Increased fetal adiposity prior to diagnosis of gestational diabetes in South Asians : more evidence for the ‘thin–fat’ baby

Aims/hypothesis Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with an increased future risk of obesity in the offspring. Increased adiposity has been observed in the newborns of women with GDM. Our aim was to examine early fetal adiposity in women with GDM. Methods Obstetric and sonographic data was collated for 153 women with GDM and 178 controls from a single centre in Chennai, India. Fetal head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), femur length (FL) and biparietal diameter (BPD) were recorded at 11, 20 and 32 weeks. Anterior abdominal wall thickness (AAWT) as a marker of abdominal adiposity at 20 and 32 weeks was compared between groups. Adjustments were made for maternal age, BMI, parity, gestational weight gain, fetal sex and gestational age. Results Fetuses of women with GDM had significantly higher AAWT at 20 weeks (β 0.26 [95% CI 0.15, 0.37] mm, p < 0.0001) despite lower measures of HC, FL, BPD and AC. AAWT remained higher in the fetuses of women with GDM at 32 weeks (β 0.48 [0.30, 0.65] mm, p < 0.0001) despite similar measures for HC, FL, BPD and AC between groups. Both groups had similar birthweights at term. There was an independent relationship between fasting plasma glucose levels and AAWT after adjustment as described above. Conclusions/interpretation A ‘thin but fat’ phenotype signifying a disproportionate increase in adiposity despite smaller or similar lean body mass was observed in the fetuses of mothers with GDM, even at 20 weeks, thus pre-dating the biochemical diagnosis of GDM. Increased AAWT may serve as an early marker of GDM

Pre-storage Exogenous Application of Hydrogen Sulphide Reduces Sugar spot, Decay loss and Preserves Quality of Banana Fruit

This research focuses on effect of hydrogen sulphide treatment (control, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 mM) during ambient storage on sugar spot, decay loss and postharvest quality of banana fruit. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) treated fruit were stored at ambient conditions (25±2ºC and 60–65% of relative humidity) up to 9 days. In general, H2S treatment maintained higher values of lightness, peel firmness, reduce the respiration rate and ethylene evolution rate and extended shelf life of stored fruit by delaying progression of ripening. Moreover, H2S (1.0 mM) was found significantly better over other treatments in reducing sugar spot or peel browning spot and maintaining the desirable overall postharvest traits of the fruit. The findings indicated that H2S has a great potential for pre-storage application to preserve quality, reduce sugar spot and postharvest decay loss, possibly through the delayed onset of senescence, without any adverse effects on fruit quality

Pre-storage Exogenous Application of Hydrogen Sulphide Reduces Sugar spot, Decay loss and Preserves Quality of Banana Fruit

651-657This research focuses on effect of hydrogen sulphide treatment (control, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 mM) during ambient storage on sugar spot, decay loss and postharvest quality of banana fruit. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) treated fruit were stored at ambient conditions (25±2ºC and 60–65% of relative humidity) up to 9 days. In general, H2S treatment maintained higher values of lightness, peel firmness, reduce the respiration rate and ethylene evolution rate and extended shelf life of stored fruit by delaying progression of ripening. Moreover, H2S (1.0 mM) was found significantly better over other treatments in reducing sugar spot or peel browning spot and maintaining the desirable overall postharvest traits of the fruit. The findings indicated that H2S has a great potential for pre-storage application to preserve quality, reduce sugar spot and postharvest decay loss, possibly through the delayed onset of senescence, without any adverse effects on fruit quality

Participation of women in traditional pig farming in North bank plain zone of Assam

A study was undertaken to know the socio-economic status of women pig farmers, pig rearing system, feeding management, annual income from piggery and constraints faced by women farmers and involvement and contribution of women in backyard piggery in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji district under North bank plain zone of Assam. A total of 577 women farmers involved actively in pig farming were randomly selected and interviewed with a standard questionnaire. Involvement of married (40.9%) and middle aged women (26-35 years) with formal education adopted piggery through low input traditional management practices for fattening purpose (49.04%). The management system followed was scavengingsystem (47.05%). Kitchen waste and leftover of local rice beer along with rice bran were the common feeds offered to pigs. The major constraints to women involvement in pig farming was found to be inadequate capital (37.43%) followed by high cost of medication and commercial ration (28.94%) and pre-occupation with household chores (17.67%). The average age at puberty of pig (16.55±0.11 months) was longer. The average weight gain (2.31±0.01 kg/month), litter size at birth (10.57±0.13) and litter size at weaning (5.76±0.14) were poor. It was found that 70% of the women farmers could generatemedium level of annual income (40-50 thousand) followed by 19.5% with high level income (&gt;50 thousand). The study recommended that easy access to credit facilities from the financial institution and improve technical skills on pig farming may increase the level of involvement and help in doubling the annual income of the women piggery farmers. Backyard piggery may act as way of women empowerment in rural areas and enhance the socio-economic status of the women in piggery

Participation of women in traditional pig farming in North bank plain zone of Assam

A study was undertaken to know the socio-economic status of women pig farmers, pig rearing system, feeding management, annual income from piggery and constraints faced by women farmers and involvement and contribution of women in backyard piggery in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji district under North bank plain zone of Assam. A total of 577 women farmers involved actively in pig farming were randomly selected and interviewed with a standard questionnaire. Involvement of married (40.9%) and middle aged women (26-35 years) with formal education adopted piggery through low input traditional management practices for fattening purpose (49.04%). The management system followed was scavengingsystem (47.05%). Kitchen waste and leftover of local rice beer along with rice bran were the common feeds offered to pigs. The major constraints to women involvement in pig farming was found to be inadequate capital (37.43%) followed by high cost of medication and commercial ration (28.94%) and pre-occupation with household chores (17.67%). The average age at puberty of pig (16.55±0.11 months) was longer. The average weight gain (2.31±0.01 kg/month), litter size at birth (10.57±0.13) and litter size at weaning (5.76±0.14) were poor. It was found that 70% of the women farmers could generatemedium level of annual income (40-50 thousand) followed by 19.5% with high level income (&gt;50 thousand). The study recommended that easy access to credit facilities from the financial institution and improve technical skills on pig farming may increase the level of involvement and help in doubling the annual income of the women piggery farmers. Backyard piggery may act as way of women empowerment in rural areas and enhance the socio-economic status of the women in piggery

Respiratory Effects of Amifostine and DRDE-07: Probable Prophylactic Agents of Sulphur Mustard in Rats

Amifostine (S-2[3-aminopropylamino]ethyl phosphorothioate) and one of its analogues,DRDE-07 (S-2[2-aminoethylamino]ethyl phenyl sulphide) are promising prophylactic agents forsulphur mustard (SM; a blistering agent) toxicity. When given orally, DRDE-07 was more effectivethan amifostine as a prophylactic agent against SM administered percutaneously. Variouspharmacological and toxicological studies are required before the introduction of a chemical asa drug. The respiratory effects of amifostine and DRDE-07 were carried out in rats using a bodyplethysmograph fitted with a volumetric pressure transducer for sensing the respiratory flowsignals. The signals were amplified, digitised, and stored on a personal computer for furtheranalysis. After taking control recordings of respiratory signals, different doses (0.5 LD50, 1.0 LD50and 2.0 LD50) of amifostine and DRDE-07 were administered orally (LD50 amifostine = 2262 mg/kg; DRDE-07 = 1599 mg/kg), and the respiratory changes were monitored for 4 h. Amifostine andDRDE-07 showed a uniform breathing pattern even in 2.0 LD50 dose. However, a significant dosedependentdecrease in respiratory frequency was observed following amifostine administration.DRDE-07 did not show any significant change. The tidal volume was not altered significantlyboth in amifostine and DRDE-07 administered animals. The study shows that DRDE-07, even inlethal doses, may not affect the respiration immediately, whereas, amifostine may decrease therespiratory frequency

Securing Land Rights for All through Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration Approach:The Case of Nepal

After the political change in Nepal of 1951, leapfrog land policy improvements have been recorded, however, the land reform initiatives have been short of full success. Despite a land administration system based on cadaster and land registries in place, 25% of the arable land with an estimated 10 million spatial units on the ground are informally occupied and are off-register. Recently, a strong political will has emerged to ensure land rights for all. Providing tenure security to all these occupants using the conventional surveying and land administration approach demands a large amount of skilled human resources, a long timeframe and a huge budget. To assess the suitability of the fit-for-purpose land administration (FFPLA) approach for nationwide mapping and registration of informality in the Nepalese context, the identification, verification and recordation (IVR) of the people-to-land relationship was conducted through two pilot studies using a participatory approach covering around 1500 and 3400 parcels, respectively, in an urban and a rural setting. The pilot studies were based on the FFPLA National Strategy and utilized satellite imageries and smartphones for identification and verification of land boundaries. Data collection to verification tasks were completed within seven months in the urban settlements and for an average cost of 7.5 USD per parcel; within the rural setting, the pilot study was also completed within 7 months and for an average cost of just over 3 USD per parcel. The studies also informed the discussions on building the legislative and institutional frameworks, which are now in place. With locally trained ‘grassroots surveyors’, the studies have provided a promising alternative to the conventional surveying technologies by providing a fast, inexpensive and acceptable solution. The tested approach may fulfill the commitment to resolve the countrywide mapping of informality. The use of consistent data model and mapping standards are recommended

Unusual heavy landings of dolphinfish, Coryphaena hippurus at Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour

Heavy landing of the dolphinfish, Coryphaena hippurus was observed in hooks and lines at Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour on 12th October, 2012 (Fig 1a & b) . Around 7,245 kg of C. hippurus was landed by 90 units on that day. This is the first instance of such huge landing of the dolphinfish at Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbor. In addition to C. hippurus, other species landed were Thunnus albacares (3717 kg), Makaira indica (1710 kg), Megalaspis cordyla (1692 kg), Euthynnus affinis (1170 kg), Katsuwonus pelamis (828 kg) and Scomberomorus guttatus (351 kg)