Seasonal perspective of dietary arsenic consumption and urine arsenic in an endemic population.

PubMed

Biswas, Anirban; Deb, Debasree; Ghose, Aloke; Santra, Subhas Chandra; Guha Mazumder, Debendra Nath

2014-07-01

Exposure to arsenic in arsenic endemic areas is most remarkable environmental health challenges. Although effects of arsenic contamination are well established, reports are unavailable on probable seasonal variation due to changes of food habit depending on winter and summer seasons, especially for endemic regions of Nadia district, West Bengal. Complete 24-h diets, drinking-cooking water, first morning voided urine samples, and diet history were analyzed on 25 volunteers in arsenic endemic Chakdah block of Nadia district, once in summer followed by once in winter from the same participants. Results depicted no seasonal variation of body weight and body mass index. Arsenic concentration of source drinking and cooking water decreased (p = 0.04) from 26 μg L(-1) in summer to 6 μg L(-1) in winter season. We recorded a seasonal decrease of water intake in male (3.8 and 2.5 L day (-1)) and female (2.6 and 1.2 L day(-1)) participants from summer to winter. Arsenic intake through drinking water decreased (p = 0.04) in winter (29 μg day(-1)) than in summer (100 μg day(-1)), and urinary arsenic concentration decreased (p = 0.018) in winter (41 μg L(-1)) than in summer (69 μg L(-1)). Dietary arsenic intake remained unchanged (p = 0.24) over the seasons. Hence, we can infer that human health risk assessment from arsenic needs an insight over temporal scale.

Media Training

ScienceCinema

None

2017-12-09

With the LHC starting up soon, the world's media are again turning their attention to CERN. We're all likely to be called upon to explain what is happening at CERN to media, friends and neighbours. The seminar will be given by BBC television news journalists Liz Pike and Nadia Marchant, and will deal with the kind of questions we're likely to be confronted with through the restart period. The training is open for everybody. Make sure you arrive early enough to get a seat - there are only 200 seats in the Globe. The session will also be webcast: http://webcast.cern.ch/

Adolescent Alcohol Exposure Persistently Impacts Adult Neurobiology and Behavior

PubMed Central

Vetreno, Ryan P.; Broadwater, Margaret A.; Robinson, Donita L.

2016-01-01

Adolescence is a developmental period when physical and cognitive abilities are optimized, when social skills are consolidated, and when sexuality, adolescent behaviors, and frontal cortical functions mature to adult levels. Adolescents also have unique responses to alcohol compared with adults, being less sensitive to ethanol sedative–motor responses that most likely contribute to binge drinking and blackouts. Population studies find that an early age of drinking onset correlates with increased lifetime risks for the development of alcohol dependence, violence, and injuries. Brain synapses, myelination, and neural circuits mature in adolescence to adult levels in parallel with increased reflection on the consequence of actions and reduced impulsivity and thrill seeking. Alcohol binge drinking could alter human development, but variations in genetics, peer groups, family structure, early life experiences, and the emergence of psychopathology in humans confound studies. As adolescence is common to mammalian species, preclinical models of binge drinking provide insight into the direct impact of alcohol on adolescent development. This review relates human findings to basic science studies, particularly the preclinical studies of the Neurobiology of Adolescent Drinking in Adulthood (NADIA) Consortium. These studies focus on persistent adult changes in neurobiology and behavior following adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE), a model of underage drinking. NADIA studies and others find that AIE results in the following: increases in adult alcohol drinking, disinhibition, and social anxiety; altered adult synapses, cognition, and sleep; reduced adult neurogenesis, cholinergic, and serotonergic neurons; and increased neuroimmune gene expression and epigenetic modifiers of gene expression. Many of these effects are specific to adolescents and not found in parallel adult studies. AIE can cause a persistence of adolescent-like synaptic physiology, behavior, and sensitivity

Skin score correlates with global DNA methylation and GSTO1 A140D polymorphism in arsenic-affected population of Eastern India.

PubMed

Majumder, Moumita; Dasgupta, Uma B; Guha Mazumder, D N; Das, Nilansu

2017-07-01

Arsenic is a potent environmental toxicant causing serious public health concerns in India, Bangladesh and other parts of the world. Gene- and promoter-specific hypermethylation has been reported in different arsenic-exposed cell lines, whereas whole genome DNA methylation study suggested genomic hypo- and hypermethylation after arsenic exposure in in vitro and in vivo studies. Along with other characteristic biomarkers, arsenic toxicity leads to typical skin lesions. The present study demonstrates significant correlation between severities of skin manifestations with their whole genome DNA methylation status as well as with a particular polymorphism (Ala 140 Asp) status in arsenic metabolizing enzyme Glutathione S-transferase Omega-1 (GSTO1) in arsenic-exposed population of the district of Nadia, West Bengal, India.

Open Media Training Session

ScienceCinema

None

2017-12-09

Have you ever wondered how the media work and why some topics make it into the news and other don't? Would you like to know how to (and how not to) give an interview to a journalist? With the LHC preparing for first collisions at high energies, the world's media are again turning their attention to CERN. We're all likely to be called upon to explain what is happening at CERN to media, friends and neighbours. The seminar will be given by BBC television news journalists Liz Pike and Nadia Marchant, and will deal with the kind of questions we're likely to be confronted with through the restart period. Follow the webcast: http://webcast.cern.ch/

Materiality and Collective Experience: Sewing as Artistic Practice in Works by Marie Watt, Nadia Myre, and Bonnie Devine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fowler, Cynthia

2010-01-01

Over the last few years there has been a growing recognition of the trend among contemporary artists to engage methods and materials traditionally associated with craft. Sewing in particular has become a prevalent form of artistic expression among contemporary artists. This article is a consideration of sewing as an artistic practice in the works…

Brevibacillus sp. KUMAs2, a bacterial isolate for possible bioremediation of arsenic in rhizosphere.

PubMed

Mallick, Ivy; Hossain, Sk Tofajjen; Sinha, Sangram; Mukherjee, Samir Kumar

2014-09-01

Arsenic (As) contamination of soil and water has been considered as a major global environmental issue during last few decades. Among the various methods so far reported for reclamation of As contaminated rhizosphere soil, bioremediation using bacteria has been found to be most promising. An As resistant bacterial isolate Brevibacillus sp. KUMAs2 was obtained from As contaminated soil of Nadia, West Bengal, India, which could resist As(V) and As(III) a maximum of 265mM and 17mM, respectively. The strain could remove ~40 percent As under aerobic culture conditions. As resistant property in KUMAs2 was found to be plasmid-borne, which carried both As oxidizing and reducing genes. The strain could promote chilli plant growth under As contaminated soil environment by decreasing As accumulation in plant upon successful colonization in the rhizosphere, which suggests the possibility of using this isolate for successful bioremediation of As in the crop field. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Architecture of the LkCa 15 Transitional Disk Revealed by High-contrast Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thalmann, C.; Mulders, G. D.; Hodapp, K.; Janson, M.; Grady, C. A.; Min, M.; deJuanOvelar, M.; Carson, J.; Brandt, T.; Bonnefoy, M.;

[On pre-requirements to the use of audio-visual techniques in deviant children. Thoughts from the psychoanalytical treatment of a thirteen months aged child (author's transl)].

PubMed

Lefort, R

1977-01-01

This paper deals with the analytical cure of a child between 13 and 21 months and hospitalized since birth. In a first phase, one can see the start of a relationship, then the objectal relationship to primary objects: on the one hand the object food and on the other hand the therapist within the transfert. These two objects, impossible in the reality dimension from the start, are progressively characterized by "neantisation", which can reach symbolic tone. A scene in front of the picture of a child on knees of a nurse progressively introduces Nadia to the third register: the imagery one. Her behaviour is exemplary during the 17 scences on the mirror, during which she can progressively assume the image of her unified body under the view of the other, in demonstrating that she can only do it by symbolizing primary objects, in particular "to drink nothing". The symbolisation acquired at the oral level permits to verbalise on the same mode her relationship to the anal object, i.e. on the non destructive symbolic mode. This treatment raises the question of the use of audio-visual techniques for psychotic and autistic subjects, and recuses the pedagogic use of image for such subjects, taking into account the primary importance of symbolic function on imagery function demonstrated in this paper. This is a prerequisite for any research in the field of audiovisual techniques with psychotics.

Heating, weakening and shear localization in earthquake rupture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rice, James R.

2017-08-01

Field and borehole observations of active earthquake fault zones show that shear is often localized to principal deforming zones of order 0.1-10 mm width. This paper addresses how frictional heating in rapid slip weakens faults dramatically, relative to their static frictional strength, and promotes such intense localization. Pronounced weakening occurs even on dry rock-on-rock surfaces, due to flash heating effects, at slip rates above approximately 0.1 m s-1 (earthquake slip rates are typically of the order of 1 m s-1). But weakening in rapid shear is also predicted theoretically in thick fault gouge in the presence of fluids (whether native ground fluids or volatiles such as H2O or CO2 released by thermal decomposition reactions), and the predicted localizations are compatible with such narrow shear zones as have been observed. The underlying concepts show how fault zone materials with high static friction coefficients, approximately 0.6-0.8, can undergo strongly localized shear at effective dynamic friction coefficients of the order of 0.1, thus fitting observational constraints, e.g. of earthquakes producing negligible surface heat outflow and, for shallow events, only rarely creating extensive melt. The results to be summarized include those of collaborative research published with Nicolas Brantut (University College London), Eric Dunham (Stanford University), Nadia Lapusta (Caltech), Hiroyuki Noda (JAMSTEC, Japan), John D. Platt (Carnegie Institution for Science, now at *gramLabs), Alan Rempel (Oregon State University) and John W. Rudnicki (Northwestern University). This article is part of the themed issue 'Faulting, friction and weakening: from slow to fast motion'.

Cretaceous planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Calera Limestone, Northern California, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sliter, W.V.

1999-01-01

shale occurs at or near the boundary between the G. ferreolensis and G. algerianus Zone in the late Aptian. This black layer, or Thalmann Event as named here, seems to represent the sedimentary expression, at the scale of Permanente Terrane, of a global perturbation of the carbon cycle.

Hydrogeochemical contrast between brown and grey sand aquifers in shallow depth of Bengal Basin: consequences for sustainable drinking water supply.

PubMed

Biswas, Ashis; Nath, Bibhash; Bhattacharya, Prosun; Halder, Dipti; Kundu, Amit K; Mandal, Ujjal; Mukherjee, Abhijit; Chatterjee, Debashis; Mörth, Carl-Magnus; Jacks, Gunnar

2012-08-01

Delineation of safe aquifer(s) that can be targeted by cheap drilling technology for tubewell (TW) installation becomes highly imperative to ensure access to safe and sustainable drinking water sources for the arsenic (As) affected population in Bengal Basin. This study investigates the potentiality of brown sand aquifers (BSA) as a safe drinking water source by characterizing its hydrogeochemical contrast to grey sand aquifers (GSA) within shallow depth (<70 m) over an area of 100 km(2) in Chakdaha Block of Nadia district, West Bengal, India. The results indicate that despite close similarity in major ion composition, the redox condition is markedly different in groundwater of the two studied aquifers. The redox condition in the BSA is delineated to be Mn oxy-hydroxide reducing, not sufficiently lowered for As mobilization into groundwater. In contrast, the enrichments of NH(4)(+), PO(4)(3-), Fe and As along with lower Eh in groundwater of GSA reflect reductive dissolution of Fe oxy-hydroxide coupled to microbially mediated oxidation of organic matter as the prevailing redox process causing As mobilization into groundwater of this aquifer type. In some portions of GSA the redox status even has reached to the stage of SO(4)(2-) reduction, which to some extent might sequester dissolved As from groundwater by co-precipitation with authigenic pyrite. Despite having low concentration of As in groundwater of the BSA the concentration of Mn often exceeds the drinking water guidelines, which warrants rigorous assessment of attendant health risk for Mn prior to considering mass scale exploitation of the BSA for possible sustainable drinking water supply. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Arsenic accumulation in native plants of West Bengal, India: prospects for phytoremediation but concerns with the use of medicinal plants.

PubMed

Tripathi, Preeti; Dwivedi, Sanjay; Mishra, Aradhana; Kumar, Amit; Dave, Richa; Srivastava, Sudhakar; Shukla, Mridul Kumar; Srivastava, Pankaj Kumar; Chakrabarty, Debasis; Trivedi, Prabodh Kumar; Tripathi, Rudra Deo

2012-05-01

Arsenic (As) is a widespread environmental and food chain contaminant and class I, non-threshold carcinogen. Plants accumulate As due to ionic mimicry that is of importance as a measure of phytoremediation but of concern due to the use of plants in alternative medicine. The present study investigated As accumulation in native plants including some medicinal plants, from three districts [Chinsurah (Hoogly), Porbosthali (Bardhman), and Birnagar (Nadia)] of West Bengal, India, having a history of As pollution. A site-specific response was observed for Specific Arsenic Uptake (SAU; mg kg(-1) dw) in total number of 13 (8 aquatic and 5 terrestrial) collected plants. SAU was higher in aquatic plants (5-60 mg kg(-1) dw) than in terrestrial species (4-19 mg kg(-1) dw). The level of As was lower in medicinal plants (MPs) than in non-medicinal plants, however it was still beyond the WHO permissible limit (1 mg kg(-1) dw). The concentration of other elements (Cu, Zn, Se, and Pb) was found to be within prescribed limits in medicinal plants (MP). Among the aquatic plants, Marsilea showed the highest SAU (avg. 45 mg kg(-1) dw), however, transfer factor (TF) of As was the maximum in Centella asiatica (MP, avg. 1). Among the terrestrial plants, the maximum SAU and TF were demonstrated by Alternanthera ficoidea (avg. 15) and Phyllanthus amarus (MP, avg. 1.27), respectively. In conclusion, the direct use of MP or their by products for humans should not be practiced without proper regulation. In other way, one fern species (Marsilea) and some aquatic plants (Eichhornia crassipes and Cyperus difformis) might be suitable candidates for As phytoremediation of paddy fields.

NADiA® ProsVue™ PSA Slope Is an Independent Prognostic Marker for Identifying Men at Reduced Risk for Clinical Recurrence of Prostate Cancer after Radical Prostatectomy

PubMed Central

Moul, Judd W.; Lilja, Hans; Semmes, O. John; Lance, Raymond S.; Vessella, Robert L.; Fleisher, Martin; Mazzola, Clarisse; Sarno, Mark J.; Stevens, Barbara; Klem, Robert E.; McDermed, Jonathan E.; Triebell, Melissa T.; Adams, Thomas H.

2015-01-01

Objectives To validate the hypothesis that men displaying serum PSA slopes ≤2.0 pg/mL/month postprostatectomy, measured with a new immuno-PCR diagnostic test (NADiA® ProsVue™) were at a reduced risk of clinical recurrence as determined by positive biopsy, imaging or death due to prostate cancer. Methods From 4 clinical sites, we selected a cohort of 304 men followed up to 17.6 years postprostatectomy for clinical recurrence. We assessed the prognostic value of a PSA slope cutpoint of 2.0 pg/mL/month against established risk factors to identify men at very low risk of clinical recurrence using uni- and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results The univariate HR (95% CI) of a PSA slope >2.0 pg/mL/month was 18.3 (10.6–31.8), compared to a slope ≤2.0 pg/mL/month (P <0.0001). Median disease-free survival was 4.8 years versus >10 years in the 2 groups (P <0.0001). Multivariate HR for PSA slope with the covariates of preprostatectomy PSA, pathologic stage and Gleason score was 9.8 (5.4–17.8), an 89.8% risk reduction, for men with PSA slopes ≤2.0 pg/mL/month (P <0.0001). Gleason Score (<7 vs. ≥7) was the only other significant predictor (HR 5.4, 2.1–13.8, P = 0.0004). Conclusions Clinical recurrence following radical prostatectomy is often difficult to predict since established factors do not reliably stratify risk. We demonstrate that a NADiA ProsVue slope ≤2.0 pg/mL/month postprostatectomy is prognostic for reduced risk of prostate cancer recurrence and adds predictive power to established risk factors. PMID:23107099

Multiple Sex-Associated Regions and a Putative Sex Chromosome in Zebrafish Revealed by RAD Mapping and Population Genomics

PubMed Central

Anderson, Jennifer L.; Rodríguez Marí, Adriana; Braasch, Ingo; Amores, Angel; Hohenlohe, Paul; Batzel, Peter; Postlethwait, John H.

2012-01-01

Within vertebrates, major sex determining genes can differ among taxa and even within species. In zebrafish (Danio rerio), neither heteromorphic sex chromosomes nor single sex determination genes of large effect, like Sry in mammals, have yet been identified. Furthermore, environmental factors can influence zebrafish sex determination. Although progress has been made in understanding zebrafish gonad differentiation (e.g. the influence of germ cells on gonad fate), the primary genetic basis of zebrafish sex determination remains poorly understood. To identify genetic loci associated with sex, we analyzed F2 offspring of reciprocal crosses between Oregon *AB and Nadia (NA) wild-type zebrafish stocks. Genome-wide linkage analysis, using more than 5,000 sequence-based polymorphic restriction site associated (RAD-tag) markers and population genomic analysis of more than 30,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in our *ABxNA crosses revealed a sex-associated locus on the end of the long arm of chr-4 for both cross families, and an additional locus in the middle of chr-3 in one cross family. Additional sequencing showed that two SNPs in dmrt1 previously suggested to be functional candidates for sex determination in a cross of ABxIndia wild-type zebrafish, are not associated with sex in our AB fish. Our data show that sex determination in zebrafish is polygenic and that different genes may influence sex determination in different strains or that different genes become more important under different environmental conditions. The association of the end of chr-4 with sex is remarkable because, unique in the karyotype, this chromosome arm shares features with known sex chromosomes: it is highly heterochromatic, repetitive, late replicating, and has reduced recombination. Our results reveal that chr-4 has functional and structural properties expected of a sex chromosome. PMID:22792396

Food, Environment, Engineering and Life Sciences Program (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohtar, R. H.; Whittaker, A.; Amar, N.; Burgess, W.

2009-12-01

Food, Environment, Engineering and Life Sciences Program Nadia Amar, Wiella Burgess, Rabi H. Mohtar, and Dale Whitaker Purdue University Correspondence: mohtar@purdue.edu FEELS, the Food, Environment, Engineering and Life Sciences Program is a grant of the National Science Foundation for the College of Agriculture at Purdue University. FEELS’ mission is to recruit, retain, and prepare high-achieving students with financial difficulties to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers. FEELS achieves its goals offering a scholarship of up to 10,000 per student each year, academic, research and industrial mentors, seminars, study tables, social and cultural activities, study abroad and community service projects. In year one, nine low-income, first generation and/or ethnic minority students joined the FEELS program. All 9 FEELS fellows were retained in Purdue’s College of Agriculture (100%) with 7 of 9 (77.7%) continuing to pursue STEM majors. FEELS fellows achieved an average GPA in their first year of 3.05, compared to the average GPA of 2.54 for low-income non- FEELS students in the College of Agriculture. A new cohort of 10 students joined the program in August 2009. FEELS fellows received total scholarships of nearly 50,000 for the 2008-2009 academic year. These scholarships were combined with a holistic program that included the following key elements: FEELS Freshman Seminars I and II, 2 study tables per week, integration activities and frequent meetings with FEELS academic mentors and directors. Formative assessments of all FEELS activities were used to enhance the first year curriculum for the second cohort. Cohort 1 will continue into their second year where the focus will be on undergraduate research. More on FEELS programs and activities: www.purdue.edu/feels.

Sibling composition and household room sharing are associated with menarcheal status among rural Bengalee girls of West Bengal, India.

PubMed

Biswas, Sadaruddin; Koziel, Slawomir; Chakraborty, Raja; Bose, Kaushik

2013-08-01

Menarche, the first menstruation, is one of the most important events in a woman's reproductive life. The timing of menarche varies across populations and depends upon social interaction and family environment. It is also associated with several biological as well as social factors. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between sibling composition and age at menarche (AAM) and to assess the association between the pattern of room sharing with family members of different sexes and menarcheal occurrence among rural Bengalee girls from West Bengal, India. The total sample comprised 577 Bengalee girls, 6-17 years of age, from various schools and madrasas in two blocks of the Nadia District of West Bengal State in India. The effects of room sharing on the occurrence of menarche, and of sibling composition on the menarcheal age, were assessed by analyses of covariance. The room-sharing pattern had a significant effect on menarcheal status (yes÷no): a significantly higher percentage of girls who shared a room with the mother and÷or sisters were postmenarcheal compared with those who shared a room with male family members. AAM did not differ significantly between girls having brothers or sisters. However, sibling order had a significant impact on AAM. Girls who had a younger sibling only (brother or sister) had a higher mean AAM, and girls who had both younger brothers and younger sisters had significantly higher mean AAM, than did the girls who had no younger sibling (singletons or having only elder siblings). There was no difference in AAM between the girls who had younger sister(s) and those who had younger brother(s). These differences were also independent of body mass index. In conclusion, the room sharing characteristics and the sibling sex composition, particularly their order, had significant effect on menarche in adolescent rural Bengalee girls. Copyright © 2013 Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan 48201-1309.

Aqueous and solid phase speciation of arsenic in a Bengali aquifer using IC-ICP-MS and EXAFS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gault, A. G.; Davidson, L. E.; Lythgoe, P. R.; Charnock, J. M.; Chatterjee, D.; Abou-Shakra, F. R.; Walker, H. J.; Polya, D. A.

2003-04-01

Contamination of groundwater and drinking water supplies with arsenic has been reported in many parts of the world and constitutes a serious public health threat. Nowhere is this more apparent than in West Bengal and Bangladesh where arsenic concentrations exceed both World Health Organisation (WHO) and national limits in drinking water supplies leading to what has been described as the worst mass poisoning of a human population in history. Knowledge of both aqueous and solid phase speciation of arsenic in such hazardous arsenic-rich groundwaters is crucial to understanding the processes controlling arsenic release. We report here preliminary work involving the determination of dissolved arsenic speciation in West Bengali groundwaters and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis of the associated sediment. Groundwater samples collected from Nadia district, West Bengal were analysed for arsenic speciation by ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (IC-ICP-MS) within 14 days of collection. Total arsenic concentrations exceeding 850 ug/L were determined; inorganic arsenic constituted the bulk of the dissolved arsenic burden with As(III) as the dominant form. Minor amounts of methylated arsenicals were also detected, however, their concentration did not exceed 5 ug/L. The local coordination environment of arsenic in sediment associated with such groundwaters was probed using K-edge As EXAFS. This revealed that arsenic exists predominantly in its oxidised form, As(V), most likely adsorbed as bidentate arsenate tetrahedra on metal (Fe and/or Al) oxide/hydroxide surfaces, although incorporation of arsenic into a metal oxide structure cannot be unequivocally ruled out. Arsenic was found to occur in several different coordination environments and this, together with the low concentration (< 5 ug/g) of arsenic in the sediment, prevented the unambiguous assignment of the second coordination sphere. The analysis of the trends of key

Sex differences in the effect of birth order and parents' educational status on stunting: a study on Bengalee preschool children from eastern India.

PubMed

Biswas, Sadaruddin; Bose, Kaushik

2010-08-01

One of the greatest problems facing developing countries, including rural India, is undernutrition in terms of stunting among under 5-year-old children. However, there exists scanty information on the prevalence of stunting among preschool children in India and in particular in West Bengal. This study investigated prevalence of stunting and identified the predictor(s) of stunting among 1-5-year-old Bengalee rural preschool children of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres. This cross-sectional study was undertaken at different ICDS centres of Chapra Block, Nadia District, West Bengal, India. A total of 673 preschool children (323 boys and 350 girls), aged 1-5 years were selected from 30 randomly selected ICDS centres to study the impact of parents' educational status and child birth order on stunting. The overall (age and sex combined) rate of stunting was 39.2%. Child birth order (BO) (chi(2)=14.10, df=1, p<0.001), father educational status (FES) (chi(2)=21.11, p<0.001) and mother educational status (MES) (chi(2)=14.34, df=1, p>0.001) were significantly associated with the prevalence of stunting among girls. Logistic regression analyses revealed that both FES (Wald=19.97, p<0.001) as well as MES (Wald=13.95, p<0.001) were strong predictors of stunting among girls. Similarly BO (Wald=13.71, p<0.001) was a strong predictor of stunting among girls. Girls with >or=3rd BO had significantly higher risk (OR=2.49, CI=1.54-4.03) of stunting than those with or=secondary level. Similarly, girls with MESor=secondary level. In conclusion our study revealed that BO as well as parents' educational status were strong predictors of stunting among girls but not boys. Sex discrimination could be a likely cause for this

eHealth in Modern Patient-Caregiver Communication: High Rate of Acceptance Among Physicians for Additional Support of Breast Cancer Patients During Long-Term Therapy.

PubMed

Kirkovits, Thomas; Schinkoethe, Timo; Drewes, Caroline; Gehring, Caroline; Bauerfeind, Ingo; Harbeck, Nadia; Wuerstlein, Rachel

2016-09-19

individualized support in breast cancer care is a promising addition to treatment management. Such technologies have the potential to enhance adherence and compliance in therapy among cancer patients. ©Thomas Kirkovits, Timo Schinkoethe, Caroline Drewes, Caroline Gehring, Ingo Bauerfeind, Nadia Harbeck, Rachel Wuerstlein. Originally published in JMIR Cancer (http://cancer.jmir.org), 19.09.2016.

Arsenic Groundwater Contamination in Bengal: a Coupled Geochemical and Geophysical Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charlet, L.; Ansari, A. A.; Dietrich, M.; Latscha, A.; LeBeux, A.; Chatterjee, D.; Mallik, S. B.

2001-05-01

Arsenic contamination in drinking water is a problem of great concern in Ganges delta region, and could be one of the largest natural calamity in the world. In the present study, a contamination plume located in the Lalpur area (Chakdaha Block, Nadia District, West Bengal, India) was studied. A coupled geochemical and geophysical approach was employed to understand the mechanism of arsenic mobilisation from the sediments to groundwater, as a first step towards a global explanation of the phenomenon for other contaminated areas in the Ganges delta. The groundwater As concentration, in the 10 km x 10 km studied area, ranges from 10 to 500 ppb. In situ chemical speciation of arsenic was carried out and various geochemical parameters were measured in representative contaminated wells to interpret the mobilization mechanism in terms of redox kinetics. Through geophysical investigations, subsurface lithology, sediment depositional and geomorphological characteristics were determined and correlated with the arsenic contamination processes. From a geomorphological viewpoint, the contaminated area is located in an abandoned paleochannel of the Hooghly river, interpreted as the active site of deposition of fine sediments which were preserved as clay pockets at certain depths. These clay pockets are rich in organic matter, which may be the driving force for redox potential change and thus, may have driven the mobilisation of arsenic in groundwater. The clay pockets rich in organic matter presumably represent the major reservoir where arsenic is sitting and getting released due to redox mechanism. They are sampled at present. A piezometric depression cone characterized by a radial groundwater flow is located underneath the highly populated Lalpur area. The arsenic plume appears to migrate from the Hooghly river towards the cone of depression following the water flowpath, and this shall be verified in forthcoming field campaigns. As (III) constitutes 42 % of the total As

13C NMR and isotopic (δ13C) investigations on modern vegetation samples: a tool to understand the soil organic matter degradation dynamics and preferences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakshit, Subhadeep; Sanyal, Prasanta; Vardhan Gaur, Harsh

2015-04-01

Soil organic carbon, one of the largest reservoirs of carbon, is a heterogeneous mixture of organic compounds with dominant contribution derived from decomposition of plants in various stages. Although general ideas about the processes and mechanisms of soil organic matter (SOM) degradation have been developed, a very few study has linked the SOM with its parent material. In this study we aim to generate reference data set of functional groups from modern vegetation samples (C3 and C4plants) to better understand the degradation dynamics and preferences. The carbon functional groups from modern vegetation samples (eight C3 and nine C4 plants collected from Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India) were examined by solid state 13C CPMAS NMR spectroscopy. Additionally, isotopic investigations (δ13C) has also been carried out on the modern vegetation samples to understand the relationship of bulk isotopic values to the concentration of functional groups. The major functional groups (alkyl C, O-alkyl C, aromatic C, carbonyl C and aldehyde/ketone) of modern vegetation samples form 16%, 65%, 5%, 14% and 1% respectively in C3 plants. Considerable differences has been observed for C4 plants with average values of alkyl C, O-alkyl C, aromatic C, carbonyl C and aldehyde/ketone are 8%, 83%, 3%, 5% and 1% respectively. The concentration of functional groups from the modern vegetational samples can be considered as reference scale to compare with the 13C NMR data derived from the different soil horizons to understand the SOM degradation dynamics. The δ13CV PDB values of modern vegetation samples plotted against the individual concentration of functional groups shows significant correlation in C4 plants, whereas a lack in correlation has been observed for C3 plants. We assume this difference in relationship of δ13CV PDB values with functional groups of C3 and C4plants can be due to the differences in photosynthesis pathways, the fractionation of CO2 and accumulation of the products

Effect of number of rooms and sibs on nutritional status among rural Bengalee preschool children from eastern India.

PubMed

Biswas, Sadaruddin; Bose, Kaushik

2011-12-01

In developing countries including rural India, undernutrition among preschool children is one of the main barriers of the national development. However, there exists scanty information on the prevalence of underweight and stunting and their socio-demographic predictors among preschool children in India and West Bengal. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of underweight and stunting and the impact of two socio-demographic indicators, namely number of living rooms (NLR) and number of sibs (NS), on them among 1-5 year old Bengalee rural preschool children of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Centres. This cross sectional study was undertaken at 30 randomly selected ICDS centre of Chapra Block, Nadia District, West Bengal, India. A total of 673 children, aged 1-5 years were studied. The overall (age and sex combined) rates of underweight and stunting were 54.40% and 39.20%, respectively. NLR was significantly associated with the prevalence of underweight (chi2 = 4.34, df = 1, p < 0.05) and stunting (chi2 = 8.98, df = 1, p < 0.01) among girls. Similarly, NS had a significant association with prevalence of underweight (chi2 = 10.29, df = 1, p < 0.001) and stunting (chi2 = 5.42, df = 1, p < 0.05) among girls. Girls with < 2 NLR had significant higher risk of being underweight (OR = 1.64, C.I = 1.30-2.62) or stunted (OR=2.23, C.I = 1.31-3.80) than those with > or = 2 NLR. Moreover, girls with > or = 3 NS had significant higher rate of underweight (OR = 2.03, CI = 1.32-3.146) or stunting (OR = 1.69, C.I = 1.09-2.63) than those with < 3 sibs. Logistic regression analyses also revealed that both NLR as well as NS were strong predictors of underweight (NLR: Wald = 4.30, p < 0.05; NS: Wald = 8.74, p < 0.001) and stunting (NLR: Wald = 10.17, p < 0.001; NS: Wald = 5.38, p < 0.05) among girls. Gender discrimination could be a likely cause for this sex difference in the impact of NRL and NS. Moreover, logistic regression were also undertaken

Internet and Social Media Access Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness: Mixed-Methods Study.

PubMed

VonHoltz, Lauren A Houdek; Frasso, Rosemary; Golinkoff, Jesse M; Lozano, Alicia J; Hanlon, Alexandra; Dowshen, Nadia

2018-05-22

homelessness. While experiencing homelessness, participants indicated their behaviors were more goal-oriented and less focused on leisure or entertainment activities. While homeless youth experience changes in the frequency, amount of time, and specific uses of the internet and social media, study participants were able to access the internet regularly. The internet was used to search health-related topics. Given the importance of smartphones in accessing the internet, mobile-optimized websites may be an effective method for reaching this group. ©Lauren A Houdek VonHoltz, Rosemary Frasso, Jesse M Golinkoff, Alicia J Lozano, Alexandra Hanlon, Nadia Dowshen. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 22.05.2018.

Effect of Safe Water on Arsenicosis: A Follow-up Study.

PubMed

Majumdar, Kunal K; Ghose, Aloke; Ghose, Nilima; Biswas, Anirban; Mazumder, D N Guha

2014-04-01

Arsenic pollution in groundwater, used for drinking purposes, has been envisaged as a problem of global concern. Treatment options for the management symptoms of chronic arsenicosis are limited. Mitigation option available for dealing with the health problem of ground water arsenic contamination rests mainly on supply of arsenic safe water in arsenic-endemic region of Indo-Bangladesh subcontinent. Limited information is available regarding the long-term effect of chronic arsenic toxicity after stoppage of consumption of arsenic-containing water. The current study was, therefore, done to assess, objectively, the effect of drinking arsenic safe water (<50 μg/L) on disease manifestation of arsenicosis. Manifestations of various skin lesions and systemic diseases associated with chronic arsenic exposure were ascertained initially by carrying on baseline study on 208 participants in Nadia (Cohort-I, with skin lesion and Cohort-II, without skin lesion) using a scoring system, as developed by us, and compared objectively at the end of each year for 3 year follow-up period. All the participants who had arsenic contaminated drinking water source in their houses were supplied with arsenic removal filters for getting arsenic-free water during the follow-up period. In participants belonging to Cohort-I, the skin score was found to improve significantly at the end of each year, and it was found to be reduced significantly from 2.17 ± 1.09 to 1.23 ± 1.17; P < 0.001 at the end of 3 year's intervention study indicating beneficial effect of safe water on skin lesions. The systemic disease symptom score was also found to improve, but less significantly, at the end of 3 years in both the cohorts. Most important observation during the follow-up study was persistence of severe symptoms of chronic lung disease and severe skin lesion including Bowen's disease in spite of taking arsenic-safe water. Further, death could not be prevented to occur because of lung cancer and severe lung

Assessment of toxic metals in groundwater and saliva in an arsenic affected area of West Bengal, India: A pilot scale study.

PubMed

Bhowmick, Subhamoy; Kundu, Amit Kumar; Adhikari, Jishnu; Chatterjee, Debankur; Iglesias, Monica; Nriagu, Jerome; Guha Mazumder, Debendra Nath; Shomar, Basem; Chatterjee, Debashis

2015-10-01

Communities in many parts of the world are unintentionally exposed to arsenic (As) and other toxic metals through ingestion of local drinking water and foods. The concentrations of individual toxic metals often exceed their guidelines in drinking water but the health risks associated with such multiple-metal exposures have yet to receive much attention. This study examines the co-occurrence of toxic metals in groundwater samples collected from As-rich areas of Nadia district, West Bengal, India. Arsenic in groundwater (range: 12-1064 µg L(-1); mean ± S.D: 329±294 µg L(-1)) was the most important contaminant with concentrations well above the WHO guideline of 10 µg L(-1). Another important toxic metal in the study area was manganese (Mn) with average concentration of 202±153 µg L(-1), range of 18-604 µg L(-1). The average concentrations (µg L(-1)) of other elements in groundwater were: Cr (5.6±5.9), Mo (3.5±2.1), Ni (8.3±8.7), Pb (2.9±1.3), Ba (119±43), Zn (56±40), Se (0.60±0.33), U (0.50±0.74). Saliva collected from the male participants of the area had mean concentrations of 6.3±7.0 µg As L(-1) (0.70-29 µg L(-1)), 5.4±5.5 µg Mn L(-1) (0.69-22 µg L(-1)), 2.6±3.1 µg Ni L(-1) (0.15-13 µg L(-1)), 0.78±1.0µg Cr L(-1) (

Synopsis of the pelidnotine scarabs (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Rutelinae, Rutelini) and annotated catalog of the species and subspecies

PubMed Central

Moore, Matthew R.; Jameson, Mary L.; Garner, Beulah H.; Audibert, Cédric; Smith, Andrew B. T.; Seidel, Matthias

2017-01-01

Pelidnota punctata (Linnaeus, 1758); Pelidnota (Strigidia) zikani (Ohaus, 1922) is a revised synonym of Pelidnota tibialis tibialis Burmeister, 1844; Pelidnota ludovici Ohaus, 1905 is a syn. n. of Pelidnota burmeisteri tricolor Nonfried, 1894; Rutela fulvipennis Germar, 1824 is syn. n. of Pelidnota cuprea (Germar, 1824); Pelidnota pulchella blanda Burmeister, 1844 is a syn. n. of Pelidnota pulchella pulchella (Kirby, 1819); Pelidnota pulchella scapularis Burmeister, 1844 is a syn. n. of Pelidnota pulchella pulchella (Kirby, 1819); Pelidnota xanthogramma Perty, 1830 is a syn. n. of Pelidnota pulchella pulchella (Kirby, 1819). New or revised statuses: Pelidnota fabricelavalettei Soula, 2009, revised status, is considered a species; Pelidnota rioensis Soula, 2009, stat. n., is considered a species; Pelidnota semiaurata semiaurata Burmeister, 1844, stat. rev., is considered a subspecies. New or comb. rev. and revised status: Plusiotis guaymi Curoe, 2001 is formally transferred to the genus Chrysina (C. guaymi (Curoe, 2001), comb. n.); Plusiotis transvolcanica Morón & Nogueira, 2016 is transferred to the genus Chrysina (C. transvolcanica (Morón & Nogueira, 2016), comb. n.). Heteropelidnota kuhnti Ohaus, 1912 is transferred to the genus Pelidnota (P. kuhnti (Ohaus, 1912), comb. n.); Odontognathus riedeli Ohaus, 1905 is considered a subspecies of Pelidnota rubripennis Burmeister, 1844 (Pelidnota rubripennis riedeli (Ohaus, 1905), revised status and comb. rev.); Pelidnota (Strigidia) acutipennis (F. Bates, 1904) is transferred to the genus Sorocha (Sorocha acutipennis (F. Bates, 1904), comb. rev.); Pelidnota (Odontognathus) nadiae Martínez, 1978 is transferred to the genus Sorocha (Sorocha nadiae (Martínez, 1978), comb. rev.); Pelidnota (Ganonota) plicipennis Ohaus, 1934 is transferred to the genus Sorocha (Sorocha plicipennis (Ohaus, 1934), comb. rev.); Pelidnota similis Ohaus, 1908 is transferred to the genus Sorocha (Sorocha similis (Ohaus, 1908), comb. rev.); Pelidnota

Spectroscopic Evidence for Covalent Binding of Sulfadiazine to Natural Soils via 1,4-nucleophilic addition (Michael Type Addition) studied by Spin Labeling ESR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleksandrova, Olga

2015-04-01

with different polarity. As shown by the spin labeling ESR experiment, molecules modeling SDZ were promptly bound to non-hydrolysable network of soil organic matter only via the aromatic amines that was accompanied by a prompt enlargement of humic particles binding aromatic amines, whereas binding of decomposition products of SDZ to humic acids of soil via the aliphatic amines was not observable. The ESR spectra obviously showed a single-phase process of covalent binding of the aromatic amines. Repeated washouts of labeled soil samples using distil water and ultrafiltration through the membrane of 5000 MWCO PES confirmed irreversible binding of the aromatic amines, and showed that via the aliphatic amines, binding of SDZ or decomposition products of SDZ to soil might also occur but reversibly and only to small soil molecules, which don't enter into the composition of non-hydrolysable part of soil organic matter. SL ESR experiments of different soils at the presence of Laccase highlighted that covalent binding of the aromatic amines to humic particles occurred in the specific hydrophobic areas of soil found as depleted in oxygen. All measured data evidenced that first, SDZ might be decomposed that allowed for measuring the same change of a paramagnetic signal of soil organic matter influenced by both aromatic and aliphatic amines as in the experiment of the interaction of soil with SDZ. Second, a decomposition product of SDZ with the aromatic amine might be bound to non-hydrolysable parts of soil organic matter under specific anaerobic conditions only via 1,4 - nucleophilic addition, Michael-type addition. Gulkowska, A., Thalmann, B., D., Hollender, J., & Krauss, M. (2014). Chemosphere, 107, 366 - 372. Müller, T., Rosendahl, I., Focks, A., Siemens, J., Klasmeier, J., & Matthies. (2013). Environmental Pollution, 172,180 - 185. Nowak, K.M., Miltner, A., Gehre, M., Schaeffer, A., & Kaestner, M. (2011). Environmental Science & Technology 45, 999 - 1006. Weber, E.J., Spidle

EDITORIAL: Announcing the 2007 Measurement Science and Technology Outstanding Paper Awards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foss, John; Dewhurst, Richard; Fujii, Kenichi; Regtien, Paul

2008-05-01

Nanoscale Systems Integration Group, School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK The paper [2] describes a novel impedance spectroscopic measurement method for applications in the identification of biological cells. The frequency-dependent impedance is obtained in the frequency domain by applying a fast M-sequence transform (FMT), and a fast Fourier transform (FFT) in the time domain response. Using FMT, the evaluation takes place within a short timescale of the order of milliseconds. This technique is used in a microfluidic impedance cytometer, for the analysis of single biological cells in suspension. The theory of the technique is analysed in depth. It is then applied to an experimental system that characterizes the impedance spectrum of red blood cells within the microfluidic system. Measured spectra show good agreement with simulations. The paper has a short but excellent introduction, supported by a solid reference list of about 55 papers describing related work. Most of these papers are citations from 2000 onwards. This is followed by a detailed analysis of maximum length sequences and theory used for predictions of spectra. It then continues with a useful description of a cytometer that was used to confirm theoretical predictions of spectra. Results are at an early stage. The system is still under development, since there are issues arising from the fact that the particle flows during the acquisition of data, and is not static in the electric field as assumed by the model. Nevertheless, the paper possesses good clarity of the motivation behind the work, of the measurement techniques developed and of the potential relevance to applications in the life sciences. 2007 Award Winners—Precision Measurement Ultraprecision micro-CMM using a low force 3D touch probe A Küng, F Meli and R Thalmann Swiss Federal Office of Metrology (METAS), Lindenweg 50, CH-3003 Bern-Wabern, Switzerland The paper [3] describes a new three

Interventions for childhood apraxia of speech.

PubMed

Morgan, Angela T; Murray, Elizabeth; Liégeois, Frederique J

2018-05-30

full-text reports of all potentially relevant articles and assessed these for eligibility. The same two authors extracted data and conducted the 'Risk of bias' and GRADE assessments. One review author (EM) tabulated findings from excluded observational studies (Table 1). This review includes only one RCT, funded by the Australian Research Council; the University of Sydney International Development Fund; Douglas and Lola Douglas Scholarship on Child and Adolescent Health; Nadia Verrall Memorial Scholarship; and a James Kentley Memorial Fellowship. This study recruited 26 children aged 4 to 12 years, with mild to moderate CAS of unknown cause, and compared two interventions: the Nuffield Dyspraxia Programme-3 (NDP-3); and the Rapid Syllable Transitions Treatment (ReST). Children were allocated randomly to one of the two treatments. Treatments were delivered intensively in one-hour sessions, four days a week for three weeks, in a university clinic in Australia. Speech pathology students delivered the treatments in the English language. Outcomes were assessed before therapy, immediately after therapy, at one month and four months post-therapy. Our review looked at one-month post-therapy outcomes only.We judged all core outcome domains to be low risk of bias. We downgraded the quality of the evidence by one level to moderate due to imprecision, given that only one RCT was identified. Both the NDP-3 and ReST therapies demonstrated improvement at one month post-treatment. A number of cases in each cohort had recommenced usual treatment by their speech and language pathologist between one month and four months post-treatment (NDP-3: 9/13 participants; ReST: 9/13 participants). Hence, maintenance of treatment effects to four months post-treatment could not be analysed without significant potential bias, and thus this time point was not included for further analysis in this review.There is limited evidence that, when delivered intensively, both the NDP-3 and ReST may effect