Induced maturation of penaeid prawns for hatchery operations

For successful hatchery production of penaeid prawn seed a steady supply of spawners of desired species of prawns is a necessary prerequisite. As the collection of spawners from the sea is a costly and uncertain operation, efforts have been made to induce the captive broodstock to mature under controlled conditions

Reassessment of dispensing pharmacy and animal experiments in undergraduate practical pharmacology curriculum: feedback from students

Background: Dispensing pharmacy exercises and animal experiments are still being taught in medical colleges even though they are not relevant for clinical practice. One has to keep pace with ever changing needs of the students and changing trends. So this study is designed to know the perceptions and alternative suggestions of MBBS students regarding dispensing pharmacy and animal experiments and use them to improve teaching.Methods: 177 MBBS students studying at Bangalore medical college who have completed their university examination in pharmacology subject were included in this questionnaire based study. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics.Results: Majority of the students disfavoured dispensing pharmacy (82%) and animal experiments (73%) in undergraduate practical pharmacology. 78% of the students preferred computer assisted learning (CAL) as an alternative to animal experiments. Some of the clinical pharmacology exercises favoured by students,  as an alternative to dispensing pharmacy were, drug station (clinical station) with real cases in hospital (88%), module on various drug formulations (74%), module on pharmacovigilance (74%), problem based exercises (73%), drug administration procedures (68%), drug dosage calculations (68%), pharmacoeconomic exercises (66%), prescription writing and criticism of prescription (62%), short term research project (44%) and so on.Conclusions: Computer assisted learning seems to be a better alternative to animal experiments. In the changing scenario, teaching clinical pharmacology should be focused rather than teaching dispensing pharmacy, which is obsolete

CORRELATION OF CLINICAL AND LABORATORY ASPIRIN RESISTANCE: A PILOT STUDY

Aspirin resistance may be biochemical or clinical. Data related to the presence of aspirinresistance in the Indian population is scarce. We conducted a cross sectional study toaddress the issue of clinical aspirin non responsiveness and to assess the associationbetween inhibition of platelet aggregation, clinical risk factors and occurrence of vascularevents. We studied platelet aggregation by optical aggregometry in 20 patients on aspirin.No patient was found to be aspirin-resistant on the basis of previously defined criteria.This led us to relook at the current cut offs for resistance, and an analysis of 60 normalpatients showed lower cut off values suggesting ethnic variability. The data wasreanalyzed using these cutoffs. An association between poor clinical aspirin response,older age, male sex, smoking and dyslipidemia was found, suggesting a trend, though notsignificant. 25% of patients had vascular events on aspirin suggesting clinical aspirinresistance. A lower cut off value for aspirin resistance in normal Indians may be neededto detect true prevalence of this entity. In patients with multiple atherothrombotic riskfactors lab detection of resistance may be useful in identifying patients with high risk forrecurrent vascular events. This may help to modify antiplatelet therapy to preventvascular events

RNA editing signature during myeloid leukemia cell differentiation

Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) are key proteins for hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and for survival of differentiating progenitor cells. However, their specific role in myeloid cell maturation has been poorly investigated. Here we show that ADAR1 is present at basal level in the primary myeloid leukemia cells obtained from patients at diagnosis as well as in myeloid U-937 and THP1 cell lines and its expression correlates with the editing levels. Upon phorbol-myristate acetate or Vitamin D3/granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-driven differentiation, both ADAR1 and ADAR2 enzymes are upregulated, with a concomitant global increase of A-to-I RNA editing. ADAR1 silencing caused an editing decrease at specific ADAR1 target genes, without, however, interfering with cell differentiation or with ADAR2 activity. Remarkably, ADAR2 is absent in the undifferentiated cell stage, due to its elimination through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, being strongly upregulated at the end of the differentiation process. Of note, peripheral blood monocytes display editing events at the selected targets similar to those found in differentiated cell lines. Taken together, the data indicate that ADAR enzymes play important and distinct roles in myeloid cells

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Not AvailableRoot and tuber crops are the one of the oldest group of crops domesticated by the human being. Nutritionally, they are on par with new world food crops. Greater yam (Dioscorea alata) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) are highly drought tolerant crops. Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and yam bean (Pachyrrhizus erosus) can be grown in marginal soils. Under Tribal Sub Plan programme, yam, taro (Colocasia esculenta), sweet potato, yam bean and cassava cultivation was demonstrated in the tribal areas of Odisha, Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand states of India during 2012-13 for livelihood improvement and income generation. Greater yam 7400 kg, taro 1550 kg, yam bean 100 kg sweet potato 110000 vine cuttings and cassava 40000 sett were distributed to the tribal farmers and the area covered in all the three states together was greater yam 3.7 ha, taro 1.24 ha, yam bean 8.0 ha, sweet potato 2.2 ha and cassava 4.0 ha. Greater yam recorded higher yield of 458 kg 200 m-2 with the net return of Rs 4380. The net returns from yam and taro were higher than other crops implying their commercial stature. However, Benefit cost ratio from yam bean (2.76) was as high as greater yam (2.76). High yield and returns from the improved varieties of tuber crops increased the food availability in the household. Voluntary intake of available nutrient rich tubers improved the nutritional security of the disadvantaged tribal farmers in the above statesNot Availabl

Gender-Based Screening for Chlamydial Infection and Divergent Infection Trends in Men and Women

Objectives: To assess the potential impact of chlamydial screening policy that recommends routine screening of women but not men. Methods: Population surveys of probability samples of Baltimore adults aged 18 to 35 years in 1997–1998 and 2006–2009 collected biospecimens to estimate trends in undiagnosed chlamydial infection. Survey estimates are compared to surveillance data on diagnosed chlamydial infections reported to the Health Department. Results: Prevalence of undiagnosed chlamydial infection among men increased from 1.6% to 4.0%, but it declined from 4.3% to 3.1% among women (p = 0.028 for test of interaction). The annual (average) number of diagnosed infections was substantially higher among women than men in both time periods and increased among both men and women. Undiagnosed infection prevalence was substantially higher among black than non-black adults (4.0% vs 1.2%, p = 0.042 in 1997–98 and 5.5% vs 0.7%, p,0.001 in 2006–09). Conclusion: Divergent trends in undiagnosed chlamydial infection by gender parallel divergent screening recommendations that encourage chlamydial testing for women but not for men

Chlamydia trachomatis Infection Among 15- to 35-Year Olds in Baltimore, MD

Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) is the most frequently reported infectious disease in the U.S. This article reports population and subpopulation prevalence estimates of Ct and correlates of infection among 15-35 year-olds in Baltimore, MD, USA

‘What’s in the NIDDK CDR?’—public query tools for the NIDDK central data repository

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Disease (NIDDK) Central Data Repository (CDR) is a web-enabled resource available to researchers and the general public. The CDR warehouses clinical data and study documentation from NIDDK funded research, including such landmark studies as The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT, 1983–93) and the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC, 1994–present) follow-up study which has been ongoing for more than 20 years. The CDR also houses data from over 7 million biospecimens representing 2 million subjects. To help users explore the vast amount of data stored in the NIDDK CDR, we developed a suite of search mechanisms called the public query tools (PQTs). Five individual tools are available to search data from multiple perspectives: study search, basic search, ontology search, variable summary and sample by condition. PQT enables users to search for information across studies. Users can search for data such as number of subjects, types of biospecimens and disease outcome variables without prior knowledge of the individual studies. This suite of tools will increase the use and maximize the value of the NIDDK data and biospecimen repositories as important resources for the research community

Global burden of peripheral artery disease and its risk factors, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Peripheral artery disease is a growing public health problem. We aimed to estimate the global disease burden of peripheral artery disease, its risk factors, and temporospatial trends to inform policy and public measures. Methods: Data on peripheral artery disease were modelled using the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 database. Prevalence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and mortality estimates of peripheral artery disease were extracted from GBD 2019. Total DALYs and age-standardised DALY rate of peripheral artery disease attributed to modifiable risk factors were also assessed. Findings: In 2019, the number of people aged 40 years and older with peripheral artery disease was 113 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 99·2–128·4), with a global prevalence of 1·52% (95% UI 1·33–1·72), of which 42·6% was in countries with low to middle Socio-demographic Index (SDI). The global prevalence of peripheral artery disease was higher in older people, (14·91% [12·41–17·87] in those aged 80–84 years), and was generally higher in females than in males. Globally, the total number of DALYs attributable to modifiable risk factors in 2019 accounted for 69·4% (64·2–74·3) of total peripheral artery disease DALYs. The prevalence of peripheral artery disease was highest in countries with high SDI and lowest in countries with low SDI, whereas DALY and mortality rates showed U-shaped curves, with the highest burden in the high and low SDI quintiles. Interpretation: The total number of people with peripheral artery disease has increased globally from 1990 to 2019. Despite the lower prevalence of peripheral artery disease in males and low-income countries, these groups showed similar DALY rates to females and higher-income countries, highlighting disproportionate burden in these groups. Modifiable risk factors were responsible for around 70% of the global peripheral artery disease burden. Public measures could mitigate the burden of peripheral artery disease by modifying risk factors. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Mapping subnational HIV mortality in six Latin American countries with incomplete vital registration systems

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a public health priority in Latin America. While the burden of HIV is historically concentrated in urban areas and high-risk groups, subnational estimates that cover multiple countries and years are missing. This paucity is partially due to incomplete vital registration (VR) systems and statistical challenges related to estimating mortality rates in areas with low numbers of HIV deaths. In this analysis, we address this gap and provide novel estimates of the HIV mortality rate and the number of HIV deaths by age group, sex, and municipality in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Methods: We performed an ecological study using VR data ranging from 2000 to 2017, dependent on individual country data availability. We modeled HIV mortality using a Bayesian spatially explicit mixed-effects regression model that incorporates prior information on VR completeness. We calibrated our results to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Results: All countries displayed over a 40-fold difference in HIV mortality between municipalities with the highest and lowest age-standardized HIV mortality rate in the last year of study for men, and over a 20-fold difference for women. Despite decreases in national HIV mortality in all countries—apart from Ecuador—across the period of study, we found broad variation in relative changes in HIV mortality at the municipality level and increasing relative inequality over time in all countries. In all six countries included in this analysis, 50% or more HIV deaths were concentrated in fewer than 10% of municipalities in the latest year of study. In addition, national age patterns reflected shifts in mortality to older age groups—the median age group among decedents ranged from 30 to 45 years of age at the municipality level in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico in 2017. Conclusions: Our subnational estimates of HIV mortality revealed significant spatial variation and diverging local trends in HIV mortality over time and by age. This analysis provides a framework for incorporating data and uncertainty from incomplete VR systems and can help guide more geographically precise public health intervention to support HIV-related care and reduce HIV-related deaths