Distribution and Determinants of Body Mass Index of Non-smoking Adults in Delhi, India

Data on height and weight of 3,428 non-smoking healthy adult subjects, obtained during an earlier community-based study in Delhi, India, on chronic respiratory morbidity due to ambient air pollution was analyzed to study the distribution of body mass index (BMI) and its determinants among adults in Delhi. The sample was drawn by systematic sampling from rural and urban areas of Delhi. In urban areas, the sampling frame was restricted to areas around air quality-monitoring stations. However, the areas were spread across the city and reflected wide economic spectrum. Subjects were classified as underweight, normal, overweight, and obese as per the criteria of the World Health Organization for BMI. The mean BMI of the entire sample was 22.14 ±4.61. It was higher among females, urban residents, and the higher-income group. Overall, 49.7% of the 3,428 subjects had a normal nutritional status, 24.8% were underweight, 19.4% overweight, and 6.1% obese. The prevalence of underweight was higher in rural areas (38.5%) and among the lower-income group (39.9%), while overweight and obesity were more common in urban residents (22.7% and 7.5% respectively), among females (21.7% and 7.7%), and the higher-income group (31.8% and 11%) (p<0.05). The adjusted odds for underweight were 2.02 for rural subjects and 4.00 for the lower-income group. For overweight or obesity, odds were 5.6 for the higher-income group, 3.62 for urban residents, and 2.5 for females. It was concluded that problems of both underweight and overweight and obesity exist among the adults of Delhi. While females, residents of urban areas, and economically-better-off were more likely to be overweight or obese, residents of rural areas and those from lower-income groups were more likely to be underweight

Distribution and Determinants of Body Mass Index of Non-smoking Adults in Delhi, India

Data on height and weight of 3,428 non-smoking healthy adult subjects, obtained during an earlier community-based study in Delhi, India, on chronic respiratory morbidity due to ambient air pollution was analyzed to study the distribution of body mass index (BMI) and its determinants among adults in Delhi. The sample was drawn by systematic sampling from rural and urban areas of Delhi. In urban areas, the sampling frame was restricted to areas around air quality-monitoring stations. However, the areas were spread across the city and reflected wide economic spectrum. Subjects were classified as underweight, normal, overweight, and obese as per the criteria of the World Health Organization for BMI. The mean BMI of the entire sample was 22.14\ub14.61. It was higher among females, urban residents, and the higher-income group. Overall, 49.7% of the 3,428 subjects had a normal nutritional status, 24.8% were underweight, 19.4% overweight, and 6.1% obese. The prevalence of underweight was higher in rural areas (38.5%) and among the lower-income group (39.9%), while overweight and obesity were more common in urban residents (22.7% and 7.5% respectively), among females (21.7% and 7.7%), and the higher-income group (31.8% and 11%) (p&lt;0.05). The adjusted odds for underweight were 2.02 for rural subjects and 4.00 for the lower-income group. For overweight or obesity, odds were 5.6 for the higher-income group, 3.62 for urban residents, and 2.5 for females. It was concluded that problems of both underweight and overweight and obesity exist among the adults of Delhi. While females, residents of urban areas, and economically-better-off were more likely to be overweight or obese, residents of rural areas and those from lower-income groups were more likely to be underweight

Tropical pulmonary eosinophilia: effect of addition of corticosteroids after failure of diethylcarbamazine therapy

Successful response in diethylcarbamazine (DEC) therapy in tropical pulmonary eosinophilia (TPE) is not universal with a 20–40% failure rates in chronic cases. Corticosteroids have been used in such patients. However, their role in management remains ill-defined. A patient of TPE with incomplete clinical, haematological and physiological response to a standard 3 weeks DEC therapy received additional corticosteroids for the next two cycles, after which complete remission occurred. However, there was a relapse two months later with evidence of a chronic state requiring further treatment with corticosteroids with good response.Successful response in diethylcarbamazine (DEC) therapy in tropical pulmonary eosinophilia (TPE) is not universal with a 20–40% failure rates in chronic cases. Corticosteroids have been used in such patients. However, their role in management remains ill-defined. A patient of TPE with incomplete clinical, haematological and physiological response to a standard 3 weeks DEC therapy received additional corticosteroids for the next two cycles, after which complete remission occurred. However, there was a relapse two months later with evidence of a chronic state requiring further treatment with corticosteroids with good response

Concurrent sensitization to Aspergillus Fumigatus in tropical pulmonary eosinophilia

Tropical pulmonary eosinophilia (TPE) is characterized by lung tissue and peripheral blood eosinophilia. Serum total IgE is also markedly increased in TPE. However, an association with asthma or other hypersensitivity conditions has not been described. During the diagnostic workup of three patients eventually confirmed to have TPE, hypersensitivity to the fungus, Aspergillus Fumigatus was found. However, there was no evidence of diseases of aspergillus hypersensitivity such as severe asthma with fungal sensitization (SAFS) and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). This association however raises the possibility of a future risk of these potentially serious allergic respiratory manifestations. Riassunto L’eosinofilia polmonare tropicale (TPE) è caratterizzata da tessuto polmonare e eosinofilia nel sangue periferico. Anche il siero IgE totale è notevolmente aumentato in TPE. Tuttavia, un’associazione con asma o altre condizioni di ipersensibilità non è stata descritta. Durante l'iter diagnostico di tre pazienti, che alla fine si sono rivelati presentare TPE, ipersensibilità al fungo, è stato trovato l’Aspergillus fumigatus. Tuttavia, non vi era alcuna evidenza di malattie di Aspergillus ipersensibilità come l'asma grave con sensibilizzazione fungina (SAF) e aspergillosi broncopolmonare allergica (ABPA). Questa associazione pone tuttavia la possibilità di un rischio futuro di queste potenzialmente gravi manifestazioni allergiche respiratorie

Eozynofilowe zapalenie płuc na tle infestacji pasożytami — skuteczność leczenia kortykosteroidem po niepowodzeniu terapii dietylokarbamazyną

Dietylokarbamazyna w leczeniu eozynofilowego zapalenia płuc wywołanego infestacją pasożytem (tropical pulmonary eosinofilia) przynosi poprawę tylko u części pacjentów, a w przypadku fazy przewlekłej schorzenia leczenie jest nieskuteczne u 20–40% chorych. W tych przypadkach stosuje się kortykosteroidy, choć skuteczność tego postępowania nie została dotychczas potwierdzona. U opisywanej pacjentki po trzech tygodniach standardowego leczenia dietylokarbamazyną odnotowano jedynie częściową odpowiedź kliniczną, hematologiczną i fizjologiczną. Do dwóch kolejnych cykli leczenia dołączono kortykosteroid, co przyczyniło się do całkowitego wyleczenia. Dwa miesiące później doszło jednak do wznowy choroby, przy czym stwierdzono wykładniki fazy przewlekłej schorzenia, ale kontynuacja leczenia kortykosteroidem przyniosła zadowalającą odpowiedź kliniczną.Dietylokarbamazyna w leczeniu eozynofilowego zapalenia płuc wywołanego infestacją pasożytem (tropical pulmonary eosinofilia) przynosi poprawę tylko u części pacjentów, a w przypadku fazy przewlekłej schorzenia leczenie jest nieskuteczne u 20–40% chorych. W tych przypadkach stosuje się kortykosteroidy, choć skuteczność tego postępowania nie została dotychczas potwierdzona. U opisywanej pacjentki po trzech tygodniach standardowego leczenia dietylokarbamazyną odnotowano jedynie częściową odpowiedź kliniczną, hematologiczną i fizjologiczną. Do dwóch kolejnych cykli leczenia dołączono kortykosteroid, co przyczyniło się do całkowitego wyleczenia. Dwa miesiące później doszło jednak do wznowy choroby, przy czym stwierdzono wykładniki fazy przewlekłej schorzenia, ale kontynuacja leczenia kortykosteroidem przyniosła zadowalającą odpowiedź kliniczną

Clinical profile of dengue fever infection in patients admitted in tertiary care centre Agroha, Hisar, Haryana, India

Background: Dengue infections can result in a wide spectrum of disease severity ranging from an influenza-like illness (dengue fever; DF) to the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)/dengue shock syndrome (DSS). The study was aimed to compare the clinical profile of all patients diagnosed with dengue viral infection at MAMC.Methods: This retrospective study included 188 patients infected with dengue virus, age 6 years to 70 years. Laboratory and haematological data were included.Results: Peak of infection occurred in October 2015 and least number of cases were recorded in December 2015. Common clinical symptoms were fever, and abdominal pain. Common haematological abnormalities were thrombocytopenia and leucopoenia. All patients survived. There was no case of dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome.Conclusions: Significant differences in the clinical profile is possibly because of infection with different serotypes of dengue virus (DENV), concurrent/sequential infection of more than one serotype, and differences in host immune responses associated with host genetic variations

Characterization of maize genotypes using microsatellite markers associated with QTLs for kernel iron and zinc

224-234Crop genetic resources rich in Fe and Zn provide sustainable and cost-effective solution to alleviate micronutrient malnutrition. Maize being the leading staple crop assumes great significance as a target crop for biofortification. We report here wide genetic variation for kernel Fe and Zn among 20 diverse maize inbreds lines, majority of which were bred for quality protein maize (QPM) and provitamin-A. Kernel Fe ranged from 30.0 - 46.13 mg/kg, while kernel Zn ranged from 8.68-39.56 mg/kg. Moderate but positive correlation was observed between the micronutrients. Characterization using 25 Single sequence repeats (SSRs) linked to QTLs for kernel Fe produced 58 alleles. Similarly, 86 alleles were identified from 35 SSRs linked to QTLs for kernel Zn. One unique allele for kernel Fe and three unique alleles for kernel Zn were identified. The mean polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.40 for both kernel Fe and  Zn. Jaccard’s dissimilarity coefficients varied from 0.25 - 0.91 with a mean of 0.58 for kernel-Fe while 0.27- 0.88 with a mean of 0.57 for kernel Zn. Principal coordinate analysis depicted diversity of inbreds. Cluster analysis grouped the inbreds into three major clusters for both kernel Fe and Zn. Potential cross combinations have been proposed to develop micronutrient rich hybrids and novel inbreds with higher Fe and Zn. The information generated here would help the maize biofortification programme to develop nutritionally enriched hybrids

Small Interfering RNA against Transcription Factor STAT6 Leads to Increased Cholesterol Synthesis in Lung Cancer Cell Lines

STAT6 transcription factor has become a potential molecule for therapeutic intervention because it regulates broad range of cellular processes in a large variety of cell types. Although some target genes and interacting partners of STAT6 have been identified, its exact mechanism of action needs to be elucidated. In this study, we sought to further characterize the molecular interactions, networks, and functions of STAT6 by profiling the mRNA expression of STAT6 silenced human lung cells (NCI-H460) using microarrays. Our analysis revealed 273 differentially expressed genes after STAT6 silencing. Analysis of the gene expression data with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software revealed Gene expression, Cell death, Lipid metabolism as the functions associated with highest rated network. Cholesterol biosynthesis was among the most enriched pathways in IPA as well as in PANTHER analysis. These results have been validated by real-time PCR and cholesterol assay using scrambled siRNA as a negative control. Similar findings were also observed with human type II pulmonary alveolar epithelial cells, A549. In the present study we have, for the first time, shown the inverse relationship of STAT6 with the cholesterol biosynthesis in lung cancer cells. The present findings are potentially significant to advance the understanding and design of therapeutics for the pathological conditions where both STAT6 and cholesterol biosynthesis are implicated viz. asthma, atherosclerosis etc

OBILJEŽJA POČINITELJA NASILNIČKIH DELIKATA NA PODRUČJU PRIMORSKO-GORANSKE ŽUPANIJE OBZIROM NA POVRAT

Availability of sophisticated statistical modelling for developing robust reference equations has improved interpretation of lung function results. In 2012, the Global Lung function Initiative(GLI) published the first global all-age, multi-ethnic reference equations for spirometry but these lacked equations for those originating from the Indian subcontinent (South-Asians). The aims of this study were to assess the extent to which existing GLI-ethnic adjustments might fit South-Asian paediatric spirometry data, assess any similarities and discrepancies between South-Asian datasets and explore the feasibility of deriving a suitable South-Asian GLI-adjustment. Methods: Spirometry datasets from South-Asian children were collated from four centres in India and five within the UK. Records with transcription errors, missing values for height or spirometry, and implausible values were excluded(n=110). Results: Following exclusions, cross-sectional data were available from 8,124 children (56.3% male; 5-17 years). When compared with GLI-predicted values from White Europeans, forced expired volume in 1s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) in South-Asian children were on average 15% lower, ranging from 4-19% between centres. By contrast, proportional reductions in FEV1 and FVC within all but two datasets meant that the FEV1/FVC ratio remained independent of ethnicity. The ‘GLI-Other’ equation fitted data from North India reasonably well while ‘GLI-Black’ equations provided a better approximation for South-Asian data than the ‘GLI-White’ equation. However, marked discrepancies in the mean lung function z-scores between centres especially when examined according to socio-economic conditions precluded derivation of a single South-Asian GLI-adjustment. Conclusion: Until improved and more robust prediction equations can be derived, we recommend the use of ‘GLI-Black’ equations for interpreting most South-Asian data, although ‘GLI-Other’ may be more appropriate for North Indian data. Prospective data collection using standardised protocols to explore potential sources of variation due to socio-economic circumstances, secular changes in growth/predictors of lung function and ethnicities within the South-Asian classification are urgently required