Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensive estimates of exposure levels, relative health risks, and attributable burden of disease for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, from 1990 to 2021. Methods: The GBD 2021 risk factor analysis used data from 54 561 total distinct sources to produce epidemiological estimates for 88 risk factors and their associated health outcomes for a total of 631 risk–outcome pairs. Pairs were included on the basis of data-driven determination of a risk–outcome association. Age-sex-location-year-specific estimates were generated at global, regional, and national levels. Our approach followed the comparative risk assessment framework predicated on a causal web of hierarchically organised, potentially combinative, modifiable risks. Relative risks (RRs) of a given outcome occurring as a function of risk factor exposure were estimated separately for each risk–outcome pair, and summary exposure values (SEVs), representing risk-weighted exposure prevalence, and theoretical minimum risk exposure levels (TMRELs) were estimated for each risk factor. These estimates were used to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF; ie, the proportional change in health risk that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to the TMREL). The product of PAFs and disease burden associated with a given outcome, measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), yielded measures of attributable burden (ie, the proportion of total disease burden attributable to a particular risk factor or combination of risk factors). Adjustments for mediation were applied to account for relationships involving risk factors that act indirectly on outcomes via intermediate risks. Attributable burden estimates were stratified by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile and presented as counts, age-standardised rates, and rankings. To complement estimates of RR and attributable burden, newly developed burden of proof risk function (BPRF) methods were applied to yield supplementary, conservative interpretations of risk–outcome associations based on the consistency of underlying evidence, accounting for unexplained heterogeneity between input data from different studies. Estimates reported represent the mean value across 500 draws from the estimate's distribution, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) calculated as the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile values across the draws. Findings: Among the specific risk factors analysed for this study, particulate matter air pollution was the leading contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, contributing 8·0% (95% UI 6·7–9·4) of total DALYs, followed by high systolic blood pressure (SBP; 7·8% [6·4–9·2]), smoking (5·7% [4·7–6·8]), low birthweight and short gestation (5·6% [4·8–6·3]), and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG; 5·4% [4·8–6·0]). For younger demographics (ie, those aged 0–4 years and 5–14 years), risks such as low birthweight and short gestation and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing (WaSH) were among the leading risk factors, while for older age groups, metabolic risks such as high SBP, high body-mass index (BMI), high FPG, and high LDL cholesterol had a greater impact. From 2000 to 2021, there was an observable shift in global health challenges, marked by a decline in the number of all-age DALYs broadly attributable to behavioural risks (decrease of 20·7% [13·9–27·7]) and environmental and occupational risks (decrease of 22·0% [15·5–28·8]), coupled with a 49·4% (42·3–56·9) increase in DALYs attributable to metabolic risks, all reflecting ageing populations and changing lifestyles on a global scale. Age-standardised global DALY rates attributable to high BMI and high FPG rose considerably (15·7% [9·9–21·7] for high BMI and 7·9% [3·3–12·9] for high FPG) over this period, with exposure to these risks increasing annually at rates of 1·8% (1·6–1·9) for high BMI and 1·3% (1·1–1·5) for high FPG. By contrast, the global risk-attributable burden and exposure to many other risk factors declined, notably for risks such as child growth failure and unsafe water source, with age-standardised attributable DALYs decreasing by 71·5% (64·4–78·8) for child growth failure and 66·3% (60·2–72·0) for unsafe water source. We separated risk factors into three groups according to trajectory over time: those with a decreasing attributable burden, due largely to declining risk exposure (eg, diet high in trans-fat and household air pollution) but also to proportionally smaller child and youth populations (eg, child and maternal malnutrition); those for which the burden increased moderately in spite of declining risk exposure, due largely to population ageing (eg, smoking); and those for which the burden increased considerably due to both increasing risk exposure and population ageing (eg, ambient particulate matter air pollution, high BMI, high FPG, and high SBP). Interpretation: Substantial progress has been made in reducing the global disease burden attributable to a range of risk factors, particularly those related to maternal and child health, WaSH, and household air pollution. Maintaining efforts to minimise the impact of these risk factors, especially in low SDI locations, is necessary to sustain progress. Successes in moderating the smoking-related burden by reducing risk exposure highlight the need to advance policies that reduce exposure to other leading risk factors such as ambient particulate matter air pollution and high SBP. Troubling increases in high FPG, high BMI, and other risk factors related to obesity and metabolic syndrome indicate an urgent need to identify and implement interventions

Characterization of purified α-amylase produced by Aspergillus terreus NCFT 4269.10 using pearl millet as substrate ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Abstract: α-amylase was produced by Aspergillus terreus NCFT 4269.10 using both liquid static surface (LSSF) and solid-state fermentation using pearl millet residues as substrate. The maximum production of α-amylase was noticed at 30°C incubated for 96h. The crude α-amylase was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity and characterized. Characterization of amylase confirmed that the purified α-amylase was found to be most stable at pH 5.0, 60°C temperature, and a substrate concentration of 1.25%. The enzyme was active for 40 min at 70°C with an optimum enzyme-substrate reaction time of 60 min. Amylase was compatible with all detergents tested having highest activity with Surf excel followed by Henko and Ariel. SDS and Tween 20 reduced the activity. Among the metal ions tested, the maximum α-amylase activity was attained in the presence of Ca 2+ , followed by Mg 2+ and Mn 2+ . The activity of α-amylase was not considerably affected in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and Triton X-100. Amylase activity was accelerated in the presence of sodium lauryl sulfate and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride did not significantly (or slightly) affect the activity and stability. Tween 20, urea (5%), and the reducing agent, β-mercaptoethanol significantly inhibited the activity of α-amylase. Owin

Characterization of biotechnologically relevant extracellular lipase produced by Aspergillus terreus NCFT 4269.10

Abstract Enzyme production by Aspergillus terreus NCFT 4269.10 was studied under liquid static surface and solid-state fermentation using mustard oil cake as a substrate. The maximum lipase biosynthesis was observed after incubation at 30 °C for 96 h. Among the domestic oils tested, the maximum lipase biosynthesis was achieved using palm oil. The crude lipase was purified 2.56-fold to electrophoretic homogeneity, with a yield of 8.44%, and the protein had a molecular weight of 46.3 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. Enzyme characterization confirmed that the purified lipase was most active at pH 6.0, temperature of 50 °C, and substrate concentration of 1.5%. The enzyme was thermostable at 60 °C for 1 h, and the optimum enzyme–substrate reaction time was 30 min. Sodium dodecyl sulfate and commercial detergents did not significantly affect lipase activity during 30-min incubation at 30 °C. Among the metal ions tested, the maximum lipase activity was attained in the presence of Zn2+, followed by Mg2+ and Fe2+. Lipase activity was not significantly affected in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, sodium lauryl sulfate and Triton X-100. Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (1 mM) and the reducing, β-mercaptoethanol significantly inhibited lipase activity. The remarkable stability in the presence of detergents, additives, inhibitors and metal ions makes this lipase unique and a potential candidate for significant biotechnological exploitation

Effect of GA3 and Urea Treatments on Improvement of Microtuber Production and Productivity of Different Types of Planting Material in Greater Yam (Dioscorea alata L.)

An experiment was under taken to study the effect of different concentrations of urea and GA3 treatments on the improvement of microtuber production in the vine cuttings of Dioscorea alata L. From the experimental finding it was observed that Urea 2% and GA31ppm treatment shows better response for days taken for rooting, root length, number of roots per cutting survival % in the field and nursery condition and mean number of micro tubers production per cuttings. Similarly for productivity study and observations on all other vegetative and tuber characters were highest in planting of whole tubers (200 gm) followed by planting of whole tubers (150 gm) and cut tubers of 50 gm. The value for all the observations was lowest in planting of rooted vine cuttings

Bio-production of alkaline protease by Trichoderma longibrachiatum and Penicillium rubidurum using different agro-industrial products

Alkaline protease being active in neutral to alkaline pH has huge demands in food, detergent, leather and pharmaceutical industries. Its production from agro-industrial wastes not only lowers the production costs but also reduces the environmental problems. Hence, the present study aimed to search for new potential microbes, which can produce alkaline protease enzyme, to meet the industrial demands. In this study, 13 fungal spp. were isolated on potato dextrose agar medium (PDA) from mangrove soil through serial dilution, and then were streaked on the skim milk agar medium for qualitative screening of protease production. Out of 13 fungal spp.; only 7 spp. were able to produce proteolytic zones through the proteolytic assay. The Relative enzymatic index (REI) value (Zone diameter/Colony diameter) of all the fungal isolates that produced proteolytic zones on skim milk agar medium was evaluated. Only 2 fungal isolates which showed maximum REI value were selected, and then identified morphologically and molecularly as Trichoderma longibrachiatum (Accession no. MF144551) and by Penicillium rubidurum (Accession no. MF144561). Submerged fermentation was carried out using different agro industrial substrates to quantify for protease production, where the supernatants obtained were used for alkaline protease estimation. Among the different tested substrates, soybean powder and wheat bran were the most suitable substrates for maximum protease production by T. longibrachiatum (233.78±7.12 U/ mg) and P. rubidurum (228.61±11.13 U/ mg), respectively. The partial purified enzyme from these fungi showed maximum proteolytic potentials at pH 8.0 (P. rubidurum) and pH 9.0 (T. longibrachiatum), with optima temperature of 40 °C. Among the tested heavy metals, only Mn2+ expressed marginal enhancement of the protease enzyme activity

Computational Analysis of POL Gene of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1)

AIDS results from an infection with HIV-1 virus. It is a class of retrovirus whose genome contains the genes for reverse transcriptase. The gene that codes for reverse transcriptase in HIV-1 is the POL gene. POL genes are found in many retroviruses, including a number that are harbored by human populations. In this paper POL genes of HIV-1 virus were studied using bioinformatics tools. It was observed that there exists a close resemblance among various strains endemic in Africa, China and India. In addition, they express a wide range of functional proteins after infection

Extracellular production and characterization of red pigment from Penicillium purpurogenum BKS9

Fifteen fungal species were isolated from waste soil and used for the production of red pigment. Among the fifteen fungal isolates only Penicillium sp. BKS 9 displayed excellent production ability of red pigment in sabouraud’s dextrose agar medium as well as broth medium. After 28S rRNA sequencing the fungus Penicillium sp. BKS9 was identified as Penicillium purpurogenum and submitted to NCBI (Gene Bank) with Gene Bank accession number KT222270. Further, optimization of incubation period and pH was performed and it was concluded that an incubation for 18 days with pH 6.0 at 30°C are the most favorable conditions for biomass (0.877 g/50 ml) and red pigment (0.79 Abs/ml) production. The pigment used for the study was soluble in all the organic solvents taken. The effect of red pigment on germination of fifty numbers of viable and healthy seeds of Cicer arietinum was studied and confirmed that the pigment has no significant negative effect on the germination of the seeds