Binge eating and sitting behavior as a risk cluster in obesity among software employees

Introduction: Binge eating disorder (BED) was underdiagnosed, underestimated eating disorder known to be responsible for obesity in both children and adults. Sedentary behavior estimated by measuring the sitting time was one of the major contributing factors in the development of metabolic syndrome in adults. People working in Information Technology (IT) sector possess both of these determinants in a significant capacity and thereby might be at risk for obesity, which in turn can be responsible for various cardio-metabolic events in their life. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 513 working adults belonging to the IT sector, using a face-to-face interview with a pre-tested questionnaire along with anthropometric measurements to measure BMI for obesity. Binge-eating disorder screener-7 for adults was adopted to assess the disorder, and the Marshall Sitting Questionnaire was used to evaluate their sitting behavior. Results: The study found that the prevalence of BED (23%) was higher in unmarried individuals, and moderate BED is significantly associated with higher BMI among them. Conversely, sitting time (Mean=8.83 hours/day) was seen mostly in married adults, and is also associated with higher BMI. As a risk cluster, both BED and sitting time combined had higher odds of resulting in Obesity than existing separately. Conclusion: Several lifestyle factors such as binge-watching TV, late working hours, higher salaries, etc., have contributed to developing Binge eating disorder and higher sitting time, which pose a significant risk for metabolic disorders like obesity

Account of bivalve fishery resources of Southern Tamil Nadu

Account of bivalve fishery resources of Southern Tamil Nad

RXR ligands negatively regulate thrombosis and hemostasis

OBJECTIVE: Platelets have been found to express intracellular nuclear receptors including the Retinoid X receptors (RXRα and RXRβ). Treatment of platelets with ligands of RXR has been shown to inhibit platelet responses to ADP and thromboxane A2, however the effects on responses to other platelet agonists as well as the underlying mechanism has not been fully characterised. APPROACH AND RESULTS: The effect of 9-cis-retinoic acid (9-cis-RA), docosahexaenoic acid and synthetic ligand for RXR, methoprene acid on collagen receptor (GPVI) agonists and Thrombin stimulated platelet function; including aggregation, granule secretion, integrin activation, calcium mobilisation, integrin αIIbβ3 outside-in signalling and thrombus formation in vitro and in vivo were determined. Treatment of platelets with RXR ligands resulted in attenuation of platelet functional responses following stimulation by GPVI agonists and thrombin and inhibition of integrin αIIbβ3 outside-in signalling. Treatment with 9-cis-RA caused inhibition of thrombus formation in vitro and an impairment of thrombosis and haemostasis in vivo. Both RXR ligands stimulated protein kinase A activation, measured by VASP S157 phosphorylation, that was found to be dependent on both cAMP and NFκB activity. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies a widespread, negative regulatory role for RXR in the regulation of platelet functional responses and thrombus formation and describes novel events that lead to the upregulation of PKA, a known negative regulator of many aspects of platelet function. This mechanism may offer a possible explanation for the cardioprotective effects described in vivo following treatment with RXR ligands

A humanized monoclonal antibody that inhibits platelet-surface ERp72 reveals a role for ERp72 in thrombosis

Background: Within the endoplasmic reticulum, thiol isomerase enzymes modulate the formation and rearrangement of disulphide bonds in newly folded proteins entering the secretory pathway to ensure correct protein folding. In addition to their intracellular importance, thiol isomerases have been recently identified to be present on the surface of a number of cell types where they are important for cell function. Several thiol isomerases are known to be present on the resting platelet surface including PDI, ERp5 and ERp57 and levels are increased following platelet activation. Inhibition of the catalytic activity of these enzymes results in diminished platelet function and thrombosis. Aim: We previously determined that ERp72 is present at the resting platelet surface and levels increase upon platelet activation, however its functional role on the cell surface was unclear. We aimed to investigate the role of ERp72 in platelet function and its role in thrombosis. Methods: Using HuCAL technology, fully humanised Fc-null anti-ERp72 antibodies were generated. Eleven antibodies were screened for their ability to inhibit ERp72 activity and the most potent inhibitory antibody (anti-ERp72) selected for further testing in platelet functional assays. Results and conclusions: Anti-ERp72 inhibited platelet aggregation, granule secretion, calcium mobilisation and integrin activation revealing an important role for extracellular ERp72 in the regulation of platelet activation. Consistent with this, infusion of anti-ERp72 into mice protected against thrombosis

IISR Keralashree - a high yielding and high quality nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.)

An accession of nutmeg IC-537218 derived from an open pollinated seedling progeny of a high yielding tree from Burliar, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, was evaluated under a farmer participatory mode at three locations in two states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, for yield characters, for 13 years and this accession was found superior for mace and nutmeg yield over the existing variety, IISR Vishwashree, in all the yield parameters studied. The tree is a pure female which flowers profusly and bears oblong shaped yellow fruits. The aril is thick and covers the entire seed and is dark red in colour. The nut is bold and brownish black in colour. The mace and nut of the new variety is rich in sabinene. &nbsp

The chaperone protein HSP47: a platelet collagen binding protein that contributes to thrombosis and haemostasis

Objective: Heat shock protein 47 (HSP47) is an intracellular chaperone protein that is vital for collagen biosynthesis in collagen secreting cells. This protein has also been shown to be present on the surface of platelets. Given the importance of collagen and its interactions with platelets in triggering haemostasis and thrombosis, in this study we sought to characterise the role of HSP47 on these cells. Approach and Results: The deletion of HSP47 in mouse platelets or its inhibition in human platelets reduced their function in response to collagen and the GPVI agonist (CRP-XL), but responses to thrombin were unaltered. In the absence of functional HSP47, the interaction of collagen with platelets was reduced, and this was associated with reduced GPVI-collagen binding, signalling and platelet activation. Thrombus formation on collagen, under arterial flow conditions was also decreased following the inhibition or deletion of HSP47, in the presence or absence of the eptifibatide, consistent with a role for HSP47 in enhancing platelet adhesion to collagen. Platelet adhesion under flow to von Willebrand Factor was unaltered following HSP47 inhibition. Laser-induced thrombosis in cremaster muscle arterioles was reduced and bleeding time was prolonged in HSP47 deficient mice or following inhibition of HSP47. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the presence of HSP47 on the platelet surface where it interacts with collagen, stabilises platelet adhesion and increases collagen mediated signalling and therefore thrombus formation and haemostasis

Oyster farming by women self help groups At Wadatar, Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra State

Practical dissemination of bivalve farming technologies in the potential maritime locations of Sindhudurg district was undertaken by ICAR-CMFRI. Initially a demoyster farm was setup in Wadatar, in Sindhudurg District under the UNDP-GEF funded project “Demonstration of bivalve farming at Sindhudurg District in the State of Maharashtra”. The training and demonstration for oyster farming was given to the Self Help Groups-SHG, “Prasidhi” consisting of 10 members. Five hundred strings containing 7,000 numbers of oysters were harvested. Each string consists of 10-15 live oysters. Live oysters were sold at the rate of Rs. 150-200 per dozen. A total profi t of Rs.45,000 was realized. This successful case study can be used as a case manual for group action for bivalve farming technology

An air-stable DPP-thieno-TTF copolymer for single-material solar cell devices and field effect transistors

Following an approach developed in our group to incorporate tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) units into conjugated polymeric systems, we have studied a low band gap polymer incorporating TTF as a donor component. This polymer is based on a fused thieno-TTF unit that enables the direct incorporation of the TTF unit into the polymer, and a second comonomer based on the diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) molecule. These units represent a donor–acceptor copolymer system, p(DPP-TTF), showing strong absorption in the UV–visible region of the spectrum. An optimized p(DPP-TTF) polymer organic field effect transistor and a single material organic solar cell device showed excellent performance with a hole mobility of up to 5.3 × 10–2 cm2/(V s) and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.3%, respectively. Bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic devices of p(DPP-TTF) blended with phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) exhibited a PCE of 1.8%

Manual on Edible Oyster and Green Mussel Farming कालवं आणि काकई संवर्धन तंत्र प्रशिक्षण पुस्तिका

Manual on Edible Oyster and Green Mussel Farming कालवं आणि काकई संवर्धन तंत्र प्रशिक्षण पुस्तिका (Marathi Version

Seafood Watch Assessment of Indian Squid - A Clarification by ICAR-CMFRI

Seafood Watch Assessment of Indian Squid - A Clarification by ICAR-CMFR