Genome-wide analyses identify a role for SLC17A4 and AADAT in thyroid hormone regulation.

Thyroid dysfunction is an important public health problem, which affects 10% of the general population and increases the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Many aspects of thyroid hormone regulation have only partly been elucidated, including its transport, metabolism, and genetic determinants. Here we report a large meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for thyroid function and dysfunction, testing 8 million genetic variants in up to 72,167 individuals. One-hundred-and-nine independent genetic variants are associated with these traits. A genetic risk score, calculated to assess their combined effects on clinical end points, shows significant associations with increased risk of both overt (Graves' disease) and subclinical thyroid disease, as well as clinical complications. By functional follow-up on selected signals, we identify a novel thyroid hormone transporter (SLC17A4) and a metabolizing enzyme (AADAT). Together, these results provide new knowledge about thyroid hormone physiology and disease, opening new possibilities for therapeutic targets

Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations.Peer reviewe

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010–19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND: Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. METHODS: The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk–outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. FINDINGS: Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4·45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4·01–4·94) deaths and 105 million (95·0–116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44·4% (41·3–48·4) of all cancer deaths and 42·0% (39·1–45·6) of all DALYs. There were 2·88 million (2·60–3·18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50·6% [47·8–54·1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1·58 million (1·36–1·84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36·3% [32·5–41·3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20·4% (12·6–28·4) and DALYs by 16·8% (8·8–25·0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34·7% [27·9–42·8] and 33·3% [25·8–42·0]). INTERPRETATION: The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden

Impact of gamma radiation on 8051 microcontroller performance

Studying the effects of gamma radiation on the instrumentation and control (I&C) system of a nuclear power plant is critical to the successful and reliable operation of the plant. In the accidental scenario, the adverse environment of ionizing radiation affects the performance of the I&C system and it leads to inaccurate and incomprehensible results. This paper reports the effects of gamma radiation on the AT89C51RD2, a commercial-off-the-shelf 8-bit high-performance flash microcontroller. The microcontroller, selected for the device under test for this study is used in the remote terminal unit for a nuclear power plant. The custom circuits were made to test the microcontroller under different gamma doses using a 60Co gamma source in both ex-situ and in-situ modes. The device was exposed to a maximum dose of 1.5 kGy. Under this hostile environment, the performance of the microcontroller was studied in terms of device current and voltage changes. It was observed that the microcontroller device can operate up to a total absorbed dose of approximately 0.6 kGy without any failure or degradation in its performance

Covalent Immobilizations of Myosin for In-Vitro Motility of Actin

The present study reports the covalent immobilization of myosin on glass surface and in-vitro motility of actin-myosin biomolecular motor. Myosin was immobilized on poly-L-lysine coated glass using heterobifunctional cross linker EDC and characterized by AFM. The in-vitro motility of actin was carried out on the immobilized myosin. It was observed that velocity of actin over myosin increases with increasing actin concentration (0.4{1.0 mg/ml) and was found in the range of 0.40{3.25 ¹m/s. The motility of actin- myosin motor on arti¯cial surfaces is of immense importance for developing nanodevices for healthcare and engineering applications

Software Development for Measurement of Detonating Explosive Temperature using two Colour Pyrometry

This paper reports on the development of software for the measurement of detonating explosive temperature using two color ratio pyrometry. Planck’s law for black body radiation has been used for predicting the spectral radiance at different absolute temperatures and wavelength. Vandermonde’s algorithm is used for interpolating the emissivity values at different wavelengths. This value is further refined using least square’s approximation method. The main objective of our studies is to plot graphs for some input values of the parameters such as emissivity, spectral radiance, absolute temperature and wavelength and to establish the relation and behaviour of these parameters when value of one of them is changed. The unknown values of emissivity and radiance at known values of wavelength and temperature have been calculated by using these graphs. The software has been developed for these studies in C, C++ language and tested for two wavelengths (0.450 μm and 0.650 μm) to measure the temperature for polished tungsten

Not Available

Not AvailableThe present study was undertaken with aim to understand the perceptions of indigenous communities about climate change pattern and its local impacts on climate variables, seasons, agriculture, biodiversity and adaptive strategies in geographical and technological-isolated Pangi valley situated in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh. Randomly selected 120 respondents were interviewed and their perceptions were recorded on pre-designed questionnaire. The climate change impacts are experienced in the form of decreased snowfall (98.3%), temperature rise (97.5%), late onset of monsoon (90.8%), decreased rainfall (76.7%), reduced snow-melted water availability (86.7%) and increased drought incidences (85.8%) of over the years. Further, these climatic changes affecting agriculture through early shifts in crop season (80.8%), shorter growing season (91.7%), introduction of fruit and vegetable crops (90.8%), increased incidence of insect-pest (81.2%) and diseases (84.2%) and thereby decline in crop yield (70%). However, majority of the respondents undertaken adaptive strategies such as crop diversification, traditional mixed-cropping, mixed farming, crop rotation and agroforestry/agro-horticulture systems to cope with climate change but they are either little or unaware of modern farming practices such as snow water/glacier runoff harvesting, agro advisory services, mulching and zero tillage as adaptation strategies.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableThe present study was undertaken with aim to understand the perceptions of indigenous communities about climate change pattern and its local impacts on climate variables, seasons, agriculture, biodiversity and adaptive strategies in geographical and technological-isolated Pangi valley situated in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh. Randomly selected 120 respondents were interviewed and their perceptions were recorded on pre-designed questionnaire. The climate change impacts are experienced in the form of decreased snowfall (98.3%), temperature rise (97.5%), late onset of monsoon (90.8%), decreased rainfall (76.7%), reduced snow-melted water availability (86.7%) and increased drought incidences (85.8%) of over the years. Further, these climatic changes affecting agriculture through early shifts in crop season (80.8%), shorter growing season (91.7%), introduction of fruit and vegetable crops (90.8%), increased incidence of insect-pest (81.2%) and diseases (84.2%) and thereby decline in crop yield (70%). However, majority of the respondents undertaken adaptive strategies such as crop diversification, traditional mixed-cropping, mixed farming, crop rotation and agro-forestry/agro-horticulture systems to cope with climate change but they are either little or unaware of modern farming practices such as snow water/glacier runoff harvesting, agro advisory services, mulching and zero tillage as adaptation strategies.Not Availabl