tRNA like sequences in the human genome

A human foetal DNA library cloned in bacteriophage lambda Charon 4A was screened for human tRNA gene sequences using a X. laevis tDNA as a probe (3.18 Kb X. laevis DNA fragment containing 8 different tRNA genes, cloned in pBR 322). From the screeing procedure one lambda clone was isolated that showed positive hybridization. This clone, lht3, was further characterized by hybridization of [32P] labelled human 4S RNA probe and the individual subclones of X. laevis tDNA. Of the 5 different subclones of X. laevis tDNA, only the tDNA Tyr subclone showed positive hybridization. In addition the hybridization pattern observed was similar to that observed with a [32p] labelled human 4S RNA probe. A restriction cleavage map of lht3 was constructed, and the Hindlll restriction fragments of lht3 DNA showing positive hybridization were subsequently subcloned in plasmid pAT153 as pNB 1 and pNB4. These subclones were tested in Xenopus oocyte nuclei and HeLa cell extract for their transcriptional activity. A fine structure restriction map of the subclones was constructed. The smallest restriction fragments of pNB1 and pNB4 showing positive hybridization to [32P] labelled human 4S RNA probe were identified as 0.6 Kb Smal-Hindlll restriction fragment of pNB 1 and 0.9Kb PstI restriction fragment of pNB4. The DNA nucleotide sequence of the 0.6Kb Smal - Hindlll fragment was determined. This nucleotide sequence was examined for tRNA gene sequences and found to contain no full length tRNAs. However when the 0.6Kb sequence was compared with the 3.18Kb DNA sequence of X. laevis, one region of homology was identified. This was a stretch of 17 nucleotides long that showed 82% homology to 3' end of X. laevis tRNA Tyr gene. The 0.6Kb DNA sequence also contains an incomplete human Alu sequence and the stretch of 17 nucleotides homologous to Xenopus tRNA Tyr gene is contained within the 31 bp human insert present in the Alu sequence

Does the ‘Scottish effect’ apply to all ethnic groups? All-cancer, lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancer in the Scottish Health and Ethnicity Linkage Cohort Study

Copyright 2012 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Does vitamin D3 supplementation improve medial joint space narrowing in patients with osteoarthritis knee

Background: Although vitamin D3 levels are known to improve pain and knee function in patients with knee OA, no clear evidence is available regarding relation between improvement in medial joint space with improvement in vitamin D3 levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of vitamin D3 supplements in improving joint space in the patients with OA knee.Methods: 100 patients with OA Knee who fulfilled inclusion criteria and consented to participate were enrolled for study. Patients of OA Knee were blinded and randomized to receive either tablet vitamin D3 or identical placebo tablet. Vitamin D3 Tab was administered in a dose of 60000U/week for 3 months in 12 doses while placebo tablets with identical dosing schedule were used for control group. The patients who received vitamin D3 tablets were allocated to case group while those receiving identical placebo tablets were grouped as controls. The vitamin D3 levels and medial joint space were assessed at baseline, 3 mo, 6mo and 1 year in both the groups.Results: In two groups of patients of OA knee of 50 patients each vitamin D3 supplementation increased levels of vitamin D3 in case group. While no significant improvement in joint space narrowing was noted with vitamin D3 supplementation in case group. Also no significant correlation was observed between vitamin D3 levels and medial joint space narrowing.Conclusions: There was no improvement in medial knee joint space with vitamin D3 supplementation

Prevalence of Depression and Depressive Symptoms Among Resident Physicians: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

IMPORTANCE: Physicians in training are at high risk for depression. However, the estimated prevalence of this disorder varies substantially between studies. OBJECTIVE: To provide a summary estimate of depression or depressive symptom prevalence among resident physicians. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION: Systematic search of EMBASE, ERIC, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO for studies with information on the prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms among resident physicians published between January 1963 and September 2015. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were published in the peer-reviewed literature and used a validated method to assess for depression or depressive symptoms. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Information on study characteristics and depression or depressive symptom prevalence was extracted independently by 2 trained investigators. Estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Differences by study-level characteristics were estimated using meta-regression. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Point or period prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms as assessed by structured interview or validated questionnaire. RESULTS: Data were extracted from 31 cross-sectional studies (9447 individuals) and 23 longitudinal studies (8113 individuals). Three studies used clinical interviews and 51 used self-report instruments. The overall pooled prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms was 28.8% (4969/17,560 individuals, 95% CI, 25.3%-32.5%), with high between-study heterogeneity (Q = 1247, τ2 = 0.39, I2 = 95.8%, P < .001). Prevalence estimates ranged from 20.9% for the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire with a cutoff of 10 or more (741/3577 individuals, 95% CI, 17.5%-24.7%, Q = 14.4, τ2 = 0.04, I2 = 79.2%) to 43.2% for the 2-item PRIME-MD (1349/2891 individuals, 95% CI, 37.6%-49.0%, Q = 45.6, τ2 = 0.09, I2 = 84.6%). There was an increased prevalence with increasing calendar year (slope = 0.5% increase per year, adjusted for assessment modality; 95% CI, 0.03%-0.9%, P = .04). In a secondary analysis of 7 longitudinal studies, the median absolute increase in depressive symptoms with the onset of residency training was 15.8% (range, 0.3%-26.3%; relative risk, 4.5). No statistically significant differences were observed between cross-sectional vs longitudinal studies, studies of only interns vs only upper-level residents, or studies of nonsurgical vs both nonsurgical and surgical residents. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this systematic review, the summary estimate of the prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms among resident physicians was 28.8%, ranging from 20.9% to 43.2% depending on the instrument used, and increased with calendar year. Further research is needed to identify effective strategies for preventing and treating depression among physicians in training

The Transition to an Energy Sufficient Economy

Nigeria is an energy-rich nation with a huge energy resource base. The country is the largest reserves holder and largest producer of oil and gas in the African continent. Despite this, only about 40% of its 158 million people have access to modern energy services. Around 80% of its rural population depend on traditional biomass. This paper presents an overview of ongoing research to examine energy policies in Nigeria. The aims are: 1) to identify and quantify the barriers to sustainable energy development and 2) to provide an integrated tool to aid energy policy evaluation and planning. System dynamics modelling is shown to be a useful tool to map the interrelations between critical energy variables with other key sectors of the economy, and for understanding the energy use dynamics (impact on society and the environment). It is found that the critical factors are burgeoning population, lack of capacity utilisation, and inadequate energy investments. Others are lack of suitably trained manpower, weak institutional frameworks, and inconsistencies in energy policies. These remain the key barriers hampering Nigeria\u27s smooth transition from energy poverty to an energy sufficient economy

Ethnic variations in five lower gastrointestinal diseases: Scottish Health and Ethnicity Linkage Study

OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to augment the limited evidence mainly from local, clinical studies of ethnic differences in gastrointestinal disorders. Our question was: are there ethnic variations in hospitalisation/death for lower gastrointestinal disorders in Scotland? SETTING: Scotland. POPULATION: This retrospective-cohort linked 4.65 (of 4.9) million people in the 2001 census of Scotland (providing data on ethnicity, country of birth and indicators of socioeconomic deprivation) to 9 years of National Health Service hospitalisation and death records. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES AND ANALYSIS: For appendicitis, we studied all ages; for irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and diverticular disease, we included those ≥20 years. Using Poisson regression (robust variance) we calculated, by ethnic group and sex, first-hospitalisation/death age-adjusted rates per 100 000 person-years, and relative risks (RRs) with 95% CIs multiplied by 100, so the White Scottish reference population had an RR=100. RESULTS: There were ethnic variations; for example, for irritable bowel syndrome, RRs (95% CIs) were comparatively high in Other White British women (128.4 (111.0 to 148.6)), and low in Pakistani women (75.1 (60.6 to 93.1)). For appendicitis, RRs were high in men in Other White British (145.2 (127.8 to 164.9)), and low in most non-White groups, for example, Pakistanis (73.8 (56.9 to 95.6)). For ulcerative colitis, RRs were high in Indian (169.8 (109.7 to 262.7)) and Pakistani (160.8 (104.2 to 248.2)) men. For Crohn's disease, the RR was high in Pakistani men (209.2 (149.6 to 292.6)). For diverticular disease, RRs were high in Irish men (176.0 (156.9 to 197.5)), and any Mixed background women (144.6 (107.4 to 194.8)), and low in most non-White groups, for example, Chinese men (47.1 (31.0 to 71.6) and women (46.0 (30.4 to 69.8)). CONCLUSIONS: Appendicitis and diverticular disease were comparatively low in most non-White groups, while ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease were mostly higher in South Asians. Describing and understanding such patterns may help clinical practice and research internationally

Pilot study linking primary care records to Census, cardiovascular hospitalization and mortality data in Scotland: feasibility, utility and potential

Background There are substantial ethnic variations in the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related hospitalization and mortality in Scotland. We piloted extracting and linking primary care risk factors to Scottish Census and health data, to test the feasibility of further investigating these variations.Methods Data extracted from 10 general practices were linked at individual level to Census and hospitalization/death records. Linkage rates, reasons for non-linkage and completeness of primary care data were examined. CVD relative risks were calculated, adjusting for age, socioeconomic status and primary care-derived risk factors.Results Practice enrolment and data extraction proved challenging. Primary care records for 52 975 (55.2%) people were linked to Census data. Completeness and validity of risk variables were similar across ethnic groups. A total of 48 325 (91.2%) records had a valid smoking status recorded and 2900 (5.5%) people had a primary care record of diabetes. Ethnic-specific adjusted estimates of CVD risk were plausible and consistent with previous work.Conclusions Risk factor data extracted from primary care were of good quality and successfully linked to national Census records. Given further methodological refinement, this method illustrates the potential value of linkage using national primary care datasets to contribute to public health surveillance and research.<br/

Ethnic variations in upper gastrointestinal hospitalizations and deaths:the Scottish Health and Ethnicity Linkage Study

BACKGROUND: Upper gastrointestinal (GI) diseases are common, but there is a paucity of data describing variations by ethnic group and so a lack of understanding of potential health inequalities. We studied the incidence of specific upper GI hospitalization and death by ethnicity in Scotland.METHODS: Using the Scottish Health and Ethnicity Linkage Study, linking NHS hospitalizations and mortality to the Scottish Census 2001, we explored ethnic differences in incidence (2001-10) of oesophagitis, peptic ulcer disease, gallstone disease and pancreatitis. Relative Risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Poisson regression, multiplied by 100, stratified by sex and adjusted for age, country of birth (COB) and socio-economic position. The White Scottish population (100) was the reference population.RESULTS: Ethnic variations varied by outcome and sex, e.g. adjusted RRs (95% confidence intervals) for oesophagitis were comparatively higher in Bangladeshi women (209; 124-352) and lower in Chinese men (65; 51-84) and women (69; 55-88). For peptic ulcer disease, RRs were higher in Chinese men (171; 131-223). Pakistani women had higher RRs for gallstone disease (129; 112-148) and pancreatitis (147; 109-199). The risks of upper GI diseases were lower in Other White British and Other White [e.g. for peptic ulcer disease in men, respectively (74; 64-85) and (81; 69-94)].CONCLUSION: Risks of common upper GI diseases were comparatively lower in most White ethnic groups in Scotland. In non-White groups, however, risk varied by disease and ethnic group. These results require consideration in health policy, service planning and future research.</p

Myocardial infarction incidence and survival by ethnic group:Scottish Health and Ethnicity Linkage retrospective cohort study

Peer reviewedPublisher PD