Phenotypic expression of HbO Indonesia in two Indian families and its interaction with sickle hemoglobin

Background: Alpha globin chain variants are clinically significant since they directly influence the structure and function of the hemoglobin (Hb) molecules they constitute, either in combination with normal beta globin chains or with variant beta chains, thereby altering the morbidity and mortality associated with the resultant hemoglobinopathies. We describe here two unrelated families from Madhya Pradesh who had a nondeletional alpha-chain variant, HbO Indonesia (CD116 G → A). Members of one of the two families also had coinheritance of sickle hemoglobin (HbS). Aims: The aim was to study the phenotype of HbO Indonesia and its interaction with HbS. Materials and Methods: Hb electrophoresis, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), covalent reverse dot blot hybridization, amplification refractory mutation system, multiplex polymerase chain reaction, and direct gene sequencing were used to identify and characterize the variant Hbs. Results: The abnormal Hb moved in HbS region in Hb electrophoresis at alkaline pH but gave an abnormal peak in HPLC with a retention time (RT) of 4.86–4.89 min. In two members of the family with coinheritance of HbS, it produced small additional abnormal Hb peaks (4.6% in heterozygous and 11.9% in homozygous member) in HPLC with a longer RT (5.15–5.17 min) possibly resulting from a combination of HbO Indonesia alpha chain with HbS beta chain. Conclusions: It appears that depending on the zygosity of HbS, HbO Indonesia would subtract a variable amount of HbS beta chain from the total pool, thereby potentially reducing the clinical severity of HbS disease. HbO Indonesia per se does not cause anemia or alter the red cell indices

Heating and lighting: understanding overlooked energy-consumption activities in the Indian residential sector

Understanding the climate impact of residential emissions starts with determining the fuel consumption of various household activities. While cooking emissions have been widely studied, non-cooking energy-consumption activities in the residential sector such as heating and lighting, have been overlooked owing to the unavailability of data at national levels. The present study uses data from the Carbonaceous Aerosol Emissions, Source Apportionment and Climate Impacts (COALESCE) project, which consists of residential surveys over 6000 households across 49 districts of India, to understand the energy consumed by non-cooking residential activities. Regression models are developed to estimate information in non-surveyed districts using demographic, housing, and meteorological data as predictors. Energy demand is further quantified and distributed nationally at a 4 × 4 km resolution. Results show that the annual energy consumption from non-cooking activities is 1106 [201] PJ, which is equal to one-fourth of the cooking energy demand. Freely available biomass is widely used to heat water on traditional stoves, even in the warmer regions of western and southern India across all seasons. Space heating (51%) and water heating (42%) dominate non-cooking energy consumption. In comparison, nighttime heating for security personnel (5%), partly-residential personal heating by guards, dominant in urban centers and kerosene lighting (2%) utilize minimal energy. Biomass fuels account for over 90% of the non-cooking consumption, while charcoal and kerosene make up the rest. Half of the energy consumption occurs during winter months (DJF), while 10% of the consumption occurs during monsoon, when kerosene lighting is the highest. Firewood is the most heavily used fuel source in western India, charcoal in the northern hilly regions, agricultural residues and dung cake in the Indo-Gangetic plains, and kerosene in eastern India. The study shows that ∼20% of residential energy consumption is on account of biomass-based heating and kerosene lighting activities