A Halotolerant Bacterium Bacillus licheniformis HSW-16 Augments Induced Systemic Tolerance to Salt Stress in Wheat Plant (Triticum aestivum)

Certain plant growth promoting bacteria can protect associated plants from harmful effects of salinity. We report the isolation and characterization of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase bacterium Bacillus licheniformis HSW-16 capable of ameliorating salt (NaCl) stress in wheat plants. The bacterium was isolated from water of Sambhar salt lake, Rajasthan, India. The presence of ACC deaminase activity was confirmed by enzyme assay and analysis of AcdS gene, a structural gene for ACC deaminase. Inoculation of B. licheniformis HSW-16 protected wheat plants from growth inhibition caused by NaCl and increased plant growth (6-38%) in terms of root length, shoot length, fresh weight, and dry weight. Ionic analysis of plant samples showed that the bacterial inoculation decreased accumulation of Na+ content (51%), and increased K+ (68%), and Ca2+ content (32%) in plants at different concentration of NaCl. It suggested that bacterial inoculation protected plants from the effect of NaCl by decreasing level of Na+ in plants. Production of exopolysaccharide by the B. licheniformis HSW-16 can also protect from Na+ by binding this ion. Moreover, application of test isolate resulted in an increase in certain osmolytes such as total soluble sugar, total protein content and a decrease in malondialdehyde content, illustrating their role in the protection of plants. The ability of B. licheniformis HSW-16 to colonize plant root surface was examined by staining the bacterium with acridine orange followed by fluorescence microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based DNA fingerprinting analysis. These results suggested that B. licheniformis HSW-16 could be used as a bioinoculant to improve the productivity of plants growing under salt stress

Hepatotoxicity of Microcystis aeruginosa Strains Growing as Blooms in Certain Eutrophic Ponds

Critical assessment of five eutrophicated ponds of Varanasi city (India) revealed the presence of heavy blooms of cyanobacteria consisting mainly of Microcystis aeruginosa. Crude aqueous extracts of blooms as well as laboratory grown M. aeruginosa isolated from three ponds, namely Lakshmikund, Durgakund and Adityanagar showed toxicity in mouse bioassay test. Crude aqueous extracts from these samples caused death of test mice within 1h of administration (i.p.) with a LD50 of 60 mg/kg body weight and the treated animals showed clinical signs of hepatotoxicity. However such an effect was not associated with the blooms from Laatbhairov and Surajkund ponds suggesting that not all strains of M. aeruginosa are toxic. Based on spectral properties (?max 230 nm), and comparison with standard microcystin-LR, the toxin is tentatively identified as microcystin-LR. The purified toxin caused death of test mice within 40 min of its administration with a LD50 of 100 µg/ kg body weight and induced gross morphological and functional changes in liver. A 1.55 fold increase in liver weight accompanied by deep red coloration most probably due to hemorrhage and blood pooling suggested the hepatotoxic properties of the toxin. Hepatotoxicity was also evident from the drastic increase (up to 2.5 fold) in activity of serum enzymes such as glutamate pyruvate transaminase/alanine aminotransferase (GPT/ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alkaline phosphatase (APase) following toxin treatment. ^14C-labelling experiments demonstrated maximum accumulation (~15%) of ^14C- toxin after 20 min. of toxin administration. Appreciable level of toxin was also detected in water of four ponds. In conclusion these results clearly demonstrate that microcystin-producing blooms of M. aeruginosa are common in eutrophicated ponds of Varanasi city but not all ponds harbour toxic blooms

Cigarette smokers' intention to quit smoking in Dire Dawa town Ethiopia: an assessment using the Transtheoretical Model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cessation of smoking reduces morbidity and mortality related to tobacco smoking. It is essential to explore the intention of individuals to quit smoking to design effective interventions. The objective of this study was to assess cigarette smokers' intention to quit smoking in Dire Dawa town using the Transtheoretical model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From February 15 to 19, 2009, we conducted a community based cross-sectional study among 384 current cigarette smokers in Dire Dawa town east Ethiopia. Data was collected by trained personnel using a pretested structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two hundred and nineteen (57%) smokers in the study area had the intention to quit cigarette smoking within the next six months and all the process of change had an increasing trend across the stages. Based on the Fragestrom test of nicotine dependence of cigarette, 35 (9.1%), 69 (18%) and 48(12.5%) were very high, high and medium dependent on nicotine respectively. For the majority 247(64.3%) of the respondents, the mean score of cons of smoking outweighs the pros score (negative decisional balance). Only 66(17.2%) had high self efficacy not to smoke in places and situations that can aggravate smoking.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Majority of the smokers had the intention to quit smoking. All the process of change had an increasing trend across the stages. Those who had no intention to quit smoking had high level of dependence on nicotine and low self efficacy. The pros of smoking were decreasing while the cons were increasing across the stages. Stage based interventions should be done to move the smokers from their current stage to an advanced stages of quitting cigarette smoking.</p

Snakebite Mortality in India: A Nationally Representative Mortality Survey

Earlier hospital based reports estimate about 1,300 to 50,000 annual deaths from snakebites per year in India. Here, we present the first ever direct estimates from a national mortality survey of 1.1 million homes in 2001–03. Full-time, non-medical field workers interviewed living respondents about all deaths. The underlying causes were independently coded by two of 130 trained physicians. The study found 562 deaths (0.47% of total deaths) were assigned to snakebites, mostly in rural areas, and more commonly among males than females and peaking at ages 15–29. Snakebites also occurred more often during the rainy monsoon season. This proportion represents about 45,900 annual snakebite deaths nationally (99% CI 40,900 to 50,900) or an annual age-standardised rate of 4.1/100,000 (99% CI 3.6–4.5), with higher rates in rural areas (5.4) and with the highest rate in the state of Andhra Pradesh (6.2). Annual snakebite deaths were greatest in the states of Uttar Pradesh (8,700), Andhra Pradesh (5,200), and Bihar (4,500). Thus, snakebite remains an underestimated cause of accidental death in modern India, causing about one death for every two HIV-related deaths. Because a large proportion of global totals of snakebites arise from India, global snakebite totals might also be underestimated. Effective interventions involving education and antivenom provision would reduce snakebite deaths in India

Factors Associated with Physician Agreement on Verbal Autopsy of over 11500 Injury Deaths in India

Worldwide, injuries account for 9.8% of all deaths. The majority of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries where vital registration systems are often inadequate. Verbal autopsy (VA) is a tool used to ascertain cause of death in such settings. Validation studies for VA using hospital diagnosed causes of death as comparisons have shown that injury deaths can be reliably diagnosed by VA. However, no study has assessed the factors that may affect physicians' abilities to code specific causes of injury death using VA.This study used data from over 11 500 verbal autopsies of injury deaths from the Million Death Study (MDS) in which 6.3 million people in India were monitored from 2001–2003 for vital events. Deaths that occurred in the MDS were coded by two independent physicians. This study focused on whether physician agreement on the classification of injury deaths was affected by characteristics of the deceased and respondent. Agreement was analyzed using three primary methods: 1) kappa statistic; 2) sensitivity and specificity analysis using the final VA diagnosed category of injury death as gold standard; and 3) multivariate logistic regression using a conceptual hierarchical model. The overall agreement for all injury deaths was 77.9% with a kappa of 0.74 (99% CI 0.74–0.75). Deaths in the injury categories of “transport”, “falls”, “drowning” and “other unintentional injury” occurring outside the home were associated with greater physician agreement than those occurring at home. In contrast, self-inflicted injury deaths that occurred outside the home were associated with lower physician agreement.With few exceptions, most characteristics of the deceased and the respondent did not influence physician agreement on the classification of injury deaths. Physician training and continued adaptation of the VA tool should focus on the reasons these factors influenced physician agreement

Diarrhea, Pneumonia, and Infectious Disease Mortality in Children Aged 5 to 14 Years in India

Background: Little is known about the causes of death in children in India after age five years. The objective of this study is to provide the first ever direct national and sub-national estimates of infectious disease mortality in Indian children aged 5 to 14 years. Methods: A verbal autopsy based assessment of 3 855 deaths is children aged 5 to 14 years from a nationally representative survey of deaths occurring in 2001–03 in 1?1 million homes in India. Results: Infectious diseases accounted for 58 % of all deaths among children aged 5 to 14 years. About 18 % of deaths were due to diarrheal diseases, 10 % due to pneumonia, 8 % due to central nervous system infections, 4 % due to measles, and 12 % due to other infectious diseases. Nationally, in 2005 about 59 000 and 34 000 children aged 5 to 14 years died from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, corresponding to mortality of 24?1 and 13?9 per 100 000 respectively. Mortality was nearly 50 % higher in girls than in boys for both diarrheal diseases and pneumonia. Conclusions: Approximately 60 % of all deaths in this age group are due to infectious diseases and nearly half of these deaths are due to diarrheal diseases and pneumonia. Mortality in this age group from infectious diseases, and diarrhea i

Child mortality from solid-fuel use in India: a nationally-representative case-control study

Abstract Background Most households in low and middle income countries, including in India, use solid fuels (coal/coke/lignite, firewood, dung, and crop residue) for cooking and heating. Such fuels increase child mortality, chiefly from acute respiratory infection. There are, however, few direct estimates of the impact of solid fuel on child mortality in India. Methods We compared household solid fuel use in 1998 between 6790 child deaths, from all causes, in the previous year and 609 601 living children living in 1.1 million nationally-representative homes in India. Analyses were stratified by child's gender, age (neonatal, post-neonatal, 1-4 years) and colder versus warmer states. We also examined the association of solid fuel to non-fatal pneumonias. Results Solid fuel use was very common (87% in households with child deaths and 77% in households with living children). After adjustment for demographic factors and living conditions, solid-fuel use significantly increase child deaths at ages 1-4 (prevalence ratio (PR) boys: 1.30, 95%CI 1.08-1.56; girls: 1.33, 95%CI 1.12-1.58). More girls than boys died from exposure to solid fuels. Solid fuel use was also associated with non-fatal pneumonia (boys: PR 1.54 95%CI 1.01-2.35; girls: PR 1.94 95%CI 1.13-3.33). Conclusions Child mortality risks, from all causes, due to solid fuel exposure were lower than previously, but as exposure was common solid, fuel caused 6% of all deaths at ages 0-4, 20% of deaths at ages 1-4 or 128 000 child deaths in India in 2004. Solid fuel use has declined only modestly in the last decade. Aside from reducing exposure, complementary strategies such as immunization and treatment could also reduce child mortality from acute respiratory infections

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors 2017 includes a comprehensive assessment of incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) for 354 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017. Previous GBD studies have shown how the decline of mortality rates from 1990 to 2016 has led to an increase in life expectancy, an ageing global population, and an expansion of the non-fatal burden of disease and injury. These studies have also shown how a substantial portion of the world's population experiences non-fatal health loss with considerable heterogeneity among different causes, locations, ages, and sexes. Ongoing objectives of the GBD study include increasing the level of estimation detail, improving analytical strategies, and increasing the amount of high-quality data. METHODS: We estimated incidence and prevalence for 354 diseases and injuries and 3484 sequelae. We used an updated and extensive body of literature studies, survey data, surveillance data, inpatient admission records, outpatient visit records, and health insurance claims, and additionally used results from cause of death models to inform estimates using a total of 68 781 data sources. Newly available clinical data from India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Nepal, China, Brazil, Norway, and Italy were incorporated, as well as updated claims data from the USA and new claims data from Taiwan (province of China) and Singapore. We used DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool, as the main method of estimation, ensuring consistency between rates of incidence, prevalence, remission, and cause of death for each condition. YLDs were estimated as the product of a prevalence estimate and a disability weight for health states of each mutually exclusive sequela, adjusted for comorbidity. We updated the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary development indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and total fertility rate. Additionally, we calculated differences between male and female YLDs to identify divergent trends across sexes. GBD 2017 complies with the Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting

Global injury morbidity and mortality from 1990 to 2017 : results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Correction:Background Past research in population health trends has shown that injuries form a substantial burden of population health loss. Regular updates to injury burden assessments are critical. We report Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 Study estimates on morbidity and mortality for all injuries. Methods We reviewed results for injuries from the GBD 2017 study. GBD 2017 measured injury-specific mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) using the Cause of Death Ensemble model. To measure non-fatal injuries, GBD 2017 modelled injury-specific incidence and converted this to prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs). YLLs and YLDs were summed to calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Findings In 1990, there were 4 260 493 (4 085 700 to 4 396 138) injury deaths, which increased to 4 484 722 (4 332 010 to 4 585 554) deaths in 2017, while age-standardised mortality decreased from 1079 (1073 to 1086) to 738 (730 to 745) per 100 000. In 1990, there were 354 064 302 (95% uncertainty interval: 338 174 876 to 371 610 802) new cases of injury globally, which increased to 520 710 288 (493 430 247 to 547 988 635) new cases in 2017. During this time, age-standardised incidence decreased non-significantly from 6824 (6534 to 7147) to 6763 (6412 to 7118) per 100 000. Between 1990 and 2017, age-standardised DALYs decreased from 4947 (4655 to 5233) per 100 000 to 3267 (3058 to 3505). Interpretation Injuries are an important cause of health loss globally, though mortality has declined between 1990 and 2017. Future research in injury burden should focus on prevention in high-burden populations, improving data collection and ensuring access to medical care.Peer reviewe