Impact of health education on unmet needs of contraception in urban slums of Chandigarh, India

Background: Unmet need points to gap between some women reproductive intention and their contraceptive behavior. Unmet need for contraception is mainly attributed to lack of information, negative attitude, fear of adverse effects and social influences. The objective of this study was to investigate awareness and practice of contraceptive usage. And to estimate unmet need of contraception in the studied population and to identify the factors associated with it, and to evaluate impact of health education on unmet needs of contraception.Methods: A community-based longitudinal study was conducted in four randomly selected urban slum areas (colonies) of Chandigarh, India. A systematic two-stage random sample design was adopted.Results: Overall contraceptive awareness rates among women and men were increased from 84.1% to 96.3% and from 82.2% to 95.5% in post-interventional survey as compared to baseline survey. Contraceptive prevalence rates were found to be 57.3% and 65.5% respectively in pre interventional and post interventional surveys, against contraceptive awareness rates of 81.7% and 95.5% respectively, resulting in gaps between knowledge and practice to be unmet needs of contraception to the extents of 24.4% and 30.0% respectively in the two surveys.Conclusions: There is an urgent need of adopting some population specific integral strategies for changing social norms and attitudes of couples regarding reproductive issues, increase in contraceptives awareness as well as practice for reductions in unmet needs of contraception and unwanted/unplanned pregnancies

Flame Profile Measurement of Cu (II) based Salen Complex Filled Thermally Stabilized PVC Sheets by Cone Calorimeter

582-585This study deals with evaluation of Cu-based salen complexes as fire retardants in thermally stabilized PVC sheets. The complexes were prepared using salicylaldehyde/5-bromosalicylaldehyde, ethylenediamine and copper (II) acetate monohydrate are used in casting of PVC sheets. PVC sheets were subjected to cone calorimetric experiments and mechanical analysis. Copper based salen complexes filled PVC sheets have shown a decrease of 15.41 MJ/m2 and 10.42 MJ/m2 in total heat release in comparison to control sample. The complexes also enhanced tensile strength of the PVC sheets. A comparative account of PVC sheets for heat release rate, oxygen concentration and concentration of smoke is also presented

F-box motif encoding genes as targets for the development of stress-tolerant traits in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Stress tolerance is a useful trait actively sought by the bioprocess industry for biofactories dealing with bioconversion of varied raw materials or carbon sources. Fungal or yeast species are useful in bioconversion and are sustainable bioresources for biochemicals and biofuel production. Genetic manipulation strategies are in practice to enhance the tolerance against stress agents for the improved bioconversion process. In this review, we highlight the importance of the F-box motif encoding genes and their interactions in imparting the stress tolerance phenotype to the yeast species. The F-box motif proteins constitute a part of the SCF-E3 ligase complex and are involved in the recruitment, and ubiquitination, followed by degradation of the substrate proteins by the 26S proteasome. It highlights the current scenario on the F-box motif encoding genes and their interaction partners as targets for the stress tolerance phenotype in the yeast and plant species and their utility in the bioconversion processes

Performance of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) hybrids for yield and quality traits

Twenty-eight F1 combinations of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) obtained from half-diallel cross along with eight diverse parents were evaluated in a field study to elucidate the information on the extent of mean performance of various horticultural traits. The analysis revealed that all the genotypes possessed wide spectrum of variability and showed significant differences for parents and hybrids for the traits studied. For parents UHF CHI 13 (216.20), UHF CHI 15 (193.80), UHF CHI 5 (139.00) and for hybrids H1 (182.60), H9 (181.40) and H7 (172.80) hold highest fruit count per plant. The parents UHF CHI 5 (1047.13 g), UHF CHI 15 (949.62 g) and UHF CHI 7 (912.61 g) and cross combinations H17 (1535.10 g), H8 (1320.00), H6 (1229.76) and H18 (967.60) recorded the high ripe fruit yield per plant. As for earliness, parents UHF CHI 5 (43.33), UHF CHI 11 (45.00), UHF CHI 7 (45.33) and hybrids H27 (42.67), H26 (43.00) and UH28 (43.00) took minimum days for flowering. For pungency UHF CHI 12 (0.28 %), UHF CHI 13 (0.26 %), DKC-8 (0.24 %) and H23 (0.33 %), H5 (0.31 %), H26 (0.26 %) recorded high capsaicin content

Distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls in agricultural soils from NCR, Delhi, India

ABSTRACT Twenty eight polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) congeners including twelve dioxin-lik

Plants derived therapeutic strategies targeting chronic respiratory diseases: Chemical and immunological perspective

The apparent predicament of the representative chemotherapy for managing respiratory distress calls for an obligatory deliberation for identifying the pharmaceuticals that effectively counter the contemporary intricacies associated with target disease. Multiple, complex regulatory pathways manifest chronic pulmonary disorders, which require chemotherapeutics that produce composite inhibitory effect. The cost effective natural product based molecules hold a high fervor to meet the prospects posed by current respiratory-distress therapy by sparing the tedious drug design and development archetypes, present a robust standing for the possible replacement of the fading practice of poly-pharmacology, and ensure the subversion of a potential disease relapse. This study summarizes the experimental evidences on natural products moieties and their components that illustrates therapeutic efficacy on respiratory disorders

Viability testing of material derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis prior to removal from a Containment Level-III Laboratory as part of a Laboratory Risk Assessment Program

BACKGROUND: In the field of clinical mycobacteriology, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) can be a difficult organism to manipulate due to the restrictive environment of a containment level 3 (CL3) laboratory. Tests for rapid diagnostic work involving smears and molecular methods do not require CL3 practices after the organism has been rendered non-viable. While it has been assumed that after organism deactivation these techniques can be performed outside of a CL3, no conclusive study has consistently confirmed that the organisms are noninfectious after the theoretical 'deactivation' steps. Previous studies have shown that initial steps (such as heating /chemical fixation) may not consistently kill MTB organisms. METHODS: An inclusive viability study (n = 226) was undertaken to determine at which point handling of culture extraction materials does not necessitate a CL3 environment. Four different laboratory protocols tested for viability included: standard DNA extractions for IS6110 fingerprinting, crude DNA preparations for PCR by boiling and mechanical lysis, protein extractions, and smear preparations. For each protocol, laboratory staff planted a proportion of the resulting material to Bactec 12B medium that was observed for growth for 8 weeks. RESULTS: Of the 208 isolates initially tested, 21 samples grew within the 8-week period. Sixteen (7.7%) of these yielded positive results for MTB that included samples of: deactivated culture resuspensions exposed to 80°C for 20 minutes, smear preparations and protein extractions. Test procedures were consequently modified and tested again (n = 18), resulting in 0% viability. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that it cannot be assumed that conventional practices (i.e. smear preparation) or extraction techniques render the organism non-viable. All methodologies, new and existing, should be examined by individual laboratories to validate the safe removal of material derived from MTB to the outside of a CL3 laboratory. This process is vital to establish in house biosafety-validated practices with the aim of protecting laboratory workers conducting these procedures

Anti-bacterial activity of inorganic nanomaterials and their antimicrobial peptide conjugates against resistant and non-resistant pathogens

This review details the antimicrobial applications of inorganic nanomaterials of mostly metallic form, and the augmentation of activity by surface conjugation of peptide ligands. The review is subdivided into three main sections, of which the first describes the antimicrobial activity of inorganic nanomaterials against gram-positive, gram-negative and multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. The second section highlights the range of antimicrobial peptides and the drug resistance strategies employed by bacterial species to counter lethality. The final part discusses the role of antimicrobial peptide-decorated inorganic nanomaterials in the fight against bacterial strains that show resistance. General strategies for the preparation of antimicrobial peptides and their conjugation to nanomaterials are discussed, emphasizing the use of elemental and metallic oxide nanomaterials. Importantly, the permeation of antimicrobial peptides through the bacterial membrane is shown to aid the delivery of nanomaterials into bacterial cells. By judicious use of targeting ligands, the nanomaterial becomes able to differentiate between bacterial and mammalian cells and, thus, reduce side effects. Moreover, peptide conjugation to the surface of a nanomaterial will alter surface chemistry in ways that lead to reduction in toxicity and improvements in biocompatibility

Updating the approaches to define susceptibility and resistance to anti-tuberculosis agents: implications for diagnosis and treatment

11 páginas, 2 figuras, 1 tablaInappropriately high breakpoints have resulted in systematic false-susceptible AST results to anti-TB drugs. MIC, PK/PD and clinical outcome data should be combined when setting breakpoints to minimise the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance.I. Comas was supported by PID2019-104477RB-I00 from the Spanish Science Ministry and by ERC (CoG 101001038)Peer reviewe

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival