Smoking and alcoholism among adult population and its association with outlet density in a hilly area of North India.

Background: The rising burden of non-communicable diseases is a threat to India. The behavioural risk factors having largest contribution to NCDs. Neighbourhood retailing of tobacco products, and alcohol are important risk factors. The objectives of the present study was to determine the prevalence of smoking and alcoholism among adult of Srikot, Uttarakhand, and to determine its relationship with tobacco, and alcohol retail outlet density.Materials and Methods: The study design was a community based cross sectional study, which was done in Srikot, Uttarakhand among adults aged above 20 years, selected by systematic sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire was used. The outlet density was measured mapped using android application.Results: A total of 155 were enrolled in the study of which 61.3% were females. A total of 11.6% of the study participants were smokers. On multivariate analysis male gender, and alcohol use was significantly associated with increased risk of smoking (p<0.05). A total of 16.8% of the study participants were alcohol user. On multivariate analysis it was found male gender, and smoking was significantly associated with increased risk of alcohol use (p<0.05).         On mapping the study area, it was found that total tobacco selling outlets were 40. There was no alcohol-selling outlet in the study area.Conclusion: The community is in an early stage of urbanization as evident from the burden of smoking, and alcohol use.  This burden of smoking might be worsened by outlet density of tobacco seller

Morphological, cultural and pathogenic variability in Alternaria brassicae, the causing agent of black spot of rapeseed and mustard

The study on pathogenic diversity of twenty isolates of Alternaria brassicae collected from different locations of Uttarakhand and Central Uttar Pradesh infecting Brassica species (Brassica rapa, Brassica juncea and Eruca sativa) revealed that there was a distinct difference among isolates in terms of mycelial growth, spore length, width, spore beak length and width. The average spore length varied from 21.23?m to 38.13?m with minimum of isolate AUA-19, AUA-43 i.e 21.23?m and maximum of AUA-47 i.e. 38.13?m . The isolates tested on Brassica juncea var.Varuna in green house conditions revealed that all the twenty isolates behaved differently. Among all the isolates, Brassica juncea isolates i.e. AUA-25, AUA-39, AUA-41, AUA-47, AUA-19, AUA-24, AUA-22, AUA-21, AUA-31, AUA-43 and AUA-45 from Uttarakhand, and AUP-29 from Central Uttar Pradesh can be grouped into highly pathogenic with range of Alternaria spot size i.e. 5.03-8.30mm in diameter, while isolate of Eruca sativa i.e. AUA-38 was found least pathogenic with 1.63mm in dia. and eight isolates AUA-18, AUA-20, AUA-23, AUP-28, AUA-32, AUA-33 and AUA-36 were found moderately pathogenic. This study will be useful in developing integrated management strategies of Alternaria leaf spot and breeding programs of oilseed crops (Brassica sp.)

CIS is a potent checkpoint in NK cell-mediated tumor immunity

The detection of aberrant cells by natural killer (NK) cells is controlled by the integration of signals from activating and inhibitory ligands and from cytokines such as IL-15. We identified cytokine-inducible SH2-containing protein (CIS, encoded by Cish) as a critical negative regulator of IL-15 signaling in NK cells. Cish was rapidly induced in response to IL-15, and deletion of Cish rendered NK cells hypersensitive to IL-15, as evidenced by enhanced proliferation, survival, IFN-γ production and cytotoxicity toward tumors. This was associated with increased JAK-STAT signaling in NK cells in which Cish was deleted. Correspondingly, CIS interacted with the tyrosine kinase JAK1, inhibiting its enzymatic activity and targeting JAK for proteasomal degradation. Cish -/- mice were resistant to melanoma, prostate and breast cancer metastasis in vivo, and this was intrinsic to NK cell activity. Our data uncover a potent intracellular checkpoint in NK cell-mediated tumor immunity and suggest possibilities for new cancer immunotherapies directed at blocking CIS function

An integrated portable system for single chip simultaneous measurement of multiple disease associated metabolites

Metabolites, the small molecules that underpin life, can act as indicators of the physiological state of the body when their abundance varies, offering routes to diagnosis of many diseases. The ability to assay for multiple metabolites simultaneously will underpin a new generation of precision diagnostic tools. Here, we report the development of a handheld device based on complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology with multiple isolated micro-well reaction zones and integrated optical sensing allowing simultaneous enzyme-based assays of multiple metabolites (choline, xanthine, sarcosine and cholesterol) associated with multiple diseases. These metabolites were measured in clinically relevant concentration range with minimum concentrations measured: 25 μM for choline, 100 μM for xanthine, 1.25 μM for sarcosine and 50 μM for cholesterol. Linking the device to an Android-based user interface allows for quantification of metabolites in serum and urine within 2 min of applying samples to the device. The quantitative performance of the device was validated by comparison to accredited tests for cholesterol and glucose

Anesthetic management for bronchoscopy and debulking of obstructing intratracheal tumor

Primary tracheal tumors comprise a rare group of benign and malignant tumors. Bronchoscopy is required for diagnosis and staging of tracheal neoplasms as well as debulking of the tumor. The management of anesthesia for rigid bronchoscopy in a patient with tracheal neoplasm presents with many challenges to the anesthetist. We present anesthetic management of an 18-year-old female who presented with orthopnea. Computed tomography scan of the thorax revealed a polypoidal lesion in the trachea proximal to carina and consolidation in the right middle lobe. The patient was scheduled for rigid bronchoscopy and debulking of the tumor. Case was successfully managed by providing positive pressure ventilation and oxygenation during rigid bronchoscopy using manual ventilation through the side port of the rigid bronchoscope. The procedure was uneventful, and patient improved symptomatically in the immediate postoperative period. The successful management of this case demonstrates the airway management in a patient with tracheal tumor for rigid bronchoscopy

The prevalence of obesity among adult population and its association with food outlet density in a hilly area of Uttarakhand

Background: The rising burden of obesity is a threat to both developed and developing countries. Obesity is a killer lifestyle disease. Different aspects of the local environment play a key role in the occurrence of obesity. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of obesity among adult, its associated factors, and its relationship with retail food outlet density in Srikot, Uttarakhand. Materials and Methods: This study was a community-based cross-sectional study, carried out in Srikot, Uttarakhand, in 2016 among 155 adults systematically sampled, aged above 20 years. A semi-structured pretested questionnaire was used to interview the participants, and anthropometry measurements were done. The details regarding the geographic location and count of outlets were carried out. Obesity was considered body mass index ≥25 kg/m2. Results: In the present study, 61.3% were females. The mean age of the study participants was 38.3 (±13.6) years. The prevalence of overweight was 14.8% and obesity was 55.5%. A total of 92.9% of the study participants reported consumption of junk food. On mapping the study area, it was found that the total number of food outlets were 116. It was found that density of any food outlet per study participant was 0.7. Conclusion: The Srikot in Uttarakhand is in an early stage of urbanization as evident from the burden of obesity, and this might worsen by prevalent outlet density of food in the environment

Sky transparency over Naini Tal : a retrospective study

We present an analysis of the atmospheric extinction coefficients measured during 1964 to 1999 in broad-band photometric passbands at U.P. State Observatory, Naini Tal. The extinction properties are also studied from the monochromatic extinction measurements carried out during 1970 to 1978. It is observed that except the yearly variation, no noticeable long term variation in extinction has been found over last 35 years. The extinctions in the ultraviolet region were found low at Naini Tal in comparison to other sites in the world. The extinctions due to aerosols are observed to be the minimum

Tectonic development of the Colorado Plateau Transition Zone, central Arizona: Insights from lower lithosphere xenoliths and volcanic host rocks

A growing body of evidence suggests that continental arc lower crust and underlying mantle wedge assemblages native to the Mojave Desert (i.e., the southern California batholith) were displaced eastward during Laramide shallow-angle subduction, and reattached to the base of the Colorado Plateau Transition Zone (central Arizona) and farther inboard. On this field trip, we highlight two xenolith localities from the Transition Zone (Camp Creek and Chino Valley) that likely contain remnants of the missing Mojave lithosphere. At these localities, nodules of garnet clinopyroxenite, the dominant xenolith type at both studied localities, yield low jadeite components in clinopyroxene, chemically homogeneous “type-B” garnet, and peak conditions of equilibration at 600–900 °C and 9–28 kbar. These relations strongly suggest a continental arc residue (“arclogite”), rather than a lower-plate subduction (“eclogite”), origin. Zircon grains extracted from these nodules yield a bimodal age distribution with peaks at ca. 75 and 150 Ma, overlapping southern California batholith pluton ages, and suggesting a consanguineous relationship. In contrast, Mesozoic and early Cenozoic igneous rocks native to SW Arizona, with age peaks at ca. 60 and 170 Ma, do not provide as close a match. In light of these results, we suggest that Transition Zone xenoliths: (1) began forming in Late Jurassic time as a mafic keel to continental arc magmas emplaced into the Mojave Desert and associated with eastward subduction of the Farallon plate; (2) experienced a second ca. 80–70 Ma pulse of growth associated with increased magmatism in the southern California batholith; (3) were transported ~500 km eastward along the leading edge of the shallowly subducting Farallon plate; and (4) were reaffixed to the base of the crust at the new location, in central Arizona. Cenozoic zircon U-Pb, garnet-whole rock Sm-Nd, and titanite U-Pb ages suggest that displaced arclogite remained at elevated temperature (>700 °C) for 10s of m.y., following its dispersal, and until late Oligocene entrainment in host latite. The lack of arclogite and abundance of spinel peridotite xenoliths in Miocene and younger mafic volcanic host rocks (such as those at the San Carlos xenolith locality), and the presence of seismically fast and vertically dipping features beneath the western Colorado Plateau, suggest that arclogite has been foundering into the mantle and being replaced by upwelling asthenosphere since Miocene time