Issues and opportunities associated with SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus detection in sewage

COVID-19 has emerged as pandemic challenge for the world. Novel information is emerging from the research and development. In this connection several reports are confirming presence of SARS CoV-2 in the sewage. This information has concern for the sanitary professionals involved in management of sewage and sludge of sewage treatment (biosolids). The same information also has opportunities to apply wastewater related epidemiology concept for rapid screening of a community impacted by COVID-19 and extent of its spread. The present article discusses issues and opportunity involved with the available information related to detection of RNA strains and whole virus in sewage

Possible involvement of Opioid like Receptor1 (ORL1) Receptor in Ischemic Preconditioning Induced Protection in Rat Brain

Opioid receptor like 1 receptor (ORL1) is a family of G-protein coupled receptor, reported to produce cardio-protection against ischemia- reperfusion induced injury in rat heart. The present study has been designed to investigate the role of ORL1 receptor in ischemic preconditioning (IPC) induced protection in rat brain. IPC was induced by giving 3 episodes of ischemia and reperfusion. Global ischemia for 17 min was given by occlusion of carotid artery followed by 24hr of reperfusion. Memory was assessed by measuring escape latency time (ELT) for consecutively 4 days and time spent in target quadrant (TSTQ) was measured on 5th day by using morrish water maze. IPC significantly decrease in infarct size and improvement in memory as compared to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in control group. Pretreatment with JTC-801(1mg/kg, i.p.), a selective ORL1 receptor antagonist or Glibenclamide (1mg/kg, i.p.), the KATP channel blocker significantly reduce the amplitude of IPC induced cerebroprotection measured in terms of infarct size and positively affects the memory measured in terms of time spent in target quadrant (TSTQ) at 5th day as compare to IPC group. The cerebroprotective effect of IPC was significantly attenuated in JTC-801 and Glibenclamide in combination as compare to Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) group and treated group (Glibenclamide). These results may indicate that cerebroprotective effect of IPC of brain and improvement of memory mediated through ORL1 receptor and activation of KATP channels. Keywords: Opioid receptor like1 receptor, ischemic preconditioning, JTC-801, latency tim

Internet-based interventions for smoking cessation

Background Tobacco use is estimated to kill 7 million people a year. Nicotin e is highly addictive, but surveys indicate that almost 70% of U S and UK smokers would like to stop smoking. Although many smokers attempt to give up on their own, advice from a health professio nal increases the chances of quitting. As of 2016 there were 3.5 bill ion Internet users worldwide, making the Internet a potenti al platform to help people quit smoking. Objectives To determine the effectiveness of Internet-based interventi ons for smoking cessation, whether intervention effectivene ss is altered by tailoring or interactive features, and if there is a differen ce in effectiveness between adolescents, young adults, and adu lts. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group Specialised Regi ster, which included searches of MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO (through OVID). There were no restrictions placed on lan guage, publication status or publication date. The most recent search was conducted in August 2016. Selection criteria We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Participants w ere people who smoked, with no exclusions based on age, gender , ethnicity, language or health status. Any type of Internet in tervention was eligible. The comparison condition could be a no -intervention control, a different Internet intervention, or a non-Interne t intervention. To be included, studies must have measured sm oking cessation at four weeks or longer. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently assessed and extracted dat a. We extracted and, where appropriate, pooled smoking cessat ion outcomes of six-month follow-up or more, reporting short-term outcomes n arratively where longer-term outcomes were not available. We reported study effects as a risk ratio (RR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI )

Exercise/physical activity and health outcomes: an overview of Cochrane systematic reviews.

BACKGROUND: Sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor for noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. It has been estimated that approximately 3.2 million deaths each year are attributable to insufficient levels of physical activity. We evaluated the available evidence from Cochrane systematic reviews (CSRs) on the effectiveness of exercise/physical activity for various health outcomes. METHODS: Overview and meta-analysis. The Cochrane Library was searched from 01.01.2000 to issue 1, 2019. No language restrictions were imposed. Only CSRs of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Both healthy individuals, those at risk of a disease, and medically compromised patients of any age and gender were eligible. We evaluated any type of exercise or physical activity interventions; against any types of controls; and measuring any type of health-related outcome measures. The AMSTAR-2 tool for assessing the methodological quality of the included studies was utilised. RESULTS: Hundred and fifty CSRs met the inclusion criteria. There were 54 different conditions. Majority of CSRs were of high methodological quality. Hundred and thirty CSRs employed meta-analytic techniques and 20 did not. Limitations for studies were the most common reasons for downgrading the quality of the evidence. Based on 10 CSRs and 187 RCTs with 27,671 participants, there was a 13% reduction in mortality rates risk ratio (RR) 0.87 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.78 to 0.96]; I2 = 26.6%, [prediction interval (PI) 0.70, 1.07], median effect size (MES) = 0.93 [interquartile range (IQR) 0.81, 1.00]. Data from 15 CSRs and 408 RCTs with 32,984 participants showed a small improvement in quality of life (QOL) standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.18 [95% CI 0.08, 0.28]; I2 = 74.3%; PI -0.18, 0.53], MES = 0.20 [IQR 0.07, 0.39]. Subgroup analyses by the type of condition showed that the magnitude of effect size was the largest among patients with mental health conditions. CONCLUSION: There is a plethora of CSRs evaluating the effectiveness of physical activity/exercise. The evidence suggests that physical activity/exercise reduces mortality rates and improves QOL with minimal or no safety concerns. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered in PROSPERO ( CRD42019120295 ) on 10th January 2019

Climate smart rice innovations to reduce the impact of climate change on the livelihood of value chain actors

Introduction Rice is a major source of nutrients, largely contributing to the food and nutrition security for millions of people in Africa although most countries still rely on huge imports to meet local demand. Extreme temperatures, drought, flooding, and high salinity are climate change related stresses that negatively affect rice yield and grain quality. Thus, tackling these constraints is a critical action to increasing rice self sufficiency in Cameroon and Africa in general. Methods The Africa Rice Center in partnership with the National Agricultural Research and Extension Services of its 28 member States operating within the framework of the Africa-wide Taskforces has developed, tested, validated, and are deploying breeding, agronomic and post-harvest approaches to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on rice yield and quality in Africa. Results Breeding approaches have led to the development of drought, cold, submergence, stagnation flood, salinity, and anaerobic germination tolerant varieties that are also resistant or tolerant to biotic stresses. These have demonstrated better yields and grain quality under stressed conditions compared to counterparts lacking those specific traits. The system of rice intensification and alternate wetting and drying, mid-season drainage, smart-valleys approach for inland development, solar-powered irrigation system, no-till and rice straw mulching are agronomic approaches developed and these approaches have demonstrated significant increase in yield and grain quality compared to alternative approached under climate change stress conditions. Post-harvest approaches have focused on reducing grain breakages, chalkiness, mycotoxin contamination, insecticide and fungicide use, deforestation and value addition to broken rice and rice milling byproducts using environmentally friendly methods. Post-harvest innovations here include using improved rice parboiling fueled by rice husk, solar-powered hermetic storage systems, processing of fine broken rice into flour for porridges and bakery products and use of rice husk fan-assisted stoves for household cooking and the cottage processing industry. Conclusions and recommendations Although climate change is a serious threat to rice production affecting both yield and quality, African governments will have to implement policy measures that enhance the scaling and adoption of climate smart rice innovation developed by AfricaRice to mitigate the impact of climate change if they aspire to reduce rice imports

Paving Plant-Food-Derived Bioactives as Effective Therapeutic Agents in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, where social and communication deficits and repetitive behaviors are present. Plant-derived bioactives have shown promising results in the treatment of autism. In this sense, this review is aimed at providing a careful view on the use of plant-derived bioactive molecules for the treatment of autism. Among the plethora of bioactives, curcumin, luteolin, and resveratrol have revealed excellent neuroprotective effects and can be effectively used in the treatment of neuropsychological disorders. However, the number of clinical trials is limited, and none of them have been approved for the treatment of autism or autism-related disorder. Further clinical studies are needed to effectively assess the real potential of such bioactive molecules.N.C.-M. acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the Horizon 2020 Program (PTDC/PSI-GER/28076/2017)