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Given the context that undernutrition in India co-exists with the problems of overweight/obesity and associated non-communicable diseases as well as micronutrient deficiencies, integrating nutritional concerns in developmental policies and governance is gaining significance. There are many schemes implemented to tackle malnutrition in India, but creating synergy and linking these schemes with each other to achieve a common goal are lacking. Nutrition communication can be an important component to create the synergy required to change malnourished India to malnutrition-free India. Although nutrition education/communication is recognized as a necessary component in various national nutrition programmes, there is not much evidence of distinct evaluation of these components. Only a minor proportion of community nutrition research has been devoted to nutrition education and communication. Although there are scattered efforts in experimenting with newer communication approaches and media for promoting nutrition, there is a dearth of published literature. In this review an attempt was made to critically examine the nutrition education and communication research and practice with special focus on India. This review provides a historical perspective of evolution of nutrition education and communication with an overview of communication approaches, media, methods and technologies used in various research studies and programmes as well as the lessons learnt., Competing Interests: None

Competing Interests: None

Modern analytical ion-exchange chromatography is one of the conventional tools used for assessment of product-related quality attributes in bio-therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Here, we present an approach to resolve, identify, and quantify product-related substances of therapeutic mAb at its intact molecular level by cation exchange (CIEX) HPLC coupled directly to electrospray ionization - quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF-MS). This method utilizes pH gradient elution mode comprised of ammonium formate buffer components, and a weak cation exchange column as stationary phase. Furthermore, ion-mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) provided additional insights on its higher order structure. Also, orthogonal assays such as conventional CIEX-HPLC, high resolution capillary isoelectric focusing, peptide mapping, spectroscopic, and fluorescence methods were used considerably to support the findings. Additionally, an in vitro assay was included to assess the associated impact on Fc mediated function. Overall, the developed method with simultaneous detection of UV peak area percentage at 280 nm and native ESI-MS is found to be a rapid and robust analytical tool for direct assessment of structural and purity attributes, process optimization, product development, and to decipher the relevant role of micro-variants on quality, stability, and clinical outcomes., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Naringenin is a bioactive flavonoid found in grapes and citrus fruits including tangelo, blood orange, lemons, and tangerines. The aims of this study were to investigate the ability of naringenin to scavenge free radicals and determine its ability to protect animals from streptozotocin (STZ) -induced liver damage., Methods: The free radical-scavenging activity of naringenin was evaluated by in vitro cell-free assay systems. In animals, the antioxidant potential of orally administered 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight naringenin for 45 days was assessed by measuring TBARS, lipid hydroperoxides, SOD, catalase, GST, GPx, and glutathione levels in liver homogenates prepared from animals injected intraperitoneally with multiple low dose streptozotocin at 50 mg/kg for five consecutive days. The extent of cellular damage caused by STZ administration was analyzed using H & E staining., Results: Naringenin showed potent free radical scavenging activity in vitro. Naringenin effectively neutralized (a) hydroxyl radicals, (b) superoxide, (c) hydrogen peroxide, (d) nitric oxide radical, (e) DPPH, and (f) lipid peroxidation. In animals, administration of naringenin reduced lipid peroxidation and increased antioxidant levels. Analysis of liver sections showed the restoration of normal morphology upon treatment with naringenin., Conclusion: Naringenin helps to mitigate STZ-induced liver complications by promoting antioxidant defence enzyme activities and increasing glutathione levels.

The data deals with the preparation of the groundwater potential zone map of gudur area, with the help of data like geology and geomorphology, structure/lineament, slope and drainage and the thematic layer were prepared through the Survey of India toposheet Nos. N/12,N/15,N/16 and IRS-P6 LISS-III(RESOURCESAT-2) satellite data. The groundwater potential zones were obtained and classified into four categories, viz., very poor, poor, good, and very good zones. The data explains lateritic plain moderate basement with poor potential zones whereas secondarily occupies alluvial plain contains the good prospecting zone.

Background: The anti-mitotic activity of podophyllotoxin derivative targeting tubulin enzyme proved them as strong polymerization inhibitors. The introduction of heteroatom along with different heteroaryl systems in naturally obtained lignans created a latitude for design of bioactive components. A novel one-pot sequential propargylation/cycloaddition reaction strategy has been followed to synthesize triazolo-heterolignans., Objective: To screen anti-proliferative activity of novel heterolignans and to determine their mode of action., Method: SRB assay, Cytotoxicity evaluation, PI uptake for analysis of cell cycle, caspase-3 activity, Western blot analysis and Immunofluorescence and molecular docking studies., Results: SRB assay of synthesised compounds were provided compound 3a and 5f to be highly active among the synthesized compounds. The Compound 3a showed cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase and 5f arrest the cells at G1 phase. Compound 5f displayed caspase 3 mediated apoptotic effect at lower levels. Compound 3a and 5f displayed microtubule disassembly inhibition same as paclitaxel and found to be occupying colchicine binding site of tubulin, both ligands were depicted π-cation interaction with Lys352 residue and triazole ring accommodated at the lactone binding site., Conclusion: A novel one-pot sequential propargylation/cycloaddition reaction has been developed for the synthesis of triazolo-heterolignans. Compound 3a and 5f were displayed good cytotoxic activities and found to inhibit microtubule disassembly. The importance of triazole ring of heterolignans has been studied by molecular docking experiments and results were compared., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

The metabolism of ethanol to acetaldehyde has been visualized in living lung epithelial cells using a hydrazinyl naphthalimide fluorescent probe. Utilizing a condensation reaction between carbonyls and a hydrazine moeity, we demonstrate that the fluorescent probe (Aldehydefluor-1) AF1 reacts with a range of reactive carbonyl species including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, glyoxylic acid, and methyl glyoxal. With AF1, it is possible to directly visualize endogenous carbonyl metabolites. Here, we have applied it towards the visualization of acetaldehyde generated from alcohol dehydrogenase mediated ethanol metabolism, validating it as a useful tool to study the roles of alcohol in respiratory disease and other pathological mechanisms.

Objectives: To assess the differences in risk perceptions of overweight/obese and normal-weight adolescents about obesity and associated risk factors., Design: Qualitative study using focus group discussions (FGDs)., Settings: Five randomly selected schools from the South Indian city of Hyderabad., Participants: Seventy-nine adolescents (ages 11-14 years) participated in 10 FGDs (5 each with overweight/obese and normal-weight groups)., Phenomenon of Interest: Whether obesity-related risk perceptions differ with actual weight status or not., Analysis: FGDs were recorded, transcribed, and manually coded for thematic analysis. Results were presented according to 6 themes. At each stage of coding and analysis, reports were read independently by 2-3 researchers and the inter-coder reliability was high (ratio of number of agreements against the sum of agreements plus disagreements was over 90%)., Results: Adolescents across the groups had limited understanding of nutrition during adolescence as well as causes and consequences of obesity. The optimistic bias that they were less vulnerable compared to others to the risks of obesity was evident from perceptions of overweight groups. While overweight adolescents argued that obesity was hereditary, the normal-weight participants perceived "faulty food habits" and laziness as the reasons. Adolescents across the groups considered fruits and vegetables as healthy foods., Conclusions and Implications: There were clear differences in perceptions of adolescents of different weight status. Employing the risk perception analysis framework, this study identified the following adolescent traits: responsive, avoidance, and indifference, which may be useful for developing nutrition communication programs., (Copyright © 2015 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To study consumer knowledge and use of food labels., Design: A cross-sectional study employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Intercept interviews were conducted with 1832 consumers at supermarket sites selected using a stratified random sampling procedure. This information was triangulated with twenty-one focus group discussions., Setting: New Delhi and Hyderabad, two metro-cities from north and south India., Subjects: Adolescent (10-19 years), adult (20-59 years) and elderly (≥60 years) consumers., Results: While the national urban literacy rate is 84 %, about 99 % of the study participants were educated. About 45 % reported that they buy pre-packaged foods once weekly and about a fifth buy them every day. Taste, quality, convenience and ease of use are the main reasons for buying pre-packaged foods. Although 90 % of consumers across the age groups read food labels, the majority (81 %) looked only for the manufacturing date or expiry/best before date. Of those who read labels, only a third checked nutrition information and ingredients. Nutrient information on labels was not often read because most consumers either lacked nutrition knowledge or found the information too technical to understand. About 60 % read quality symbols. A positive association was found between education level and checking various aspects of food labels. Women and girls concerned about 'fat' and 'sugar' intake read the nutrition facts panel., Conclusions: The intention of promoting healthy food choices through use of food labels is not being completely met. Since a majority of people found it difficult to comprehend nutrition information, there is a need to take up educational activities and/or introduce new forms of labelling.

Objective: To assess knowledge and use of label information among adolescents., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescents (N = 316) from 6 schools selected randomly using cluster sampling. A pre-coded questionnaire was used to assess frequently consumed packaged foods, whether label information was read, knowledge of symbols, and usefulness of nutrition information display. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests., Results: Although 88% of adolescents read food labels, many read only date of manufacture (79%), expiration (74%) or best used before dates (65%). Fewer adolescents read ingredients (50%) and nutrition information (20%). Their knowledge about quality symbols was low. Many of them (over 60%) recognized the symbols but had no knowledge of what they indicated. About 66% believed that nutrition information on labels was too complex to understand., Conclusions and Implications: There is a need to provide education on different aspects of label information to promote label use. The effectiveness of alternative methods of nutrition information display should also be investigated., (Copyright © 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Many interrelated planetary height map and surface image map data sets exist, and more data are collected each day. Broad communities of scientists require tools to compose these data interactively and explore them via real-time visualization. While related, these data sets are often unregistered with one another, having different projection, resolution, format, and type. We present a GPU-centric approach to the real-time composition and display of unregistered-but-related planetary-scale data. This approach employs a GPGPU process to tessellate spherical height fields. It uses a render-to-vertex-buffer technique to operate upon polygonal surface meshes in image space, allowing geometry processes to be expressed in terms of image processing. With height and surface map data processing unified in this fashion, a number of powerful composition operations may be uniformly applied to both. Examples include adaptation to nonuniform sampling due to projection, seamless blending of data of disparate resolution or transformation regardless of boundary, and the smooth interpolation of levels of detail in both geometry and imagery. Issues of scalability and precision are addressed, giving out-of-core access to giga-pixel data sources, and correct rendering at scales approaching one meter.

An estimated 7% of all breast cancers and 10% of all ovarian cancers are associated with inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The mutations of a breast cancer-susceptible gene, BRCA1, confers increased risk of breast cancer in young women. Numerous studies have reported specific mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in the white population. However, there are very few studies on African-American and other ethnic minority groups. The goal of this study is to identify whether African-American patients with breast cancer carry some common mutations reported in other ethnic groups and whether they carry some novel mutations. We screened hot-region mutations on exons 2, 5, 11, 16, and 20 of BRCA1 gene in 54 African-American patients with breast cancer by NIRCA and SSCP methods. Our data revealed one novel frameshift mutation (3331 insG) and three missense sequence variants (A3537G, A3667G, and C4009T) on exon 11. Each sequence change was confirmed by automatic DNA sequencing. One rare sequence variant, A3537G, has been revealed in high frequency (3/54). Our data suggested that African-American patients with breast cancer carry some unique BRCA1 gene mutations.

The genetic basis of infertility remains unclear in a majority of infertile men. Deletion mapping studies suggest that genes on the long arm of the Y-chromosome (Yq) may be important in the spermatogenic process and may play a pathogenetic role in a subset of infertile men. Complementary DNA sequences of two Y-specific genes that contain ribonucleic acid binding motifs and, therefore, referred to as RBM genes (previously named YRRM) were published recently. To develop a PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism strategy for detection of point mutations in the RBM gene(s) in infertile men, we determined the genomic structure and flanking sequences at the intron-exon junctions. Two separate strategies were used in parallel to isolate the genomic fragment bearing the RBM gene. The first strategy employed screening of a P1 genomic library using PCR primers corresponding to the sequences in the 5'- and 3'-ends of the published RBM-1 complementary DNA sequence. The second strategy used subcloning of the YAC clone 925D10 (that contained the RBM gene described here) into cosmids. The P1 and cosmid clones were further restriction mapped and subcloned for DNA sequencing. Because the sequences contained in the P1 and cosmid clones were identical, the sequence information was pooled. A 15-kilobase genomic segment includes the entire RBM gene. The genomic structure of this RBM gene is characterized by 12 exons and 11 introns. There is considerable homology among exons VII, VIII, IX, and X; each encodes one of the SRGY boxes. Several introns also have a high degree of homology among them (introns VI, VII, VIII, and IX). Eleven of the 12 exons have complete sequence homology with the RBM-1 sequence. There is 1 base difference in exon IV at position 495 (a T in the previously published DNA sequence vs. an A in the sequence reported here). The exonic sequences of this gene are distinct from that of the RBM-2 gene. The flanking sequences at the exon-intron junctions were also determined and are reported. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis, using human testis ribonucleic acid suggests that this gene is either not expressed in the testis or, more likely, the single base difference from RBM1 represents a polymorphism in the YAC clone. A high degree of homology between intronic and exonic sequences within the same gene and between different members of the RBM gene family (data not reported in this paper) suggests origin from common ancestral sequences; this also indicates that development of a single strand conformation polymorphism approach for detection of point mutations is likely to prove difficult for some of the exons of this gene.

Genes on the long arm of Y (Yq), particularly within interval 6, are believed to play a critical role in human spermatogenesis. Cytogenetically detectable deletions of this region are associated with azoospermia in men, but are relatively uncommon. It has been hypothesized that microdeletions of Yq may account for a significant proportion of men with infertility. The objective of this study was to validate a sequence-tagged site (STS)-mapping strategy for the detection of Yq microdeletions and to use this method to determine the proportion of men with idiopathic azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia who carry microdeletions in Yq. STS mapping of a sufficiently large sample of infertile men should also help further localize the putative gene(s) involved in the pathogenesis of male infertility. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral leukocytes of 16 normal fertile men, 7 normal fertile women, 60 infertile men (50 of whom had azoospermia and 10 of whom had severe oligozoospermia with no other recognizable cause of infertility), and 15 patients with the X-linked disorder, ichthyosis. PCR primers were synthesized for 26 STSs that span Yq interval 6. None of the 16 normal men of known fertility had microdeletions. Seven normal fertile women failed to amplify any of the 26 STSs, providing evidence of their Y specificity. No microdeletions were detected in any of the 15 patients with ichthyosis. Of the 60 infertile men typed with 26 STSs, 11 (18%; 10 azoospermic and 1 oligozoospermic) failed to amplify 1 or more STS. Interestingly, 4 of the 11 patients had microdeletions in a region that is outside the Yq region from which the DAZ (deleted in azoospermia gene region) gene was cloned. In an additional 3 patients, microdeletions were present both inside and outside the DAZ region. In 3 subjects, the microdeletions were verified by Southern analysis using labeled PCR products corresponding to the deleted STSs as probes. These data suggest a high prevalence (18%) of Yq microdeletions in men with idiopathic azoospermia/severe oligospermia. The physical locations of these microdeletions provide further support for the concept that a gene(s) on Yq deletion interval 6 plays an important role in spermatogenesis. The presence of deletions that do not overlap with the DAZ region suggests that genes other than the DAZ gene may also be implicated in the pathogenesis of some subsets of male infertility.

Two new methods are presented for recovering the focused image of an object from only two blurred images recorded with different camera parameter settings. The camera parameters include lens position, focal length, and aperture diameter. First a blur parameter sigma is estimated using one of our proposed depth-from-defocus methods. Then one of the two blurred images is deconvolved to recover the focused image. The first method is based on a spatial domain convolution/deconvolution transform. This method requires only the knowledge of sigma of the camera's point spread function (PSF). It does not require information about the actual form of the camera's PSF. The second method, in contrast to the first, requires full knowledge of the form of the PSF. As part of the second method, we present a calibration procedure for estimating the camera's PSF for different values of the blur parameter sigma. In the second method, the focused image is obtained through deconvolution in the Fourier domain using a Wiener filter. For both methods, the results of experiments on actual defocused images recorded by a CCD camera are given. The first method requires much less computation than the second method. The first method gives satisfactory results for up to medium levels of blur and the second method gives good results for up to relatively high levels of blur.

Between 1980 and 1988, 23 female adolescents were hospitalized at the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center for symptomatic cholelithiasis. The known risk factors for gallstone formation in adolescents were considered. In ten of the patients (43%), none of the risk factors was present. All ten patients, however, had in common a recent history of pregnancy. This finding is consistent with the current literature on the possible mechanism of gallstone formation during pregnancy.

A closed-form expression is derived for the optical transfer function of a diffraction-limited system under polychromatic illumination. The expression is useful in a method for the accurate and efficient computation of the optical transfer function of an optical system. The expression is also useful in the theoretical analyses of the optical system. This method is illustrated with an example where the optical transfer function of the human eye is computed.

The location of the RNA start point of in vivo Q-activated late gene RNA of bacteriophage lambda has been determined to be identical to the start point of in vitro 6 S RNA. The 6 S RNA is made early in infection and is efficiently antiterminated by Q. Two RNase III cut sites are located within Q-dependent RNA sequences, 209 and 270 bp from the beginning of the late transcript, and lie on the stem of an inverted repeat which has features in common with previously described RNase III processing sites. This is the third example of RNase III cut sites immediately downstream of transcription termination points in lambda, the others being antiterminated N gene mRNA and int gene mRNA.

Strains carrying plasmids that code for 10Sa RNA synthesize a larger molecule when the RNA processing enzyme RNase E is inactivated. The T1 fingerprint of 10Sa RNA and the larger molecule is very similar, but the latter contains additional oligonucleotides. We show that the larger RNA is converted to the smaller, mature RNA. The precursor molecule starts with an adenosine triphosphate and is therefore a primary transcript. RNase E is not the enzyme that processes p10Sa (precursor 10Sa) RNA into 10Sa RNA. The cell extract contains an activity that carries out this conversion. This activity requires the dication Mn2+.

A precursor molecule for 10 Sb RNA, the RNA moiety of the RNA processing enzyme RNase P, was purified, characterized for enzymatic activity, and compared to 10 Sb RNA and to RNase P. In these studies the K RNA, a dimeric precursor of tRNAGln-tRNALeu, coded by bacteriophage T4, was used as a substrate. This precursor contains two RNase P cleavage sites, one at each 5' end of the two tRNAs. The precursor 10 Sb and 10 Sb RNAs have the capacity to cleave the precursor tRNA molecule but only at the 5' end of tRNALeu, not at the 5' end of tRNAGln. Even when a substrate was prepared that contained only one site for RNase P (the one next to tRNAGln), this substrate was not cleaved by the RNA alone while the whole enzyme was effective in processing this substrate. The possible function of the protein of RNase P in the enzymatic reaction is discussed.

S1 nuclease mapping revealed lacZ mRNA molecules whose 5' and 3' ends were internal to the transcription start and consistent with cleavages at pyrimidine-adenosine bonds 20 to 50 nucleotides apart. With the net 5'-to-3' direction known, lacZ mRNA is probably degraded by sequential cleavages of naked mRNA at vulnerable sites exposed by transit of the last translating ribosome.

The possibility that small nuclear RNA species U1 might be involved in the inhibition of protein synthesis that occurs during mitosis has been explored. Upon exposure of mitotic HeLa cell extracts to 1% sodium deoxycholate, the majority of the rapidly sedimenting U1 RNA shifted to lower sedimentation rates. This suggests that it is associated with heterogeneous nuclear RNA ribonucleoprotein particles, instead of a ribosomal population. Erythrocyte ghost-mediated microinjection of anti-(U1)RNP antibodies into synchronized HeLa cells did not prevent the suppression of protein synthesis that is observed under mitosis. Examination of the published nucleotide sequences of U1 and U2 RNA suggests that these RNA species could potentially code for some short peptides. When purified U1 or U2 RNA were added to cell-free polypeptide synthesizing systems, the synthesis of these peptides was not detected.

For 4--18 h following whole-body X-irradiation of rats, liver nuclei showed a progressive increase in the permeability to ribonucleoside triphosphates (as assessed in vitro using tritiated uridine triphosphate (UTP) and in the capacity to polymerise RNA in vitro (Mg++-containing and Mn++/(NH4)2SO4-containing assay systems).

The polycistronic lac mRNA of Escherichia coli contains three messages. The rate of degradation of the second (lacY) message was observed to be equal to that of the third (lacA), and each decayed twice as fast as did the first (lacZ). Specific 5'- and 3'-ended lacY mRNA molecules could be recovered from cells; most likely, they are generated from endonucleolytic cleavages that are a part of the degradative process. They were observed by S1 nuclease mapping, and the exact 5'- and 3'-end oligonucleotides of many of them were identified by direct sequencing. Almost all of the molecules started with a 5' adenosine that would be preceded by a pyrimidine. The specificity was further restricted by neighboring nucleotides, and analysis of the data suggested that 5'-U-U decreases-A-U- is especially vulnerable. Also, computer analyses predicted the most stable secondary structures of selected segments of the mRNA and suggested that cleavages may only occur in regions of single strandedness. A model of mRNA degradation is proposed based on these observations and earlier ones. There is no unique target on a message for the initial inactivating attack: any region free of ribosomes is vulnerable, but for statistical reasons the initial attack of most molecules is near the ribosome-loading site. With no further ribosome loading, the newly unprotected 5' ends are "chopped off" at one of the next preferred target sites almost as fast as the last ribosomes moves down the mRNA.

We have analyzed and compared the cyclosporine concentrations in whole blood specimens from heart and kidney transplant patients, using three different methods: high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), polyclonal radioimmunoassay, and monoclonal radioimmunoassay. HPLC results for heart transplant patients correlated well with the monoclonal (specific antibody) results but did not correlate with the polyclonal (nonspecific antibody) results. All three methods correlated well for renal transplant patients; however, polyclonal results were consistently higher than either monoclonal or HPLC results. We conclude that the results from the monoclonal (specific antibody) RIA are equivalent to HPLC results for both kidney and heart transplant patients.