Toxicity of textile wastewaters (untreated and treated) and their ingredient chemicals was quantified in terms of their chemical characteristics, fish (
Gambusia affinis) mortality and end point ...growth responses of duckweed (
Lemna aequinoctialis) in short-term bioassays. Other parameters of fish bioassay were erythrocyte morphology and its counts. Despite of a definite correlation between data of biological tests (LC/EC
50 values) with that of chemical tests, biological tests were found to be relatively more sensitive to both wastewaters and ingredient chemicals. Amongst all the examined parameters of test organisms, fish RBCs (morphology and counts) sensitivity to pollutants in the wastewaters was usually maximum and therefore, their study should be included in the routine fish bioassay. Other advantage of biological test such as on
Lemna is even detection of eutrophic potential of wastewaters, as noted at their higher dilutions. The ingredient chemicals (major) contributing maximum toxicity to textile dye wastewater were, acids (HCl and H
2SO
4), alkali (Na
2O SiO
2), salt (NaNO
2) and heavy metal (Cu), whereas dyes (4) were relatively less toxic.
Aim: This article aimed to present the salient features of the in-house developed Java program for the determination of inflection point and dosimetric parameters of flattening filter-free (FFF) ...photon beam. Reference levels for the dosimetric parameters of the FFF photon beams were also presented. Materials and Methods: Beam profiles of 6 MV FFF and 10 MV FFF photon beams for a collimator setting of 20 cm × 20 cm measured at 10 cm depth in an isocentric setup acquired from various institutions were analyzed using an in-house developed Java program and manual method. The values of reference dose value (RDV), field size, penumbra, and degree of un-flatness (defined as the lateral separation between 90% X90%, 75% X75%, and 60% X60% dose points on the profile) were calculated and compared. The reference values of field size, penumbra, and degree of un-flatness were also determined for Varian and Elekta medical electron linear accelerators (LINACs). Results: The maximum differences for RDV determined using the Java method and manual method are 2.4% and 2.7% for 6 and 10 MV FFF photon beams, respectively. The maximum difference between the values of field size, penumbra, and degree of un-flatness determined using Java and manual methods is within 1.3 mm. The reference values of field size and penumbra for Varian LINACs are 19.94 ± 0.10 cm and 0.83 ± 0.08 cm (6 MV FFF) and 19.95 ± 0.10 cm and 0.83 ± 0.08 cm (10 MV FFF). Similarly, the reference values of field size and penumbra for Elekta LINACs are 20.02 ± 0.09 cm and 0.94 ± 0.12 cm (6 MV FFF) and 20.03 ± 0.11 cm and 0.97 ± 0.16 cm (10 MV FFF). Conclusions: A software program was developed in Java for analyzing the beam profiles of FFF photon beams. The results of Java-derived values of dosimetric parameters of FFF photon beams were found in good agreement with the values determined using the manual method. The reference values of these parameters were also derived and quoted using a large cohort of the data.
The abundance and diversity of host-associated Prevotella species have a profound impact on human health. To investigate the composition, diversity, and functional roles of Prevotella in the human ...gut, a population-wide analysis was carried out on 586 healthy samples from western and non-western populations including the largest Indian cohort comprising of 200 samples, and 189 Inflammatory Bowel Disease samples from western populations. A higher abundance and diversity of Prevotella copri species enriched in complex plant polysaccharides metabolizing enzymes, particularly pullulanase containing polysaccharide-utilization-loci (PUL), were found in Indian and non-western populations. A higher diversity of oral inflammations-associated Prevotella species and an enrichment of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes in the gut microbiome of western populations speculates an existence of a mouth-gut axis. The study revealed the landscape of Prevotella composition in the human gut microbiome and its impact on health in western and non-western populations.
In the present study, a total of 53 promising salt-tolerant genotypes were tested across 18 salt-affected diverse locations for three years. An attempt was made to identify ideal test locations and ...mega-environments using GGE biplot analysis. The CSSRI sodic environment was the most discriminating location in individual years as well as over the years and could be used to screen out unstable and salt-sensitive genotypes. Genotypes CSR36, CSR-2K-219, and CSR-2K-262 were found ideal across years. Overall, Genotypes CSR-2K-219, CSR-2K-262, and CSR-2K-242 were found superior and stable among all genotypes with higher mean yields. Different sets of genotypes emerged as winners in saline soils but not in sodic soils; however, Genotype CSR-2K-262 was the only genotype that was best under both saline and alkaline environments over the years. The lack of repeatable associations among locations and repeatable mega-environment groupings indicated the complexity of soil salinity. Hence, a multi-location and multi-year evaluation is indispensable for evaluating the test sites as well as identifying genotypes with consistently specific and wider adaptation to particular agro-climatic zones. The genotypes identified in the present study could be used for commercial cultivation across edaphically challenged areas for sustainable production.
Aquaculture is emerging as one of the most viable and promising enterprises for keeping pace with the surging need for animal protein, providing nutritional and food security to humans, particularly ...those residing in regions where livestock is relatively scarce. With every step toward intensification of aquaculture practices, there is an increase in the stress level in the animal as well as the environment. Hence, disease outbreak is being increasingly recognized as one of the most important constraints to aquaculture production in many countries, including India. Conventionally, the disease control in aquaculture has relied on the use of chemical compounds and antibiotics. The development of non-antibiotic and environmentally friendly agents is one of the key factors for health management in aquaculture. Consequently, with the emerging need for environmentally friendly aquaculture, the use of alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in fish nutrition is now widely accepted. In recent years, probiotics have taken center stage and are being used as an unconventional approach that has numerous beneficial effects in fish and shellfish culture: improved activity of gastrointestinal microbiota and enhanced immune status, disease resistance, survival, feed utilization and growth performance. As natural products, probiotics have much potential to increase the efficiency and sustainability of aquaculture production. Therefore, comprehensive research to fully characterize the intestinal microbiota of prominent fish species, mechanisms of action of probiotics and their effects on the intestinal ecosystem, immunity, fish health and performance is reasonable. This review highlights the classifications and applications of probiotics in aquaculture. The review also summarizes the advancement and research highlights of the probiotic status and mode of action, which are of great significance from an ecofriendly, sustainable, intensive aquaculture point of view.
An advanced mode of drug delivery system has been developed to overcome the major drawbacks associated with conventional drug delivery systems. This review gives a detailed idea about a nanoemulsion ...system. Nanoemulsions are nano-sized emulsions, which are manufactured for improving the delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients. These are the thermodynamically stable isotropic system in which two immiscible liquids are mixed to form a single phase by means of an emulsifying agent, i.e., surfactant and co-surfactant. The droplet size of nanoemulsion falls typically in the range 20–200 nm. The main difference between emulsion and nanoemulsion lies in the size and shape of particles dispersed in the continuous phase. In this review, the attention is focused to give a basic idea about its formulation, method of preparation, characterization techniques, evaluation parameters, and various applications of nanoemulsion.
The Global Burden of Disease data suggest that respiratory diseases contribute to high morbidity in India. However, the factors responsible for high morbidity are not quite clear. Therefore, the ...Seasonal Waves Of Respiratory Disorders (SWORD) study was planned to estimate the point prevalence due to respiratory diseases in Indian OPD services and its association with risk factors and change in seasons. In this point prevalence observational multicenter study conducted during 2017-18, participating physicians recorded information of consecutive patients in response to a questionnaire. The study was conducted on four predetermined days representing transition of Indian seasons i.e., February (winter), May (summer), August (monsoon), and November (autumn). The eligible number of patients from across 302 sites in India was 25,177. The mean age of study population was 46.1±18.1 years, 14102(56.0%) were males and 11075(44.0%) females. The common diagnoses were: asthma(29.8%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),15.6%, respiratory tract infections (RTIs),11.3%, and tuberculosis(8.7%). All these conditions showed significant seasonal trends (Asthma 31.4% autumn vs. 26.5% summer, COPD 21.1% winter vs. 8.1% summer, RTIs 13.3% winter vs. 4.3% summer, and tuberculosis 12.5% autumn vs. 4.1% summer, p<0.001 for each respectively). After adjustment for risk factors, asthma was significantly associated with exposure to molds (OR:1.12,CI:1.03-1.22), pet animals (OR:1.07,CI:1.01-1.14), recent-travel (OR:1.22,CI:1.13-1.32), and rain-wetting (OR:1.27,CI:1.15-1.40); and RTIs with rain-wetting (OR:1.53,CI:1.34-1.74), and recent-travel (OR:1.17,CI:1.05-1.30). The SWORD study showed wide seasonal variations in outpatient attendance of patients with common respiratory conditions. Novel risk-factors associated with respiratory diseases were also identified.
Recalcitrant dermatophytoses are on the rise in India. High MICs of terbinafine (TRB) and squalene epoxidase (
) gene mutations conferring resistance in
spp. have been recently documented. However, ...studies correlating laboratory data with clinical response to TRB in tinea corporis/cruris are lacking. For this study, we investigated the clinicomycological profile of 85 tinea corporis/cruris patients and performed antifungal susceptibility testing by CLSI microbroth dilution and SQLE mutation analysis of the isolates obtained and correlated these with the responses to TRB. Patients confirmed by potassium hydroxide (KOH) mounting of skin scrapings were started on TRB at 250 mg once a day (OD). If >50% clinical clearance was achieved by 3 weeks, the same dose was continued (group 1). If response was <50%, the dose was increased to 250 mg twice a day (BD) (group 2). If the response still remained below 50% after 3 weeks of BD, the patients were treated with itraconazole (ITR; group 3). Overall, skin scrapings from 64 (75.3%) patients yielded growth on culture. Strikingly, all isolates were confirmed to be
isolates by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing. Thirty-nine (61%) of the isolates had TRB MICs of ≥1 µg/ml. Complete follow-up data were available for 30 culture-positive patients. A highly significant difference in modal MICs to TRB among the three treatment response groups was noted (
= 0.009). Interestingly, 8 of the 9 patients in group 3 harbored isolates exhibiting elevated TRB MICs (8 to 32 µg/ml) and SQLE mutations. The odds of achieving cure with TRB MIC < 1 µg/ml strains were 2.5 times the odds of achieving cure with the strain exhibiting MIC ≥1 µg/ml.
Previous efforts to report estimates of cancer incidence and mortality in India and its different parts include the National Cancer Registry Programme Reports, Sample Registration System cause of ...death findings, Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Series, and GLOBOCAN. We present a comprehensive picture of the patterns and time trends of the burden of total cancer and specific cancer types in each state of India estimated as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016 because such a systematic compilation is not readily available.
We used all accessible data from multiple sources, including 42 population-based cancer registries and the nationwide Sample Registration System of India, to estimate the incidence of 28 types of cancer in every state of India from 1990 to 2016 and the deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) caused by them, as part of GBD 2016. We present incidence, DALYs, and death rates for all cancers together, and the trends of all types of cancers, highlighting the heterogeneity in the burden of specific types of cancers across the states of India. We also present the contribution of major risk factors to cancer DALYs in India.
8·3% (95% uncertainty interval UI 7·9–8·6) of the total deaths and 5·0% (4·6–5·5) of the total DALYs in India in 2016 were due to cancer, which was double the contribution of cancer in 1990. However, the age-standardised incidence rate of cancer did not change substantially during this period. The age-standardised cancer DALY rate had a 2·6 times variation across the states of India in 2016. The ten cancers responsible for the highest proportion of cancer DALYs in India in 2016 were stomach (9·0% of the total cancer DALYs), breast (8·2%), lung (7·5%), lip and oral cavity (7·2%), pharynx other than nasopharynx (6·8%), colon and rectum (5·8%), leukaemia (5·2%), cervical (5·2%), oesophageal (4·3%), and brain and nervous system (3·5%) cancer. Among these cancers, the age-standardised incidence rate of breast cancer increased significantly by 40·7% (95% UI 7·0–85·6) from 1990 to 2016, whereas it decreased for stomach (39·7%; 34·3–44·0), lip and oral cavity (6·4%; 0·4–18·6), cervical (39·7%; 26·5–57·3), and oesophageal cancer (31·2%; 27·9–34·9), and leukaemia (16·1%; 4·3–24·2). We found substantial inter-state heterogeneity in the age-standardised incidence rate of the different types of cancers in 2016, with a 3·3 times to 11·6 times variation for the four most frequent cancers (lip and oral, breast, lung, and stomach). Tobacco use was the leading risk factor for cancers in India to which the highest proportion (10·9%) of cancer DALYs could be attributed in 2016.
The substantial heterogeneity in the state-level incidence rate and health loss trends of the different types of cancer in India over this 26-year period should be taken into account to strengthen infrastructure and human resources for cancer prevention and control at both the national and state levels. These efforts should focus on the ten cancers contributing the highest DALYs in India, including cancers of the stomach, lung, pharynx other than nasopharynx, colon and rectum, leukaemia, oesophageal, and brain and nervous system, in addition to breast, lip and oral cavity, and cervical cancer, which are currently the focus of screening and early detection programmes.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Indian Council of Medical Research, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
► UNGI measure quality and distribution of green in urban areas. ► We evaluate four different neighborhoods based on UNGI. ► UNGI can be used to identify critical areas for applying greening ...strategies.
Urban green spaces (UGS) form an integral part of any urban area and quantity and quality of UGS is of prime concern for planners and city administrators. Objective measure of greenness using remote sensing images is percentage area of green, i.e., Green Index (GI), which is insensitive to spatial arrangement within the areal units. Measuring UGS at neighborhood level is important as neighborhood is the working level for application of greening strategies. Neighborhood (NH) is synonymous of nearness and can be defined as an area of homogeneous characteristics. The Urban Neighborhood Green Index (UNGI) aims to assess the greenness and can help in identifying the critical areas, which in turn can be used to identify action areas for improving the quality of green. For the development of UNGI, four parameters, i.e., GI, proximity to green, built up density and height of structures were used and weighted using Saaty's pair wise comparison method. Four different types of NH were compared and it was found that mean GI (0.44) is equal for high-rise low density and low-rise low density NH, i.e., both areas have same quality of urban green based on GI. But mean UNGI is higher for low-rise low-density NH (0.62), as compared to high-rise low-density NH (0.54), hence, area of highrise NH requires more amounts of good quality properly distributed green as compared to low-rise NH. The input for UNGI is easily derivable from RS images, besides the developed method is simple, and easily comprehendible by city administrators and planners.