest to perform and aligns with current clinical practice

SMART 7: recent updates to the protein domain annotation resource

SMART (Simple Modular Architecture Research Tool) is an online resource (http://smart.embl.de/) for the identification and annotation of protein domains and the analysis of protein domain architectures. SMART version 7 contains manually curated models for 1009 protein domains, 200 more than in the previous version. The current release introduces several novel features and a streamlined user interface resulting in a faster and more comfortable workflow. The underlying protein databases were greatly expanded, resulting in a 2-fold increase in number of annotated domains and features. The database of completely sequenced genomes now includes 1133 species, compared to 630 in the previous release. Domain architecture analysis results can now be exported and visualized through the iTOL phylogenetic tree viewer. ‘metaSMART’ was introduced as a novel subresource dedicated to the exploration and analysis of domain architectures in various metagenomics data sets. An advanced full text search engine was implemented, covering the complete annotations for SMART and Pfam domains, as well as the complete set of protein descriptions, allowing users to quickly find relevant information

The 3′ Region of the Chicken Hypersensitive Site-4 Insulator Has Properties Similar to Its Core and Is Required for Full Insulator Activity

Chromatin insulators separate active transcriptional domains and block the spread of heterochromatin in the genome. Studies on the chicken hypersensitive site-4 (cHS4) element, a prototypic insulator, have identified CTCF and USF-1/2 motifs in the proximal 250 bp of cHS4, termed the “core”, which provide enhancer blocking activity and reduce position effects. However, the core alone does not insulate viral vectors effectively. The full-length cHS4 has excellent insulating properties, but its large size severely compromises vector titers. We performed a structure-function analysis of cHS4 flanking lentivirus-vectors and analyzed transgene expression in the clonal progeny of hematopoietic stem cells and epigenetic changes in cHS4 and the transgene promoter. We found that the core only reduced the clonal variegation in expression. Unique insulator activity resided in the distal 400 bp cHS4 sequences, which when combined with the core, restored full insulator activity and open chromatin marks over the transgene promoter and the insulator. These data consolidate the known insulating activity of the canonical 5′ core with a novel 3′ 400 bp element with properties similar to the core. Together, they have excellent insulating properties and viral titers. Our data have important implications in understanding the molecular basis of insulator function and design of gene therapy vectors