Air pollution is a serious threat to our health and has become one of the major causes of many diseases including cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and cancer. The association between air ...pollution and various diseases has long been a topic of research interest. However, it remains unclear how air pollution actually impacts health by modulating several important cellular functions. Recently, some evidence has emerged about air pollution-induced epigenetic changes, which are linked with the etiology of various human diseases. Among several epigenetic modifications, DNA methylation represents the most prominent epigenetic alteration underlying the air pollution-induced pathogenic mechanism. Several other types of epigenetic changes, such as histone modifications, miRNA, and non-coding RNA expression, have also been found to have been linked with air pollution. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), one of the most prevalent forms of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), is triggered by the inhalation of certain organic and inorganic substances. HP is characterized by inflammation in the tissues around the lungs’ airways and may lead to irreversible lung scarring over time. This review, in addition to other diseases, attempts to understand whether certain pollutants influence HP development through such epigenetic modifications.
From the colonial period to and in the seventy years following India's political independence from British governance, Indian women writers have pushed against the boundaries and borders of sexual ...politics in their writing. They have emerged as authors who have interrogated, deconstructed and destabilised stereotypes by proving that the role of a desiring subject may be considered in excess of the traditional trap, but is not necessarily about any extreme position that defies reason, though it may defy conservative practices. The texts of Rabindranath Tagore's elder sister Swarnakumari Devi and his eldest daughter Madhurilata express the women writers’ desire to break the silence and engage in creative freedom, even during the colonial period. In post-independence Indian women's writing, issues of gender injustice, gender inequality, compulsory heterosexuality and alternative sexualities have been addressed with confidence and candour. The journey began with the representation of docile female bodies as objects of desire, feminine commodities and victims of patriarchal control, in early Indian women's writing. Such gendered and scripted representations have undergone a paradigm shift. Now, representations of women in Indian women's writing increasingly project women as desiring subjects and active agents of social change., From the colonial period to and in the seventy years following India's political independence from British governance, Indian women writers have pushed against the boundaries and borders of sexual politics in their writing. They have emerged as authors who have interrogated, deconstructed and destabilised stereotypes by proving that the role of a desiring subject may be considered in excess of the traditional trap, but is not necessarily about any extreme position that defies reason, though it may defy conservative practices. The texts of Rabindranath Tagore's elder sister Swarnakumari Devi and his eldest daughter Madhurilata express the women writers' desire to break the silence and engage in creative freedom, even during the colonial period. In post-independence Indian women's writing, issues of gender injustice, gender inequality, compulsory heterosexuality and alternative sexualities have been addressed with confidence and candour. The journey began with the representation of docile female bodies as objects of desire, feminine commodities and victims of patriarchal control, in early Indian women's writing. Such gendered and scripted representations have undergone a paradigm shift. Now, representations of women in Indian women's writing increasingly project women as desiring subjects and active agents of social change.
Introduction
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated pulmonary hypertension (COPD-PH), one of the most prevalent forms of PH, is a major burden on the healthcare system. Although PH ...in COPD is usually of mild-to-moderate severity, its presence is associated with shorter survival, more frequent exacerbations and worse clinical outcomes. The pathophysiologic mechanisms responsible for PH development in COPD patients remain unclear. It is envisioned that a better understanding of the underlying mechanism will help in diagnosis and future treatment strategies.
Objectives
The present study aims to determine metabolomic alterations in COPD-PH patients as compared to healthy controls. Additionally, to ensure that the dysregulated metabolites arise due to the presence of PH per se, an independent COPD cohort is included for comparison purposes.
Methods
Paired serum and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples were collected from male patients with COPD-PH (n = 60) in accordance with the 2015 European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) guidelines. Age, sex and BMI matched healthy controls (n = 57) and COPD patients (n = 59) were recruited for comparison purposes. All samples were characterized using
1
H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.
Results
Fifteen serum and 9 EBC metabolites were found to be significantly altered in COPD-PH patients as compared to healthy controls. Lactate and pyruvate were dysregulated in both the biofluids and were further correlated with echocardiographic systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP). Multivariate analysis showed distinct class separation between COPD-PH and COPD.
Conclusions
The findings of this study indicate an increased energy demand in patients with COPD-PH. Furthermore, both lactate and pyruvate correlate with sPAP, indicating their importance in the clinical course of the disease.
Background: Chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is the most common cause of diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD) in India. There is no data regarding the avian antigen exposure-associated ...DPLD from the country. Methods: Chronic HP from exposure to avian antigen was diagnosed when the high resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) showed features for HP and was supported by the history of exposure to pigeons, the presence of precipitin antibodies (IgG) to avian antigen in high titre with negative rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibody, and no clinical clue for a collagen vascular disease. The HRCT changes were noted on Likert scale (0-5) in terms of affection of peripheral and/or axial involvement, reticulation, honeycombing, haze, mosaic, traction bronchiectasis, pleural reactions, features of pulmonary hypertension, and air cysts. Cardiomegaly and independent cardiac chamber enlargement were also recorded. Results: The lower lobes were predominantly (65.6%) affected with similar frequency (78.1) of peripheral and axial parenchymal affection. The parenchymal changes in HRCT were haze or ground-glass opacity (100%), mosaic appearance (93.75%), reticulations (68.75%), traction bronchiectasis (34.3%), air cysts (21.8%), and honeycombing (9.37%). Pleural reactions, though not described so far, were found in 50% of cases. Features of pulmonary hypertension (87.5%), cardiomegaly (50%), left and right atrial enlargement (81.2% and 78.1%), and right ventricular enlargement (31.2%) were the common echocardiography findings. Conclusion: Chronic HP from avian exposure shows predominantly lower lobe involvement with haze, reticulation, features of pulmonary hypertension, and pleural reactions as common HRCT findings. The likelihood of pulmonary hypertension appears high and although honeycombing is often present, the classical UIP pattern has not been found.
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