Coronary artery disease (CAD) imposes a significant economic burden in developing countries like India. Timely diagnosis and treatment should be prioritized to mitigate the disease. Current ...diagnostic tools being invasive and less specific raise the need to develop less invasive and more reliable molecular biomarkers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an emerging class of molecules that can serve as a potential source of non-invasive biomarkers for CAD. The objective of this study was to determine the potential of circulatory miRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers in CAD. In this study, we have reported two microRNAs, miR-128-3p and miR-195-5p in the serum of CAD patients in Indian Population. A total of 124 subjects were recruited which included 89 angiographically proven CAD patients and 35 control subjects. Our results show a significant decrease in the levels of miR-128-3p in CAD patients while there were no significant changes in the levels of miR-195-5p. Further bioinformatics analysis revealed the potential role of miR-128-3p in cholesterol homeostasis. Altered homeostasis due to cholesterol accumulation in macrophages is the driving force behind formation of foam cells which in turn accelerates the progression of CAD. Here, we have shown that miR-128-3p increases cholesterol levels in macrophages by decreasing cholesterol efflux in-vitro.
Liver ailments are significant contributors to human illness and death globally. The prevalence of liver disorders is increasing owing to the widespread prevalence of hepatitis and alcohol addiction. ...These conditions can be triggered by infection, trauma, exposure to pharmaceuticals or hazardous substances, autoimmune disorders, or genetic abnormalities resulting in the accumulation of harmful substances. Despite advances in understanding the causes underlying hepatic dysfunction, no standard pharmaceutical therapy is available. The only currently advised option is to make lifestyle changes such as diet, intermittent fasting, and increased physical exercise. However, a lack of compliance continues to impede this strategy. As a result, there is an apparent need to characterize novel therapeutic alternatives. Current advances in the communication between the gut and hepatic tissue open new avenues for better explaining the molecular mechanisms behind the pathology of hepatic illness. Natural bioactive compound research has emerged as an appealing strategy for overcoming lifestyle change resistance. The current study aims to review some of the identified compounds and other herbal approaches with favourable characteristics to hepatic health. This review study discusses their protective properties, mode of action in ameliorating the major pathological events involved in liver disorders, and therapeutic applications.
Indigenous communities retain knowledge of the land and food resources rooted in historical continuity within their region of residence. Food systems research can be leveraged to identify strategies ...to encourage sustainable use of complex multi-species agroforestry systems by indigenous communities contributing to nutritional needs while simultaneously preserving the ecosystems and their benefits to society. Till date, the analyses of food systems have predominantly focused on high income countries often overlooking the alternatives (dietary and production) that would be most relevant to low and middle income countries (LMIC). Thus, innovative methodological approaches are needed to comprehensively characterize diverse food systems in LMICs with special reference to indigenous communities.
This protocol paper describes a food systems approach that will be employed to understand diverse and dynamic food systems of vulnerable tribal communities of Jharkhand, India and leverage their agroforestry systems to improve dietary diversity, nutrition status and address food security. Four tribal groups namely Santhal, Ho, Munda and Sauria Paharia of Godda, West Singhbhum and Khunti districts of Jharkhand would be studied. This will be an exploratory cross-sectional study design, along with a longitudinal component to capture seasonality in dietary intake and agricultural diversity. A mixed methods approach will be used based on a conceptual framework on drivers of food systems, food supply chain, food environment (both wild & cultivated, and market food environments), as well as consumer behaviour and maternal and child health outcomes in tribal communities. The quantitative surveys will be conducted on socio-economic, demographic profile of households, their availability of, access to and utilization of food environment and nutritional status of reproductive age group women and children under 5 years. Qualitative enquiries will examine barriers and facilitators to increase sustainable production, procurement and consumption of indigenous foods. The final outcome would be development of interventions to promote indigenous food consumption.
By utilizing a combination of value chain analysis and 'Optifoods linear programming software' that will use above information on indigenous community, dietary intake, nutritional status and food environment, evidence based interventions promoting indigenous food systems aimed at addressing food and nutritional security of tribal communities will be developed.
Nitric oxide (NO
) is critical for functionality of endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs). Dimerization of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is must to produce NO
and tetrahydrobiopterin ...(BH4) plays a crucial role in stabilizing this state. We investigated BH4 level in ECFCs and its effect on ECFCs functionality in CAD patients. Intracellular biopterin levels and ECFCs functionality in terms of cell viability, adhesion, proliferation, in vitro wound healing and angiogenesis were assessed. Guanosine Triphosphate Cyclohydrolase-1 (GTPCH-1) expression was studied in ECFCs. Serum total reactive oxygen/nitrogen species was measured and effect of nitrosative stress on ECFC's biopterins level and functionality were evaluated by treating with 3-morpholino sydnonimine (SIN-1). BH4 level was significantly lower in ECFCs from CAD patients. Cell proliferation, wound closure reflecting cellular migration as well as in vitro angiogenesis were impaired in ECFCs from CAD patients. Wound healing capacity and angiogenesis were positively correlated with ECFC's BH4. A negative effect of nitrosative stress on biopterins level and cell functionality was observed in SIN-1 treated ECFCs. ECFCs from CAD exhibited impaired functionality and lower BH4 level. Association of BH4 with wound healing capacity and angiogenesis suggest its role in maintaining ECFC's functionality. Oxidative stress may be a determinant of intracellular biopterin levels.
Recent studies emphasize the importance of HDL function over HDL cholesterol measurement, as an important risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). We compared the HDL function of patients with acute ...coronary syndrome (ACS) and healthy controls.
We measured cholesterol efflux capacity of HDL using THP-1 macrophages labelled with fluorescently tagged (BODIPY) cholesterol. PON1 activities toward paraoxon and phenyl acetate were assessed by spectrophotometric methods.
We recruited 150 ACS patients and 110 controls. The HDL function of all patients during acute phase and at six month follow-up was measured. The mean age of the patients and controls was 51.7 and 43.6 years respectively. The mean HDL cholesterol/apolipoprotein A-I levels (ratio) of patients during acute phase, follow-up and of controls were 40.2 mg/dl/ 112.5 mg/dl (ratio = 0.36), 38.3 mg/dl/ 127.2 mg/dl (ratio = 0.30) and 45.4 mg/dl/ 142.1 mg/dl (ratio = 0.32) respectively. The cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) of HDL was positively correlated with apolipoprotein A-I levels during acute phase (r = 0.19, p = 0.019), follow-up (r = 0.26, p = 0.007) and of controls (r = 0.3, p = 0.0012) but not with HDL-C levels (acute phase: r = 0.07, p = 0.47; follow-up: r = 0.1, p = 0.2; control: r = 0.02, p = 0.82). Higher levels of cholesterol efflux capacity, PON1 activity and apolipoprotein A-I were associated with lower odds of development of ACS. We also observed that low CEC is associated with higher odds of having ACS if PON1 activity of HDL is also low and vice versa.
ACS is associated with reduced HDL functions which improves at follow-up. The predicted probability of ACS depends upon individual HDL functions and the interactions between them.
Abstract Objective To describe the food environment in rural villages and an urban slum setting in India with reference to commercially available unbranded packaged snacks and street foods sold by ...vendors, and to analyze the type and quantity of fat in these foods. Design Cross-sectional. Setting Two low-income villages in Haryana and an urban slum in Delhi. Participants Street vendors (n = 44) were surveyed and the nutritional content of snacks (n = 49) sold by vendors was analyzed. Main Outcome Measures Vendors' awareness and perception of fats and oils, as well as the type of snacks sold, along with the content and quality of fat present in the snacks. Analysis Descriptive statistics of vendor survey and gas chromatography to measure fatty acid content in snacks. Results A variety of snacks were sold, including those in unlabeled transparent packages and open glass jars. Mean fat content in snacks was 28.8 g per 100-g serving in rural settings and 29.6 g per 100-g serving in urban settings. Sampled oils contained high levels of saturated fats (25% to 69% total fatty acids) and trans fats (0.1% to 30% of total fatty acids). Conclusions and Implications Interventions need to target the manufacturers of oils and fats used in freshly prepared products to improve the quality of foods available in the food environment of low-socioeconomic groups in India.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) comprises a heterogeneous group of particles differing in size, density, and composition. HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) levels have long been suggested to indicate ...cardiovascular risk, inferred from multiple epidemiological studies. The failure of HDL-C targeted interventions and genetic studies has raised doubts on the atheroprotective role of HDL-C. The current consensus is that HDL-C is neither a biomarker nor a causative agent of cardiovascular disorders. With better understanding of the complex nature of HDL which comprises a large number of proteins and lipids with unique functions, recent focus has shifted from HDL quantity to HDL quality in terms of atheroprotective functions. The current research is focused on developing laboratory assays to assess HDL functions for cardiovascular risk prediction. Also, HDL mimetics designed based on the key determinants of HDL functions are being investigated to modify cardiovascular risk. Improving HDL functions by altering its composition is the key area of future research in HDL biology to reduce cardiovascular risk.
The indigenous food environment, dietary intake and nutritional status of women in the Santhal tribal community of Jharkhand were assessed. Contribution of indigenous foods to nutritional status and ...nutrient intakes was explored.
Exploratory cross-sectional study with a longitudinal dietary intake assessment component. Household and dietary surveys were conducted to elicit information on socio-economic and demographic profile and food consumption patterns at household level. A 24 h dietary recall for two consecutive days (repeat surveys in two more seasons) and anthropometric assessments were carried out on one woman per household.
Households (n 151) with at least one woman of reproductive age in four villages of Godda district of Jharkhand, India.
Women aged 15-49 years.
Almost all households owned agricultural land and grew fruits and vegetables in backyards for household consumption. A wide variety of indigenous foods were reported but dietary recalls revealed low intake. Women consumed adequate energy and protein but micronutrient intake was inadequate (less than 66 % of recommended) in the majority (more than 50 %) for Ca, Fe, vitamin B2, folate and vitamin B12. Women consuming indigenous foods in the past 2 d had significantly higher intakes of Ca (P=0·008) and Fe (P=0·010) than those who did not. Varying degrees of underweight were observed in 50 % of women with no significant association between underweight and consumption of indigenous foods.
Promotion of preferential cultivation of nutrient-dense indigenous food sources and effective nutrition education on their importance may facilitate better micronutrient intakes among women in Santhal community of Jharkhand.
Gene expression profile of mitochondrial-related genes is not well deciphered in pediatric acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). We aimed to identify mitochondria-related differentially expressed genes ...(DEGs) in pediatric AML with their prognostic significance.
Children with
AML were included prospectively between July 2016-December 2019. Transcriptomic profiling was done for a subset of samples, stratified by mtDNA copy number. Top mitochondria-related DEGs were identified and validated by real-time PCR. A prognostic gene signature risk score was formulated using DEGs independently predictive of overall survival (OS) in multivariable analysis. Predictive ability of the risk score was estimated along with external validation in The Tumor Genome Atlas (TCGA) AML dataset.
In 143 children with AML, twenty mitochondria-related DEGs were selected for validation, of which 16 were found to be significantly dysregulated. Upregulation of
(p<0.001), CLIC1 (p=0.013) and downregulation of
(p<0.001) were independently predictive of inferior OS, and included for developing prognostic risk score. The risk score model was independently predictive of survival over and above ELN risk categorization (Harrell's c-index: 0.675). High-risk patients (risk score above median) had significantly inferior OS (p<0.001) and event free survival (p<0.001); they were associated with poor-risk cytogenetics (p=0.021), ELN intermediate/poor risk group (p=0.016), absence of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 (p=0.027), and not attaining remission (p=0.016). On external validation, the risk score also predicted OS (p=0.019) in TCGA dataset.
We identified and validated mitochondria-related DEGs with prognostic impact in pediatric AML and also developed a novel 3-gene based externally validated gene signature predictive of survival.
The COVID-19 pandemic has globally jeopardized food security, with heightened threats for the most vulnerable including smallholder farmers as well as rural, indigenous populations. A serial ...cross-sectional study was conducted to document effect of COVID-19 pandemic on food environment, agricultural practices, diets and food security, along with potential determinants of food systems resilience, among vulnerable smallholder farmer households in indigenous communities of Santhal, Munda, and Sauria Paharia of Jharkhand state, India. Telephonic household surveys were conducted in two phases i.e., lockdown and unlock phase to assess the impact of the pandemic on their food systems and agricultural practices. Market surveys were conducted during the unlock phase, to understand the impact on local informal markets. Secondary data on state and district level food production and Government food security programs were also reviewed. For data analysis purpose, a conceptual framework was developed which delineated possible pathways of impact of COVID-19 pandemic on food environment, food security and food consumption patterns along with factors that may offer resilience. Our findings revealed adverse effects on food production and access among all three communities, due to restrictions in movement of farm labor and supplies, along with disruptions in food supply chains and other food-related logistics and services associated with the pandemic and mitigation measures. The pandemic significantly impacted the livelihoods and incomes among all three indigenous communities during both lockdown and unlock phases, which were attributed to a reduction in sale of agricultural produce, distress selling at lower prices and reduced opportunity for daily wage laboring. A significant proportion of respondents also experienced changes in dietary intake patterns. Key determinants of resilience were identified; these included accessibility to agricultural inputs like indigenous seeds, labor available at household level due to back migration and access to diverse food environments, specifically the wild food environment. There is a need for programs and interventions to conserve and revitalize the bio-cultural resources available within these vulnerable indigenous communities and build resilient food systems that depend on shorter food supply chains and utilize indigenous knowledge systems and associated resources, thereby supporting healthy, equitable and sustainable food systems for all.
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