Tobacco use or body mass - do they predict tuberculosis mortality in Mumbai, India? Results from a population-based cohort study

Tobacco use and under-nutrition are major public health concerns and tuberculosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in India. Using a cohort of 148,173 persons (recruited 1991–1997 and followed-up 1997–2003) the joint effects of tobacco use and BMI on tuberculosis mortality was studied. Tobacco use in any form and low-BMI had joint effect on tuberculosis mortality and the interaction effect was synergistic in men and antagonistic in women. Self-reported tuberculosis was associated with increased risk of tuberculosis mortality. In contrast, no such association was observed for self-reported diabetes persons. The risk pattern remained unchanged even after excluding tuberculosis deaths occurred within 1st two years of follow-up. This study highlights importance of age consideration of individual while excluding early deaths. Around 27% male tuberculosis deaths were attributable to their being underweight and smoker, while 22% male and 37% female deaths were attributable to their being underweight and smokeless tobacco user.Public Library of Science open acces

GEMINI 3D spectroscopy of BAL+IR+Fe II QSOs: II. IRAS 04505-2958 an explosive QSO with hypershell and a new scenario for galaxy formation and galaxy end

From a study of BAL + IR + Fe II QSOs (using deep Gemini GMOS-IFU spectroscopy) new results are presented: for IRAS 04505-2958. Specifically, we have studied in detail the out flow (OF) process and their associated structures, mainly at two large galactic scales: (i) two blobs/shells (S1, S2) at radius r = 1.1 and 2.2 kpc; and (ii) an external hypergiant shell (S3) at r = 11 kpc. In addition, the presence of two very extended hypergiant shells (S4, S5) at r = 80 kpc is discussed. From this GMOS study the following main results were obtained: (i) For the external hypergiant shell S3 the kinematics GMOS maps of the ionized gas show very similar features to those observed for the prototype of exploding external supergiant shell: in NGC 5514. (ii) The main knots K1, K2 and K3 -of this hypergiant shell S3- show a stellar population and emission line ratios associated with the presence of a starburst + OF/shocks. (iii) The internal shells S1 and S2 show structures, OF components and properties very similar to those detected in the nuclear shells of Mrk 231. (iv) The shells S1+S2 and S3 are aligned at PA = 131: i.e. suggesting that the OF process is in the blow-out phase with bipolar structure. In addition, the shells S4 and S5 (at 80-100 kpc scale) are aligned at PA = 40, i.e.: a bipolar OF perpendicular to the internal OF. Finally, the generation of UHE cosmic rays and neutrino/ dark-matter -associated with HyNe in BAL + IR + Fe II QSOs- is discussed.Comment: Submitted MNRAS, 81 pages, 25 Figure

A comparison of robust polynomial fitting, global geopotential model and spectral analysis for regional–residual gravity field separation in the Doñana National Park (Spain)

Doñana National Park is a protected area of approximately 500 km2 located on the SW coast of Spain with singular and interesting ecological and geological features. A gravimetric survey is presented where L&R gravity metres were used in the gravimetric observations with GPS and high-precision levelling positioning. Bouguer gravity anomalies were computed and least squares prediction was used for gross-error detection. Robust polynomial fitting, the recent EGM2008 global geopotential model (complete to degree and order 2159), and spectral analysis were tested for regional–residual gravity field separation. A detailed description of the gravimetric characteristics of the Doñana National Park is presented and the values of residual gravity anomalies were correlated with geological features, where the use of the EGM2008 global geopotential model has revealed an interesting tool for regional–residual gravity field separation. Finally, the interpretation of the results is justified by the well-known geological aspects of the park, but some modifications in the boundaries of the different geological features are needed in order to fit the modelled gravity with the residual gravity anomalies in the two cross-sections analysed.The studies presented here were part of CICYT (Spanish Research Directorate) research project nos. HID 97-0321 and REN2001-1293. We would like to thank all UPC members participating in these projects and the staff from the Biological Station of Donana (CSIC), Palacio de Donana and Donana National Park. We remain deeply grateful for the fruitful discussion with Dr. Salvany and for the geological review of the manuscript.Martín Furones, ÁE.; Nuñez Andrés, M.; Gili, J.; Anquela Julián, AB. (2011). A comparison of robust polynomial fitting, global geopotential model and spectral analysis for regional–residual gravity field separation in the Doñana National Park (Spain). Journal of Applied Geophysics. 75(2):327-337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2011.06.037S32733775

An Off-Target Nucleostemin RNAi Inhibits Growth in Human Glioblastoma-Derived Cancer Stem Cells

Glioblastomas (GBM) may contain a variable proportion of active cancer stem cells (CSCs) capable of self-renewal, of aggregating into CD133+ neurospheres, and to develop intracranial tumors that phenocopy the original ones. We hypothesized that nucleostemin may contribute to cancer stem cell biology as these cells share characteristics with normal stem cells. Here we report that nucleostemin is expressed in GBM-CSCs isolated from patient samples, and that its expression, conversely to what it has been described for ordinary stem cells, does not disappear when cells are differentiated. The significance of nucleostemin expression in CSCs was addressed by targeting the corresponding mRNA using lentivirally transduced short hairpin RNA (shRNA). In doing so, we found an off-target nucleostemin RNAi (shRNA22) that abolishes proliferation and induces apoptosis in GBM-CSCs. Furthermore, in the presence of shRNA22, GBM-CSCs failed to form neurospheres in vitro or grow on soft agar. When these cells are xenotransplanted into the brains of nude rats, tumor development is significantly delayed. Attempts were made to identify the primary target/s of shRNA22, suggesting a transcription factor involved in one of the MAP-kinases signaling-pathways or multiple targets. The use of this shRNA may contribute to develop new therapeutic approaches for this incurable type of brain tumor

Pre-operative pulmonary assessment for patients with hip fracture

Hip fracture is a common injury among the elderly. Although patients who receive hip fracture surgery carry the best functional recovery compared to other treatment modalities, the presence of postoperative pulmonary complications, such as atelectasis, pneumonia, and pulmonary thromboembolism, may contribute to increased length of hospital stay, perioperative morbidity, and mortality. This review aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for preoperative assessment and perioperative strategies to reduce the risk of pulmonary complications after hip fracture surgery. Clinical assessment and basic laboratory results are sufficient to stratify the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Well-documented risk factors for pulmonary complications include advanced age, poor general health status, current infections, pre-existing cardiopulmonary diseases, hypoalbuminemia, and impaired renal function. Apart from optimizing the patient's medical conditions, interventions such as lung expansion maneuvers and thromboprophylaxis have been proven to be effective in reducing the risk of pulmonary complications after hip fracture surgery