Tuberculosis and Indoor Biomass and Kerosene Use in Nepal: A Case–Control Study

BackgroundIn Nepal, tuberculosis (TB) is a major problem. Worldwide, six previous epidemiologic studies have investigated whether indoor cooking with biomass fuel such as wood or agricultural wastes is associated with TB with inconsistent results.ObjectivesUsing detailed information on potential confounders, we investigated the associations between TB and the use of biomass and kerosene fuels.MethodsA hospital-based case-control study was conducted in Pokhara, Nepal. Cases (n = 125) were women, 20-65 years old, with a confirmed diagnosis of TB. Age-matched controls (n = 250) were female patients without TB. Detailed exposure histories were collected with a standardized questionnaire.ResultsCompared with using a clean-burning fuel stove (liquefied petroleum gas, biogas), the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for using a biomass-fuel stove was 1.21 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.48-3.05], whereas use of a kerosene-fuel stove had an OR of 3.36 (95% CI, 1.01-11.22). The OR for use of biomass fuel for heating was 3.45 (95% CI, 1.44-8.27) and for use of kerosene lamps for lighting was 9.43 (95% CI, 1.45-61.32).ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that the use of indoor biomass fuel, particularly as a source of heating, is associated with TB in women. It also provides the first evidence that using kerosene stoves and wick lamps is associated with TB. These associations require confirmation in other studies. If using kerosene lamps is a risk factor for TB, it would provide strong justification for promoting clean lighting sources, such as solar lamps

A Novel Triterpenoid Isolated from the Root Bark of Ailanthus excelsa Roxb (Tree of Heaven), AECHL-1 as a Potential Anti-Cancer Agent

We report here the isolation and characterization of a new compound Ailanthus excelsa chloroform extract-1 (AECHL-1) (C(29)H(36)O(10); molecular weight 543.8) from the root bark of Ailanthus excelsa Roxb. The compound possesses anti-cancer activity against a variety of cancer cell lines of different origin.AECHL-1 treatment for 12 to 48 hr inhibited cell proliferation and induced death in B16F10, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and PC3 cells with minimum growth inhibition in normal HEK 293. The antitumor effect of AECHL-1 was comparable with that of the conventional antitumor drugs paclitaxel and cisplatin. AECHL-1-induced growth inhibition was associated with S/G(2)-M arrests in MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and PC3 cells and a G(1) arrest in B16F10 cells. We observed microtubule disruption in MCF-7 cells treated with AECHL-1 in vitro. Compared with control, subcutaneous injection of AECHL-1 to the sites of tumor of mouse melanoma B16F10 implanted in C57BL/6 mice and human breast cancer MCF-7 cells in athymic nude mice resulted in significant decrease in tumor volume. In B16F10 tumors, AECHL-1 at 50 microg/mouse/day dose for 15 days resulted in increased expression of tumor suppressor proteins P53/p21, reduction in the expression of the oncogene c-Myc, and downregulation of cyclin D1 and cdk4. Additionally, AECHL-1 treatment resulted in the phosphorylation of p53 at serine 15 in B16F10 tumors, which seems to exhibit p53-dependent growth inhibitory responses.The present data demonstrate the activity of a triterpenoid AECHL-1 which possess a broad spectrum of activity against cancer cells. We propose here that AECHL-1 is a futuristic anti-cancer drug whose therapeutic potential needs to be widely explored for chemotherapy against cancer

Examining ecological validity in social interaction: problems of visual fidelity, gaze, and social potential

Social interaction is an essential part of the human experience, and much work has been done to study it. However, several common approaches to examining social interactions in psychological research may inadvertently either unnaturally constrain the observed behaviour by causing it to deviate from naturalistic performance, or introduce unwanted sources of variance. In particular, these sources are the differences between naturalistic and experimental behaviour that occur from changes in visual fidelity (quality of the observed stimuli), gaze (whether it is controlled for in the stimuli), and social potential (potential for the stimuli to provide actual interaction). We expand on these possible sources of extraneous variance and why they may be important. We review the ways in which experimenters have developed novel designs to remove these sources of extraneous variance. New experimental designs using a ‘two-person’ approach are argued to be one of the most effective ways to develop more ecologically valid measures of social interaction, and we suggest that future work on social interaction should use these designs wherever possible

Polyphenols Sensitization Potentiates Susceptibility of MCF-7 and MDA MB-231 Cells to Centchroman

Polyphenols as “sensitizers” together with cytotoxic drugs as “inducers” cooperate to trigger apoptosis in various cancer cells. Hence, their combination having similar mode of mechanism may be a novel approach to enhance the efficacy of inducers. Additionally, this will also enable to achieve the physiological concentrations facilitating significant increase in the activity at concentrations which the compound can individually provide. Here we propose that polyphenols (Resveratrol (RES) and Curcumin (CUR)) pre-treatment may sensitize MCF-7/MDA MB-231 (Human Breast Cancer Cells, HBCCs) to Centchroman (CC, antineoplastic agent). 6 h pre-treated cells with 10 µM RES/CUR and 100 µM RES/30 µM CUR doses, followed by 10 µM CC for 18 h were investigated for Ser-167 ER-phosphorylation, cell cycle arrest, redox homeostasis, stress activated protein kinase (SAPKs: JNK and p38 MAPK) pathways and downstream apoptosis effectors. Low dose RES/CUR enhances the CC action through ROS mediated JNK/p38 as well as mitochondrial pathway in MCF-7 cells. However, RES/CUR sensitization enhanced apoptosis in p53 mutant MDA MB-231 cells without/with involvement of ROS mediated JNK/p38 adjunct to Caspase-9. Contrarily, through high dose sensitization in CC treated cells, the parameters remained unaltered as in polyphenols alone. We conclude that differential sensitization of HBCCs with low dose polyphenol augments apoptotic efficacy of CC. This may offer a novel approach to achieve enhanced action of CC with concomitant reduction of side effects enabling improved management of hormone-dependent breast cancer

Sensory theories of developmental dyslexia: three challenges for research.

Recent years have seen the publication of a range of new theories suggesting that the basis of dyslexia might be sensory dysfunction. In this Opinion article, the evidence for and against several prominent sensory theories of dyslexia is closely scrutinized. Contrary to the causal claims being made, my analysis suggests that many proposed sensory deficits might result from the effects of reduced reading experience on the dyslexic brain. I therefore suggest that longitudinal studies of sensory processing, beginning in infancy, are required to successfully identify the neural basis of developmental dyslexia. Such studies could have a powerful impact on remediation.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available from NPG at http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v16/n1/abs/nrn3836.html

Antixenosis and antibiosis mechanisms of resistance to pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera in wild relatives of chickpea, Cicer arietinum

The noctuid pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera is one of the most damaging pests of chickpea, Cicer arietinum. The levels of resistance to H. armigera in the cultivated chickpea are low to moderate, but the wild relatives of chickpea have exhibited high levels of resistance to this pest. To develop insect-resistant cultivars with durable resistance, it is important to understand the contribution of different components of resistance, and therefore, we studied antixenosis and antibiosis mechanisms of resistance to H. armigera in a diverse array of wild relatives of chickpea. The genotypes IG 70012, PI 599046, IG 70022, PI 599066, IG 70006, IG 70018 (C. bijugum), ICC 506EB, ICCL 86111 (cultivated chickpea), IG 72933, IG 72953 (C. reticulatum), IG 69979 (C. cuneatum) and IG 599076 (C. chrossanicum) exhibited non preference for oviposition by the females of H. armigera under multi-choice, dual-choice and no-choice cage conditions. Based on detached leaf assay, the genotypes IG 70012, IG 70022, IG 70018, IG 70006, PI 599046, PI 599066 (C. bijugum), IG 69979 (C. cuneatum), PI 568217, PI 599077 (C. judaicum) and ICCW 17148 (C. microphyllum) suffered significantly lower leaf damage, and lower larval weights indicating high levels of antibiosis than on the cultivated chickpea. Glandular and non-glandular trichomes showed negative correlation with oviposition, while the glandular trichomes showed a significant and negative correlation with leaf damage rating. Density of non-glandular trichomes was negatively correlated with larval survival. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprints of leaf surface exudates showed a negative correlation of oxalic acid with oviposition, but positive correlation with malic acid. Both oxalic acid and malic acid showed a significant negative correlation with larval survival. The wild relatives exhibiting low preference for oviposition and high levels of antibiosis can be used as sources of resistance to increase the levels and diversify the basis of resistance to H. armigera in cultivated chickpea

3D visualization of additive occlusion and tunable full-spectrum fluorescence in calcite

From biomineralization to synthesis, organic additives provide an effective means of controlling crystallization processes. There is growing evidence that these additives are often occluded within the crystal lattice. This promises an elegant means of creating nanocomposites and tuning physical properties. Here we use the incorporation of sulfonated fluorescent dyes to gain new understanding of additive occlusion in calcite (CaCO3), and to link morphological changes to occlusion mechanisms. We demonstrate that these additives are incorporated within specific zones, as defined by the growth conditions, and show how occlusion can govern changes in crystal shape. Fluorescence spectroscopy and lifetime imaging microscopy also show that the dyes experience unique local environments within different zones. Our strategy is then extended to simultaneously incorporate mixtures of dyes, whose fluorescence cascade creates calcite nanoparticles that fluoresce white. This offers a simple strategy for generating biocompatible and stable fluorescent nanoparticles whose output can be tuned as required

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks