Assessment of DNA Damage in Peripheral Blood of Tobacco Users

The smokeless tobacco has a physical powerful association with the risk of oral leukoplakia, oral submucous fibrosis, Oral squamous cell carcinoma and Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. ST components exhibit genotoxicity and may alter the structure of DNA, proteins and lipids, resulting in the production of antigenicity. Present study was carried out to investigate the effects of chewing tobacco (CT) with smoking on lymphocyte DNA damage. After signing a consent form, volunteers provided blood samples (76 samples from including experimental and control subjects) to establish SCGE (comet).  Statistically significant results were obtained in experimental subjects when compared to controls. However association found with smoking had significant effect, and it can induce maximum amount of DNA damage. The genotoxic effect of chewing tobacco (CT) should be considered in addition to other known hazards for assessing health risks

Infertility in WNIN Obese Mutant Rats—Causes?

We are maintaining two obese mutant rat strains (WNIN/Ob and WNIN/GR-Ob) in our animal facility since 1997. These rat colonies are perpetuated by crossing heterozygous littermates, since the obese phenotypes of both genders turned out be infertile. The present study revealed the reasons for this infertility. The male obese rats, though appeared normal in terms of sperm count, sperm motility and testis histology, however found wanting in terms of libido. This appeared to be due to low circulating testosterone levels seen in these animals, which should also account for low testis and accessory gland weights seen in them. The females exhibited delayed puberty, in terms of days taken for opening of vagina, irregular oestrus cycles and had small ovaries and short and stumpy uterine horns. The FSH peak observed in control lean animals during oestrus stage of the sexual cycle and also the E2 peak of normal oestrus cycle was conspicuously absent in these animals. They also showed elevated levels of progesterone throughout the sexual cycle. Thus the infertility seen in these mutants could be attributed to their abnormal gonadosteroid levels and the resulting anatomical and physiological defects

SELECTIVE CECAL BACTERIAL CHANGES MEDIATE THE ADVERSE EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH PALMOLEIN OR HIGH STARCH DIETS: PROPHYLACTIC ROLE OF FLAX OIL

Objective: Studies on the dynamics of gut bacteria in relation to metabolic adverse effects induced by high palmolein or high starch diets and in relation to health benefits of uncommon foods are lacking. Our aim was to assess under controlled conditions, the impact of vegetable based palmitic acid rich, high fat diet or a high starch diet on various metabolic parameters in relation to selective gut bacterial alterations in rats and also to see the effect of flaxseed oil supplementation on these parameters.Methods: Wistar Rats were fed for 4 mo either a control diet(CT) or a 30% high fat diet (HF) or HF diet with flax oil supplemented at two different doses (HFF1 and HFF2) or a 78% high starch diet (HC) after which they were sacrificed and analyzed for selective cecal bacteria, hematology, immune function and body composition.Results: High palmolein diet fed rats showed a decrease in colony forming units of lactobacillus, enterococci, streptococci bacteria and an increase in enterobacteriaceae in the cecum unlike HC fed rats. While high palmolein diet was found to impair immunity and increase inflammation, high starch diet affected body composition and lipid profile. Supplementing the flax seed oil ameliorated most of the adverse effects of high palmolein diet.Conclusions: Independent of energy intakes both high palmolein and high starch intakes have differential adverse effects. It can be envisaged that the adverse effects of feeding palmolein are mediated through immune impairment and inflammatory response, which in turn are associated with altered gut bacteria profile; and flax oil was found to have a prophylactic role in controlling these adverse effects. This study emphasizes the need to evaluate immunological as well as bacterial profile while assessing the safety of dietary fats in addition to traditional methods.Â

Determinants of Consumer’s Willingness to Pay towards Organic Products: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Background: India’s food industries are hotly debated as there are numerous scandals involved in tainted food products, which deliberately lowers the public’s confidence. These incidents made the organic food market growth in developing countries, especially in India. Objective: This study examines the underlying factors that influence consumer’s willingness to pay for organic products. Methods: Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu in India was purposively selected for the study using a structural equation model (SEM) with 250 respondents. The study was conducted in twelve organic shops distributed across the district. The model is bifurcated into the willingness to pay construct and attitude construct, which helps understand the factors influencing the consumer’s willingness to pay towards organic products. Findings: The results from the attribute construct showed that health concerns, environmental concerns and subjective norms were found to positively affect the consumer’s attitude towards purchasing the organic product. In the case of willingness to pay construct, the factors like attitude, knowledge, awareness and income of the consumers positively influence willingness to pay towards the organic product. In contrast, the factor perceived expensiveness was contrary in nature. Novelty: This empirical study provides a good understanding of purchase intention towards organic products, which will aid the producers, middlemen, and stakeholders develop the product and expand the market

Determinants of Income Diversification among Dairy Farm Households in Tamil Nadu

Dairy farming is the subsidiary occupation for millions of farmers in India. Due to risks and uncertainties in rainfed areas, crop production alone was not much remunerative. Diversifying dairy with the crop and allied activities would generate better income, nutritional security, and regular employment to the farming community and ensure risk reduction. This study investigates the extent and determinants of income diversification among dairy farm households in Tamil Nadu using the Simpson Index of Diversity (SID) and the Tobit regression model. Primary data were collected from dairy farm households during the year 2021-22. The results show that two-thirds of the total household income was shared by on-farm income and the remaining one-third by off-farm and non-farm activities to the total household income. Simpson Index of Diversity (0.38) indicated that the households were diversified with milch animals, but the degree of the diversification was low since high degree of diversification requires more labour and high cost. Further, education, family size, landholding size, herd size, proximity to agricultural or allied industry, access to credit, and membership in farmer producer organizations were the important determinants of income diversification. This study indicates that farm households should adopt a concentric approach that requires targeted research, information dissemination, infrastructure development, and agricultural technical institution establishments to boost income diversification and livelihood

Low vitamin D status is associated with systemic and gastrointestinal inflammation in dogs with a chronic enteropathy

Vitamin D is traditionally known for its role in calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism. However, it has been demonstrated that numerous types of cells express the vitamin D receptor and it is now clear that the physiological roles of vitamin D extend beyond the maintenance of skeletal health. Vitamin D insufficiency, which is typically assessed by measuring the major circulating form of vitamin D, 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), has been associated with a number of disorders in people including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, autoimmune conditions and infectious diseases. Meta-analyses have demonstrated that serum 25(OH)D concentrations are an important predictor of survival in people with a wide variety of illnesses and have been linked to all-cause mortality in the general human population. The role of vitamin D in non-skeletal disorders in cats and dogs is poorly understood. This is surprising since cats and dogs could act as excellent models for probing the biology of vitamin D. Vitamin D status in people is largely dependent on cutaneous production of vitamin D. This is influenced by many factors such as season, latitude and exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The interpretation of human studies investigating the effects vitamin D status on disease outcomes are therefore influenced by a number of confounding variables. Unlike humans, domesticated cats and dogs do not produce vitamin D cutaneously and obtain vitamin D only from their diet. The physiological functions and regulation of vitamin D are otherwise similar to humans. Most pets are fed commercial diets containing a relatively standard amount of vitamin D. Consequently, companion animals are attractive model systems in which to examine the relationship vitamin D status and health outcomes. Furthermore, spontaneously occurring model systems which did not require disease to be induced in healthy animals would allow the numbers of animals used in scientist research to be reduced. This thesis aimed to define vitamin D homeostasis in companion animals in three disease settings; in cats with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection, dogs with chronic enteropathies (CE) and in hospitalised ill cats. Additional aims were to assess the prognostic significance of serum 25(OH)D concentrations in companion animals and the relationship between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and markers of inflammation. The hypothesis of this thesis was that vitamin status D would negatively correlate with presence of disease, markers of inflammation and disease outcomes. As similar findings have been demonstrated in human medicine, the hypothesis was that cats and dogs would be suitable models to investigate the role of vitamin D in human disease. This thesis demonstrates that in dogs with a CE serum 25(OH)D concentrations are negatively correlated with inflammation and are predictive of clinical outcomes. Vitamin D status was also lower in cats with FIV and importantly vitamin D status was predictive of short term mortality in hospitalised ill cats. This research will be of interest to veterinary surgeons and opens the possibility for clinical trials which examine if low vitamin D status is causally associated with ill health and whether vitamin D supplementation results in superior treatment outcomes in companion animals. This thesis also demonstrates the potential of cats and dogs as model systems in which to examine the role of vitamin D in human health

Plasma 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D3 level and expression of vitamin D receptor and cathelicidin in pulmonary tuberculosis.

Introduction Vitamin D3, which exerts its effect through vitamin D receptor (VDR), is known for its potent immunomodulatory activities. Associations between low serum vitamin D3 levels and increased risk of tuberculosis have been reported. Study Subjects and Methods Plasma 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D3 levels (1,25(OH)2 D3) and ex vivo levels of VDR protein from peripheral blood mononuclear cells were studied in 65 pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients and 60 normal healthy subjects (NHS) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based methods. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), induction of VDR, cathelicidin, and CYP27B1 mRNA were studied in live Mycobacterium tuberculosis-stimulated macrophage cultures treated with or without 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D3. VDR and CYP27B1 (-1077 A/T) gene polymorphisms were studied using PCR-based methods. Results 1,25(OH)2 D3 were significantly increased (p= 0.0004), while ex vivo levels of VDR protein were significantly decreased in PTB patients (p=0.017) as compared to NHS. 1,25(OH)2 D3 levels were not different between variant genotypes of CYP27B1. A trend towards decreased levels of VDR protein was observed among NHS with BsmI BB and TaqI tt genotypes compared to NHS with other genotypes. Relative quantification of mRNA using real-time PCR revealed increased VDR mRNA expression in live M. tuberculosis-stimulated culture in PTB patients (p<0.01) than normal healthy subjects. Cathelicidin mRNA expression was significantly increased in vitamin D3-treated cultures compared to unstimulated and M. tuberculosisstimulated culture in both patients (p<0.001) and NHS (p<0.05). Conclusions The present study suggests that PTB patients may have increased 1,25(OH)2 D3 levels, and this might lead to downregulation of VDR expression. Decreased VDR levels could result in defective VDR signaling. Moreover, addition of 1,25(OH)2 D3 might lead to increased expression of cathelicidin which could enhance the immunity against tuberculosis