Progressive hair loss and myocardial degeneration in rough coat mice: reduced lysyl oxidase-like (LOXL) in the skin and heart

The rough coat (rc) is a spontaneous recessive mutation in mice. To identify the mutated gene, we have characterized the rc phenotype and initiated linkage mapping. The rc mice show growth retardation, cyclic and progressive hair loss, hyperplastic epidermis, abnormal hair follicles, cardiac muscle degeneration, and reduced amount of collagen and elastin in the skin and heart. The rc locus was mapped at 32.0 cM on chromosome 9, close to the loxl gene. Lysyl oxidase-like (LOXL) protein is a novel copper-containing amine oxidase that is required for the cross-linking of elastin and collagen in vitro. LOXL is expressed at high levels in the skin and heart, where the rc mice show strong phenotype. The expression pattern and the genetic proximity to rc suggested loxl as a potential candidate gene. In rc mice, the loxl mRNA was reduced in the skin and the LOXL protein in the heart, dermis, atrophic hair follicles, and sebaceous glands. No mutations, however, were identified within the coding region of loxl, and offspring from rc/rc and loxl null mice crossing were phenotypically normal. Based on these results, loxl appears non-allelic to rc. Heart- and skin-specific downregulation of LOXL in rc mice, however, may contribute to the extracellular matrix alterations and the rc phenotype.     

Eating Down in Pregnancy: Exploring Food-Related Beliefs and Practices of Pregnancy in Rural Nepal

Adequate nutrition during pregnancy, vital for the health of the mother and the newborn, may be influenced by pregnancy-related food beliefs. This study explores food-related beliefs and practices specifically related to reducing food intake in pregnancy in a rural community in Nepal by combining ethnographic and quantitative data collected from pregnant Nepali women.

A large proportion (60%) of women reported reducing rice intake during pregnancy but the reduction was related to food aversions and being unwell (66%), rather than the desire to have smaller babies or other cultural beliefs (18%). Only 10–20% reported reducing intakes of other nutrient-rich foods during pregnancy. Such foods were generally consumed in inadequate amounts due to seasonal variation or because of their high cost. In a multivariate analysis, maternal characteristics that were associated with decreasing food intake during pregnancy included literacy, poor appetite, socio-economic status, and presence of night blindness, caused by vitamin A deficiency.

We conclude that eating down to prevent difficult deliveries may not be very common in rural Nepal but women may reduce food intake for reasons of aversion to food, lack of appetite, or feeling unwell. A decline in the consumption of foods rich in protein and micronutrients was not evident; such foods appear to be chronically low in the diets of poor women in this setting.     

Preterm delivery but not intrauterine growth retardation is associated with young maternal age among primiparae in rural Nepal

Pregnancy during adolescence is associated with adverse birth outcomes, including preterm delivery and low birthweight. The nutrient availability to the fetus may be limited if the mother is still growing. This research aims to study the effects of pregnancy during adolescence in a nutritionally poor environment in rural Nepal. This study utilized data from a randomized controlled trial of micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy in south-eastern Nepal. Women of parity 0 or 1 and of age 相似文献   

A 22-mer primer enhances discriminatory power of AP-PCR fingerprinting technique in characterization of leptospires

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the discriminatory power and usefulness of arbitrarily primed-polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) characterization of leptospires with M16 primer. METHODS: AP-PCR fingerprints of 20 reference strains of Leptospira representing 20 different serovars belonging to seven genospecies (Leptospira interrogans, 11; L. noguchii, 2; L. borgpetersenii, 1; L. santarosai, 2; L. biflexa, 2; L. kirschneri, 1; L. weilii, 1) were generated by employing M16 primer. Fingerprints generated with this primer were compared with those generated with two other commonly used primers PB1, and L10. An attempt was also made to type 20 leptospiral isolates with the M16 primer. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Fingerprints with M16 primer could not only differentiate between strains of different genospecies, but also between strains of the same genospecies belonging to different serovars. While two commonly used primers (PB1 and L10) failed to discriminate between some of the different serovars belonging to the same genospecies, this primer was able to generate discriminatory fingerprints for all strains tested. All 20 Leptospira isolates, recovered from patients in Andaman Islands, could also be typed by fingerprints generated with the M16 primer. The discriminatory power of M16 primer adds more specificity to the rapidity of this system of characterization and can be used as an excellent tool in epidemiological studies on Leptospira.     

The post-partum mid-upper arm circumference of adolescents is reduced by pregnancy in rural Nepal

The purpose of this study was to examine whether changes in the mid‐upper arm circumference (MUAC) in pregnancy and early post‐partum varied by maternal age. The MUAC of 3359 nulliparous pregnant women ≤25 years of age in rural Nepal was measured in early pregnancy and at 3 months post‐delivery of a live‐born infant. Regression was used to model the change in MUAC and prevalence of MUAC < 20 cm by maternal age, adjusted for confounders. A total of 5.2% of the pregnant women were under 16 years of age. The prevalence of MUAC measurements <20 cm was 11.3% in early pregnancy and did not differ by maternal age. The prevalence of low MUAC was 17.7% at post‐partum, but those <16 years of age had a significantly higher prevalence of low post‐partum MUAC [odds ratio: 2.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.49, 4.10] compared with women 20–25 years of age, adjusted for maternal literacy, caste, meat consumption in early pregnancy and timing of measurements. All women reduced their MUAC from early pregnancy through post‐partum. The adjusted loss of the MUAC among those under 16 years of age was 0.97 cm (95% CI: ?1.33, ?0.60), compared with 0.40 cm (95% CI: ?0.70, ?0.10) among women 20–25 years of age. In an energy‐restricted environment, girls under 16 years contributed to a half centimetre more loss of MUAC than older women of the same parity. Such a loss of fat, muscle or both may put younger women and their breastfed offspring at greater risk of other adverse health and nutritional outcomes.     

Nasopharyngeal carriage of S. pneumoniae among young children in rural Nepal

Objectives  To provide epidemiologic data on Streptococcus pneumoniae ( Spn ) carriage in Nepal.
Methods  Prospective, population-based study among children in Sarlahi, Nepal to estimate carriage prevalence, identify risk factors, and determine antibiotic susceptibility patterns and serotype distribution. Between December 2003 and July 2004, NP specimens were collected from 604 children aged 1–36 months with acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) and 604 healthy, age- and season-matched controls.
Results  Of the 1100 specimens analysed, carriage prevalence was approximately 80% in both groups. In the multivariate analyses, significant risk factors for Spn carriage in controls were Muslim religion [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.93] and no latrine in the household (AOR: 2.41). Those treated for a recent illness had lower carriage rates (AOR: 0.37). Results were similar for ALRI cases with the addition of age ≥12 months (AOR: 1.68), and symptomatic infection (AOR: 3.78) as risk factors. The antibiotics and proportions of isolates resistant to them were as follows: penicillin 4.5%, cotrimoxazole 89.2%, chloramphenicol 1.4%, erythromycin 1.5% and tetracycline 22.7%. The most prevalent serogroups/types were 6, 19, 23, 15, 9 and 10.
Conclusions  Young children in rural Nepal experience high rates of Spn carriage. Most isolates were resistant to cotrimoxazole. Current conjugate Spn vaccines may substantially reduce the risk of a severe pneumonia and other Spn infections.     

JunD accentuates arecoline-induced disruption of tight junctions and promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by association with NEAT1 lncRNA

Head and neck cancers are highly prevalent in south-east Asia, primarily due to betel nut chewing. Arecoline, the primary alkaloid is highly carcinogenic; however its role in promoting tumorigenesis by disrupting junctional complexes and increasing risk of metastasis is not well delineated. Subsequently, the effects of low and high concentrations of arecoline on the stability of tight junctions and EMT induction were studied. A microarray analysis confirmed involvement of a MAPK component, JunD, in regulating tight junction-associated genes, specifically ZO-1. Results established that although arecoline-induced phosphorylation of JunD downregulated expression of ZO-1, JunD itself was modulated by the lncRNA-NEAT1 in presence of arecoline. Increased NEAT1 in tissues of HNSCC patients significantly correlated with poor disease prognosis. Here we show that NEAT1-JunD complex interacted with ZO-1 promoter in the nuclear compartment, downregulated expression of ZO-1 and destabilized tight junction assembly. Consequently, silencing NEAT1 in arecoline-exposed cells not only downregulated the expression of JunD and stabilized expression of ZO-1, but also reduced expression of the EMT markers, Slug and Snail, indicating its direct regulatory role in arecoline-mediated TJ disruption and disease progression.     

Inconsistent effects of iron-folic acid and/or zinc supplementation on the cognitive development of infants

Despite concerns over the neurocognitive effects of micronutrient deficiencies in infancy, few studies have examined the effects of micronutrient supplementation on specific cognitive indicators. This study investigated, in 2002, the effects of iron-folic acid and/or zinc supplementation on the results of Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (FTII) and the A-not-B Task of executive functioning among 367 Nepali infants living in Sarlahi district. Infants were enrolled in a cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of daily supplementation with 5 mg of zinc, 6.25 mg of iron with 25 microg of folic acid, or zinc-iron-folic acid, or placebo. These were tested on both the tasks using five indicators of information processing: preference for novelty (FTII), fixation duration (FTII), accelerated performance (> or = 85% correct; A-not-B), deteriorated performance (< 75% correct and > 1 error on repeat-following-correct trails; A-not-B), and the A-not-B error (A-not-B). At 39 and 52 weeks, 247 and 333 infants respectively attempted the cognitive tests; 213 made an attempt to solve both the tests. The likelihood of females completing the A-not-B Task was lower compared to males when cluster randomization was controlled [odds ratio = 0.67; 95% confidence interval 0.46-0.97; p < 0.05]. All of the five cognitive outcomes were modelled in linear and logistic regression. The results were not consistent across either the testing sessions or the information-processing indicators. Neither the combined nor the individual micronutrient supplements improved the performance on the FTII or the A-not-B Task (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that broader interventions (both in terms of scope and duration) are needed for infants who face many biological and social stressors.     

An amalgam of pathogenic and beneficial endophytic fungi colonizing four Dendrobium species from Meghalaya,India

Endophytic fungi are known to play an important role in driving the evolution of plants by conferring adaptational advantages to their host through the production of secondary metabolites and phytohormones. In this study, we evaluated the diversity and phylogenetic relationship of endophytic fungal communities from four Dendrobium species viz., Dendrobium chrysanthum, Dendrobium heterocarpum, Dendrobium hookerianum, and Dendrobium longicornu of Meghalaya, India. A total of 51 culturable endophytic fungi were isolated from the four selected orchid species. The isolates were identified based on nuclear large subunit sequences into 33 species. Approximately 91% of the isolates showed affinity to Ascomycetes, while 9% of the isolates showed BLAST search similarity to Basidiomycetes. The most common genera were Trichoderma and Xylaria. The most prevalent genera were Fusarium, which was detected in all the four Dendrobium species followed by Diaporthe, which was present in three Dendrobium species viz., D. chrysanthum, D. hookerianum, and D. heterocarpum. The Shannon index value of endophytic fungal communities was the highest in D. chrysanthum (2.66), while D. longicornu (1) had the highest Evenness index. The present study revealed that endophytic fungi in these orchids are an amalgam of pathogenic and beneficial fungi, which have, at the least, switched their lifestyle to asymptomatic endophyte in their host. To our knowledge, this is the first such report on the diversity of endophytic fungi in the four selected Dendrobium species from Meghalaya, India.