Factors affecting treatment outcome among Pulmonary Tuberculosis patients under RNTCP in urban Pondicherry, India

Background: Many factors associated with unsuccessful TB treatment outcome. Objective: To find out the factors affecting treatment outcome among Pulmonary Tuberculosis patients under RNTCP in urban Pondicherry, Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 265 PTB patients from 6 randomly selected urban PHCs of Pondicherry from Jan 2013 to March 2014. A Pre-tested questionnaire was used. Data were entered in Epi-data v3.1 and was analysed by SPSS v20. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regressions were used. Results: Out of 265 patients registered 235 (88.7%) patients were included. The Majority were males (79.6%), and Mean (SD) age was 44±14 years. The Majority (83.4%) were formally educated, 74% were employed, and 77% received Cat I treatment. Prevalence of alcohol drinkers, current smokers and smokeless users was 31.5%, 23.5%, 9.4% respectively. A total of 14.5% had bad treatment Outcome Univariate analysis showed that Current smoker and Category II PTB treatment had significantly associated with bad outcome (p value-<0.05). In Multivariate analysis, Category II PTB treatment [AOR = 3.5 (1.6-7.8)] had significantly associated with bad outcome (p value-<0.05) after adjusted with age group, gender, Smoking and alcohol status Conclusion: Current Smoking and Category II PTB Treatment were the major factors affecting the TB treatment outcom

MOSQUITO OVICIDAL PROPERTIES OF AGERATINA ADENOPHORA (FAMILY: ASTERACEAE) AGAINST FILARIASIS VECTOR, CULEX QUINQUEFASCIATUS (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE)

ABSTRACT Mosquito-borne diseases with an economic impact create loss in commercial and labor outputs, particularly in countries with tropical and subtropical climates. Mosquito control is facing a threat because of the emergence of resistance to synthetic insecticides. Extracts from plants may be alternative sources of mosquito control agents because they constitute a rich source of bioactive compounds that are biodegradable into nontoxic products and potentially suitable for use to control mosquitoes. Insecticides of botanical origin may serve as suitable alternative biocontrol techniques in the future. In view of the recently increased interest in developing plant origin insecticides as an alternative to chemical insecticide, this study was undertaken to assess the ovicidal potential of the crude hexane, benzene, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol solvent extracts from the medicinal plant Ageratina adenophora (A. adenophora) against the filariasis vector, Culex quinquefasciatus (Cx. quinquefasciatus) (Diptera: Culicidae). Ovicidal activity was determined against Cx. quinquefasciatus mosquito to various concentrations ranging from 75-450 mg/L under the laboratory conditions. All the five solvents extracts showed moderate ovicidal activity; however, the methanol extract showed the highest ovicidal activity. One hundred percent mortality was observed at 375 mg/L. These results suggest that the plant extracts have the potential to be used as an ideal eco-friendly approach for the control of mosquitoes. This study provides first report on the mosquito ovicidal activity of A. adenophora plant extracts against filariasis vector, Cx. quinquefasciatus

Identification of AFLP markers linked to Fusarium wilt disease in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.]

An experiment was conducted to identify markers linked to Fusarium wilt disease resistance, Parents namely TTB 7 and ICP 8863 were screened using 151 SSRs markers and 16 AFLP primer combinations. Parental screening revealed five SSR primers and 12 AFLP primer combinations polymorphic between parents. Bulk segregant analysis identified five AFLP primer combinations generating seven markers polymorphic between resistant and susceptible bulks while, none of the SSR markers were polymorphic. This indicates that, these markers are putatively linked to wilt disease. Screening of F2 segregating population of cross TTB 7 x ICP 8863 with these putatively linked markers revealed four markers (E-AAT/M-CTG850, ETCG/M-CTT650, E-TCG/M-CTA730 and E-TCG/M-CTT230) which segregated in 3:1 mendelian pattern. Simple linear regression performed on these four markers had identified two markers namely E-TCG/M-CTT650 and E-TCG/M-CTA730 linked to disease

Serum-Induced Differentiation of Glioblastoma Neurospheres Leads to Enhanced Migration/Invasion Capacity That Is Associated with Increased MMP9

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly infiltrative brain tumor in which cells with properties of stem cells, called glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), have been identified. In general, the dominant view is that GSCs are responsible for the initiation, progression, invasion and recurrence of this tumor. In this study, we addressed the question whether the differentiation status of GBM cells is associated with their invasive capacity. For this, several primary GBM cell lines were used, cultured either as neurospheres known to enrich for GSCs or in medium supplemented with 10% FCS that promotes differentiation. The differentiation state of the cells was confirmed by determining the expression of stem cell and differentiation markers. The migration/invasion potential of these cells was tested using in vitro assays and intracranial mouse models. Interestingly, we found that serum-induced differentiation enhanced the invasive potential of GBM cells, which was associated with enhanced MMP9 expression. Chemical inhibition of MMP9 significantly reduced the invasive potential of differentiated cells in vitro. Furthermore, the serum-differentiated cells could revert back to an undifferentiated/stem cell state that were able to form neurospheres, although with a reduced efficiency as compared to non-differentiated counterparts. We propose a model in which activation of the differentiation program in GBM cells enhances their infiltrative potential and that depending on microenvironmental cues a significant portion of these cells are able to revert back to an undifferentiated state with enhanced tumorigenic potential. Thus, effective therapy should target both GSCs and differentiated offspring and targeting of differentiation-associated pathways may offer therapeutic opportunities to reduce invasive growth of GBM

A preliminary investigation on kapok/polypropylene nonwoven composite for sound absorption

385-388The use of kapok fibre with polypropylene fibre for the development of sound absorptive nonwoven materials has been explored. Three different blend ratios of kapok and polypropylene fibres, namely 30:70, 40:60 and 50:50 have been used. The composites are characterized for their physical properties, namely thickness, density, porosity and sound absorption characteristics in the frequency range 250 - 2000 Hz. The values of sound absorption coefficient and noise reduction coefficient obtained indicate that the kapok fibre composites possess very good sound absorption behaviour in the entire frequency range. The uncompressed kapok/polypropylene nonwoven composite of 30:70 blend ratio with high bulk density and low porosity is found to give the best performance when used by providing air gap behind the composite

Depression, Suicidal Ideation, and Resilience among Rural Farmers in a Drought-Affected Area of Trichy District, Tamil Nadu

Background: Changes in climatic conditions and other factors including trade and commerce have influenced agriculture worldwide. These factors have created a crisis among farmers. Objectives: The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of depression and suicidal ideation, to measure the resilience, and to find out the factors that influence depression and resilience among farmers. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional analytical study was performed among farmers residing in a drought-affected area of Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu. The sample size was 191 and cluster sampling was used to select the participants. Structured, pretested questionnaires were used to find the prevalence of depression, suicidal ideation, and resilience among farmers. Pearson Correlation, Student’s t-test, analysis of variance, and Pearson Chi-square test were used to identify the factors influencing depression and resilience. Results: A total of 194 farmers participated in the study. The mean age of the farmers was 46.68 ± 12.6 years, majority 64% were males and 89% were literates. Among the participants, 97.4% had some form of depression, and 67% had severe depression. About 60% of the farmers had suicidal ideation. Male farmers, farmers with few years of farming experience, and severe reduction in yield had a higher level of depression. Suicidal ideation was influenced by gender, small-scale farming, fewer years of experience in farming, and the impact of drought on yield. The mean resilience score was 49.4 ± 10. Gender and years of experience in farming had a significant association with resilience. Conclusion: High prevalence of depression and suicidal ideation and low level of resilience has been observed among the farmers. Interventions need to be provided for marginal and small-scale farmers, male farmers in the affected area to reduce the impact of drought in these farmers

Effectiveness of individual health education on the practice of dengue fever prevention in an urban area of Puducherry, India

Background: Prevention of breeding of Aedes mosquito is an effective method for dengue control. Practice of source reduction to prevent breeding depends on the knowledge of the community, which can be improved by health education. Objectives: Our objective was to ascertain the knowledge and practice of the community regarding dengue and its prevention, and to assess the effectiveness of individual health education on practice of dengue prevention. Methodology: In urban service area of JIPMER, using Street-wise cluster sampling pre and post intervention data collection was done. Intervention was “Individual health education on the practice of dengue prevention”. Main outcome measures were Awareness and practice regarding dengue prevention. McNemar’s test was used in the analysis. Results: A total of 351 respondents were studied of whom 89% knew that dengue was spread by mosquitoes. Only one-fourths knew about the correct biting time and breeding condition of Aedes mosquitoes. Practice regarding draining of unused tyres, coolers, flower vases, disposal of coconut shells and keeping unused flower pots upturned were found to improve significantly after health education. Conclusions: Individual health education was effective in improving the practice of source reduction in a community with poor knowledge of vector biting and breeding habits

Effectiveness of individual health education on the practice of dengue fever prevention in an urban area of Puducherry, India

Background: Prevention of breeding of Aedes mosquito is an effective method for dengue control. Practice of source reduction to prevent breeding depends on the knowledge of the community, which can be improved by health education. Objectives: Our objective was to ascertain the knowledge and practice of the community regarding dengue and its prevention, and to assess the effectiveness of individual health education on practice of dengue prevention. Methodology: In urban service area of JIPMER, using Street-wise cluster sampling pre and post intervention data collection was done. Intervention was “Individual health education on the practice of dengue prevention”. Main outcome measures were Awareness and practice regarding dengue prevention. McNemar’s test was used in the analysis. Results: A total of 351 respondents were studied of whom 89% knew that dengue was spread by mosquitoes. Only one-fourths knew about the correct biting time and breeding condition of Aedes mosquitoes. Practice regarding draining of unused tyres, coolers, flower vases, disposal of coconut shells and keeping unused flower pots upturned were found to improve significantly after health education. Conclusions: Individual health education was effective in improving the practice of source reduction in a community with poor knowledge of vector biting and breeding habits

TGF-beta as a therapeutic target in high grade gliomas - Promises and challenges

<p>Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a cytokine with a key role in tissue homeostasis and cancer. TGF-beta elicits both tumor suppressive and tumor promoting functions during cancer progression, in a wide range of cancers. Here, we review the tumor promoting function of TGF-beta and its possible promise as a therapeutic target in high grade gliomas, including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a disease with very poor prognosis. TGF-beta signaling is highly active in high grade gliomas and elevated TGF-beta activity has been associated with poor clinical outcome in this deadly disease. Common features of GBMs include fast cell proliferation, invasion into normal brain parenchyma, hypoxia, high angiogenic - and immunosuppressive activity, characteristics that all have been linked to activation of the TGF-beta pathway. TGF-beta signaling has also been connected with the cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotype in GBM. CSCs represent a subset of GBM cells thought to be responsible for tumor initiation, progression and relapse of disease. Following the description of these different properties of TGF-beta signaling and the underlying mechanisms identified thus far, the promise of TGF-beta targeted therapy in malignant gliomas is discussed. Several drugs targeting TGF-beta signaling have been developed that showed potent antitumor activity in preclinical models. A number of agents are currently evaluated in early clinical studies in glioma patients. Available results of these studies are highlighted and a perspective on the promise of TGF-beta-targeted therapy is given. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.</p>