Chronic Lung inflammation in victims of toxic gas leak at Bhopal

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) studies in 20 patients at Bhopal. 1.3 ± 0.4 yr and 2.7 ± 0.6 yr after toxic gas exposure had revealed that the lower respiratory tract inflammation had progressed from initial macrophage alveolitis to macrophage-neutrophilic alveolitis. The interval between the two lavages was 1.4 ± 0.6 yr. BAL studies in a new group of 14 patients 5.1 ± 1.0 yr after exposure had confirmed chronic inflammation of the lower respiratory tract as evidenced by macrophage-neutrophilic alveolitis in these subjects as well. Clinical. radiographic and pulmonary function abnormalities were persistent in a proportion of subjects in both groups. Fibronectin (FN) levels were estimated in BAL fluid in 41 patients. Elevated FN levels were seen in 12 (29.3%) subjects and nine of these 12 had radiographic abnormalities. Severely exposed subjects (n=30) had significantly higher BAL fibronectin levels compared to normal subjects and mild/moderately exposed subjects. Repeat FN estimations in BAL samples from 10 patients had revealed that five had abnormally high FN including three who had high FN on both occasions. The number of patients showing abnormal decline in pulmonary function was higher in patients with elevated FN than in patients with normal FN. Thus, persisting clinical, roentgenographic and ventilatory abnormalities, as well as macrophageneutrophilic alveolitis alon g with abnormally elevated FN levels in a proportion of subjects, suggest the possibility that lung fibrosis can occur in subjects exposed to toxic gas at Bhopal

Low frequency view of GRB 190114C reveals time varying shock micro-physics

We present radio and optical afterglow observations of the TeV-bright long gamma-ray burst 190114C at a redshift of z = 0.425, which was detected by the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov telescope. Our observations with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillitmeter Array, Australia Telescope Compact Array, and upgraded Giant Metre-wave Radio Telescope were obtained by our low frequency observing campaign and range from ∼1 to ∼140 d after the burst and the optical observations were done with three optical telescopes spanning up to ∼25 d after the burst. Long-term radio/mm observations reveal the complex nature of the afterglow, which does not follow the spectral and temporal closure relations expected from the standard afterglow model. We find that the microphysical parameters of the external forward shock, representing the share of shock-created energy in the non-thermal electron population and magnetic field, are evolving with time. The inferred kinetic energy in the blast-wave depends strongly on the assumed ambient medium density profile, with a constant density medium demanding almost an order of magnitude higher energy than in the prompt emission, while a stellar wind-driven medium requires approximately the same amount energy as in prompt emission

Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations.Peer reviewe

TOI-1338: TESS' First Transiting Circumbinary Planet

We report the detection of the first circumbinary planet (CBP) found by Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The target, a known eclipsing binary, was observed in sectors 1 through 12 at 30 minute cadence and in sectors 4 through 12 at 2 minute cadence. It consists of two stars with masses of 1.1 M o˙ and 0.3 M o˙ on a slightly eccentric (0.16), 14.6 day orbit, producing prominent primary eclipses and shallow secondary eclipses. The planet has a radius of ∼6.9 R ⊕ and was observed to make three transits across the primary star of roughly equal depths (∼0.2%) but different durations-a common signature of transiting CBPs. Its orbit is nearly circular (e ≈ 0.09) with an orbital period of 95.2 days. The orbital planes of the binary and the planet are aligned to within ∼1°. To obtain a complete solution for the system, we combined the TESS photometry with existing ground-based radial-velocity observations in a numerical photometric-dynamical model. The system demonstrates the discovery potential of TESS for CBPs and provides further understanding of the formation and evolution of planets orbiting close binary stars

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010–19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND: Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. METHODS: The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk–outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. FINDINGS: Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4·45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4·01–4·94) deaths and 105 million (95·0–116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44·4% (41·3–48·4) of all cancer deaths and 42·0% (39·1–45·6) of all DALYs. There were 2·88 million (2·60–3·18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50·6% [47·8–54·1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1·58 million (1·36–1·84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36·3% [32·5–41·3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20·4% (12·6–28·4) and DALYs by 16·8% (8·8–25·0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34·7% [27·9–42·8] and 33·3% [25·8–42·0]). INTERPRETATION: The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden

Optimisation of coal beneficiation flow sheet through simulation

Computer simulation is a very useful tool to predict the performance of a coal beneficiation plant when it is still on the drawing board. Simulation can also be useful in predicting the plant performance when the linkages of the collieries for the raw coal are proposed to be changed. This paper describes a simulation package developed in India with the example of a case study of patherdih coal washery. The original program and the algorithms were developed under a research grant of department of Coal through CMPDIL (Project No. CP 8) at IIT, Charagpur. Thereafter, the programs have been continually up-dated at CMPDIL, ISM and CMRI. Further work on the software has been done under project No. CP 35

Implementation of Sparse Neural Networks on Fixed Size Arrays

Recent research in Artificial Neural Networks (ANN's) has shown that ANN's will play an important role in solving many signal processing problems. To fully capture the potential that this new computational paradigm possesses, ANN models will have to be implemented in hardware. Initially, attempts were made to simulate ANN's on serial computers. These software simulations were too slow to be of any practical significance and it was realized that ANN's will have to be implemented on parallel machines that can exploit the parallelism inherent in ANN's. In this chapter, we investigate how sparse Neural Networks can be implemented on a fixed size mesh of processors. A number of currently available machines make available a computing environment based on this architecture and this architecture is also amenable to VLSI implementation. We show how one iteration of activation value updates for a sparse neural network with n neurons and e non-zero connections is simulated on a p \Theta p array ..

Assessment of Association of Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons with Bronchial Asthma and Oxidative Stress in Children: A Case Control Study

Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) originate from the incomplete combustion of organic matter and ambient air pollution by these is increasing. There is also an increase in the global prevalence of asthma, for which environmental pollution has been recognized as one of the important factors. Exposure to pollutants and other allergens induces chronic airway inflammation by generation of reactive oxygen species, causing oxidative stress. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to assess association, if any, between exposure to PAH and asthma as well as oxidative stress in children. Method: In this hospital-basedcase control study, cases of bronchial asthma aged 1-14 years and healthy matched controls were included. Oxidative stress was measured by assessing the levels of enzymes catalase, superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde (MDA), and reduced glutathione (GSH). Results : Forty-two cases and 20 controls were enrolled. Mean blood level of phenanthrene, a PAH, was 63.11 ppb ± 115.62 and 4.20 ppb ± 10.68 ppb in cases and controls, respectively ( P = 0.02). Mean blood levels of GSH was significantly lower in cases and controls (27.39 mg/ml ± 11.09 versus 47.39 g/ml ± 13.83; P -value = 0.001). Likewise, mean blood level of MDA in nanomole/ml was significantly higher in asthma as compared with controls (12.85 ± 5.40 versus 8.19 ± 5.16; P -value = 0.002), suggestive of increased oxidative stress. Conclusions: Because elevated blood level of phenanthrene is associated with bronchial asthma as well as with oxidative stress, measures to reduce exposure to PAH may possibly lead to reduced incidence and severity of bronchial asthma