Spermatogenesis : correlation in Ayurveda

The spermatogenesis is the important stage of male developmental biology. The spermatogenesis is a complex process that involves multiplication, development & maturation of germ cells into male gamete. The Shukra Dhatu is the seventh Dhatu of body which is has no Dhatu-Mala. Ayurveda has praised Shukra for its functions like Bala, Priti, Prajotpadana etc. Only a viable and quality Shukra Dhatu is capable of reproduction. Any defects in the Shukra formation will eventually affect its normal functions. The understanding of spermatogenesis is a prerequisite for diagnosing and treating male infertility. An attempt has been made in the present paper to understand the process of spermatogenesis in Ayurveda in relation to Shukra Dhatu Utpatti and its Karya (functions)

Measuring childhood socioeconomic position in health research:Development and validation of childhood socioeconomic position questionnaire using mixed method approach

Background: There is no single best indicator to assess the childhood socioeconomic position (CSEP) in public health research. The aim of the study is to develop and validate a new questionnaire, with adequate psychometric properties, to measure the childhood SEP of the young adults. Methods: The first phase consisted of a qualitative phase to identify the variables to measure childhood SEP through the in-depth interviews among 15 young adults (18-45 years) of rural Kerala. The second phase was a quantitative phase to validate the questionnaire through a cross sectional survey among 200 young adults of Kerala. We did content validity, reliability tests and construct validity by using exploratory factor analysis of the questionnaire to demonstrate its psychometric properties. Results: The qualitative analysis reported 26 variables spread across 5 domains to measure the CSEP. Finally, the questionnaire has 11 questions with 3 domains named as value added through paternity, maternal occupation-related factors and parental education. The questionnaire has good reliability (Cronbach's α=0.88) also. Conclusion: We have developed a reliable and valid questionnaire to measure the childhood SEP of younger adults and can be used in various public health research

Task sharing with non-physician health-care workers for management of blood pressure in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Task sharing for the management of hypertension could be useful for understaffed and resource-poor health systems. We assessed the effectiveness of task-sharing interventions in improving blood pressure control among adults in low-income and middle-income countries. METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL for studies published up to December 2018. We included intervention studies involving a task-sharing strategy for management of blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors. We extracted data on population, interventions, blood pressure, and task sharing groups. We did a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. FINDINGS: We found 3012 references, of which 54 met the inclusion criteria initially. Another nine studies were included following an updated search. There were 43 trials and 20 before-and-after studies. We included 31 studies in our meta-analysis. Systolic blood pressure was decreased through task sharing in different groups of health-care workers: the mean difference was -5·34 mm Hg (95% CI -9·00 to -1·67, I2=84%) for task sharing with nurses, -8·12 mm Hg (-10·23 to -6·01, I2=57%) for pharmacists, -4·67 mm Hg (-7·09 to -2·24, I2=0%) for dietitians, -3·67 mm Hg (-4·58 to -2·77, I2=24%) for community health workers, and -4·85 mm Hg (-6·12 to -3·57, I2=76%) overall. We found a similar reduction in diastolic blood pressure (overall mean difference -2·92 mm Hg, -3·75 to -2·09, I2=80%). The overall quality of evidence based on GRADE criteria was moderate for systolic blood pressure, but low for diastolic blood pressure. INTERPRETATION: Task-sharing interventions are effective in reducing blood pressure. Long-term studies are needed to understand their potential impact on cardiovascular outcomes and mortality. FUNDING: Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance

Task-sharing interventions for cardiovascular risk reduction and lipid outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: One of the potential strategies to improve health care delivery in understaffed low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is task sharing, where specific tasks are transferred from more qualified health care cadre to a lesser trained cadre. Dyslipidemia is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease but often it is not managed appropriately. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a systematic review with the objective to identify and evaluate the effect of task sharing interventions on dyslipidemia in LMICs. METHODS: Published studies (randomized controlled trials and observational studies) were identified via electronic databases such as PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and CINAHL. We searched the databases from inception to September 2016 and updated till 30 June 2017, using search terms related to task shifting, and cardiovascular disease prevention in LMICs. All eligible studies were summarized narratively, and potential studies were grouped for meta-analysis. RESULTS: Although our search yielded 2938 records initially and another 1628 in the updated search, only 15 studies met the eligibility criteria. Most of the studies targeted lifestyle modification and care coordination by involving nurses or allied health workers. Eight randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis. Task sharing intervention were effective in lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (-6.90 mg/dL; 95% CI -11.81 to -1.99) and total cholesterol (-9.44 mg/dL; 95% CI -17.94 to -0.93) levels with modest effect size. However, there were no major differences in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (-0.29 mg/dL; 95% CI -0.88 to 1.47) and triglycerides (-14.31 mg/dL; 95% CI -33.32 to 4.69). The overall quality of evidence based on Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation was either "low" or "very low". CONCLUSION: Available data are not adequate to make recommendations on the role of task sharing strategies for the management of dyslipidemia in LMICs. However, the studies conducted in LMICs demonstrate the potential use of this strategy especially in terms of reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol levels. Our review calls for the need of well-designed and large-scale studies to demonstrate the effect of task-sharing strategy on lipid management in LMICs

Diet, physical activity, and adiposity in children in poor and rich neighbourhoods: a cross-sectional comparison

BACKGROUND: Obesity in Canadian children increased three-fold in twenty years. Children living in low-income neighborhoods exercise less and are more overweight than those living in more affluent neighborhoods after accounting for family socio-economic status. Strategies to prevent obesity in children have focused on personal habits, ignoring neighborhood characteristics. It is essential to evaluate diet and physical activity patterns in relation to socio-economic conditions to understand the determinants of obesity. The objective of this pilot study was to compare diet, physical activity, and the built environment in two Hamilton area elementary schools serving socio-economically different communities. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study (November 2005-March 2006) in two public elementary schools in Hamilton, Ontario, School A and School B, located in low and high socioeconomic areas respectively. We assessed dietary intake, physical activity, dietary restraint, and anthropometric measures in consenting children in grades 1 and higher. From their parents we assessed family characteristics and walkability of the built environment. RESULTS: 160 children (n = 48, School A and n = 112, School B), and 156 parents (n = 43, School A and n = 113, School B) participated in this study. The parents with children at School A were less educated and had lower incomes than those at School B. The School A neighborhood was perceived to be less walkable than the School B neighborhood. Children at School A consumed more baked foods, chips, sodas, gelatin desserts, and candies and less low fat dairy, and dark bread than those at School B. Children at School A watched more television and spent more time in front of the computer than children studying at School B, but reported spending less time sitting on weekdays and weekends. Children at both schools were overweight but there was no difference in their mean BMI z-scores (School A = 0.65 versus School B = 0.81, p-value = 0.38). CONCLUSION: The determinants of overweight in children may be more complex than imagined. In future intervention programs researchers may consider addressing environmental factors, and customizing lifestyle interventions so that they are closer to community needs

Sr-Nd isotope geochemistry of the early Precambrian sub-alkaline mafic igneous rocks from the southern Bastar craton, Central India

Sr–Nd isotope data are reported for the early Precambrian sub-alkaline mafic igneous rocks of the southern Bastar craton, central India. These mafic rocks are mostly dykes but there are a few volcanic exposures. Field relationships together with the petrological and geochemical characteristics of these mafic dykes divide them into two groups; Meso-Neoarchaean sub-alkaline mafic dykes (BD1) and Paleoproterozoic (1.88 Ga) sub-alkaline mafic dykes (BD2). The mafic volcanics are Neoarchaean in age and have very close geochemical relationships with the BD1 type. The two groups have distinctly different concentrations of high-field strength (HFSE) and rare earth elements (REE). The BD2 dykes have higher concentrations of HFSE and REE than the BD1 dykes and associated volcanics and both groups have very distinctive petrogenetic histories. These rocks display a limited range of initial 143Nd/144Nd but a wide range of apparent initial 87Sr/86Sr. Initial 143Nd/144Nd values in the BD1 dykes and associated volcanics vary between 0.509149 and 0.509466 and in the BD2 dykes the variation is between 0.510303 and 0.510511. All samples have positive εNd values the BD1 dykes and associated volcanics have εNd values between +0.3 and +6.5 and the BD2 dykes between +1.9 to +6.0. Trace element and Nd isotope data do not suggest severe crustal contamination during the emplacement of the studied rocks. The positive εNd values suggest their derivation from a depleted mantle source. Overlapping positive εNd values suggest that a similar mantle source tapped by variable melt fractions at different times was responsible for the genesis of BD1 (and associated volcanics) and BD2 mafic dykes. The Rb–Sr system is susceptible to alteration and resetting during post-magmatic alteration and metamorphism. Many of the samples studied have anomalous apparent initial 87Sr/86Sr suggesting post-magmatic changes of the Rb–Sr system which severely restricts the use of Rb–Sr for petrogenetic interpretation

NOA1 Functions in a Temperature-Dependent Manner to Regulate Chlorophyll Biosynthesis and Rubisco Formation in Rice

NITRIC OXIDE-ASSOCIATED1 (NOA1) encodes a circularly permuted GTPase (cGTPase) known to be essential for ribosome assembly in plants. While the reduced chlorophyll and Rubisco phenotypes were formerly noticed in both NOA1-supressed rice and Arabidopsis, a detailed insight is still necessary. In this study, by using RNAi transgenic rice, we further demonstrate that NOA1 functions in a temperature-dependent manner to regulate chlorophyll and Rubisco levels. When plants were grown at 30°C, the chlorophyll and Rubisco levels in OsNOA1-silenced plants were only slightly lower than those in WT. However, at 22°C, the silenced plants accumulated far less chlorophyll and Rubisco than WT. It was further revealed that the regulation of chlorophyll and Rubisco occurs at the anabolic level. Etiolated WT seedlings restored chlorophyll and Rubisco accumulations readily once returned to light, at either 30°C or 15°C. Etiolated OsNOA1-silenced plants accumulated chlorophyll and Rubisco to normal levels only at 30°C, and lost this ability at low temperature. On the other hand, de-etiolated OsNOA1-silenced seedlings maintained similar levels of chlorophyll and Rubisco as WT, even after being shifted to 15°C for various times. Further expression analyses identified several candidate genes, including OsPorA (NADPH: protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase A), OsrbcL (Rubisco large subunit), OsRALyase (Ribosomal RNA apurinic site specific lyase) and OsPuf4 (RNA-binding protein of the Puf family), which may be involved in OsNOA1-regulated chlorophyll biosynthesis and Rubisco formation. Overall, our results suggest OsNOA1 functions in a temperature-dependent manner to regulate chlorophyll biosynthesis, Rubisco formation and plastid development in rice

Eef1a2 Promotes Cell Growth, Inhibits Apoptosis and Activates JAK/STAT and AKT Signaling in Mouse Plasmacytomas

The canonical function of EEF1A2, normally expressed only in muscle, brain, and heart, is in translational elongation, but recent studies suggest a non-canonical function as a proto-oncogene that is overexpressed in a variety of solid tumors including breast and ovary. Transcriptional profiling of a spectrum of primary mouse B cell lineage neoplasms showed that transcripts encoding EEF1A2 were uniquely overexpressed in plasmacytomas (PCT), tumors of mature plasma cells. Cases of human multiple myeloma expressed significantly higher levels of EEF1A2 transcripts than normal bone marrow plasma cells. High-level expression was also a feature of a subset of cell lines developed from mouse PCT and from the human MM.Heightened expression of EEF1A2 was not associated with increased copy number or coding sequence mutations. shRNA-mediated knockdown of Eef1a2 transcripts and protein was associated with growth inhibition due to delayed G1-S progression, and effects on apoptosis that were seen only under serum-starved conditions. Transcriptional profiles and western blot analyses of knockdown cells revealed impaired JAK/STAT and PI3K/AKT signaling suggesting their contributions to EEF1A2-mediated effects on PCT induction or progression.EEF1A2 may play contribute to the induction or progression of some PCT and a small percentage of MM. Eef1a2 could also prove to be a useful new marker for a subset of MM and, ultimately, a possible target for therapy