Climate forcing and desert malaria: the effect of irrigation.

Background: Rainfall variability and associated remote sensing indices for vegetation are central to the development of early warning systems for epidemic malaria in arid regions. The considerable change in land-use practices resulting from increasing irrigation in recent decades raises important questions on concomitant change in malaria dynamics and its coupling to climate forcing. Here, the consequences of irrigation level for malaria epidemics are addressed with extensive time series data for confirmed Plasmodium falciparum monthly cases, spanning over two decades for five districts in north-west India.

Biomimetic peptide bond formation in water with aminoacyl phosphate esters.

Aminoacyl phosphates, biomimetic analogues of aminoacyl adenylates, react efficiently with amino acid esters to form dipeptides with retention of stereochemical integrity. The reactions are selective and occur readily in the presence of nucleophiles other than amino groups on their side chains. Aminoacyl phosphate esters that lack an amino-protecting group are also suitable for peptide bond formation, leading to a simplified overall process.

Prediction of sustained virological response to combination therapy with pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin in patients with genotype 3 chronic hepatitis C.

Background: Sustained virological response (SVR) rates in patients with hepatitis C are heterogeneous and are influenced by a wide range of host and viral factors.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of combination therapy with pegylated interferon alfa (PEG-IFN-α) and ribavirin (RBV), and document the SVR rates taking into consideration various predictive factors in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) genotype 3.

Methods: Ninety-seven treatment-naive patients with CHC genotype 3 (mean age 41.

Association between Celiac Disease and Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection.

Celiac disease affects the proximal small intestine and is caused by a local immune response to dietary gluten. Celiac disease usually presents with chronic diarrhea; however, presentations with elevated hepatic transaminase levels in blood or with iron-deficiency anemia have been described. Celiac disease has been reported to be associated with autoimmune liver diseases.

Situation analysis of malaria in Godda district of Jharkhand during malaria epidemic.

The epidemiological and entomological investigations were carried out in 18 tribal villages of Godda district of Jharkhand state revealed average slide positivity rate (SPR) 9.9% and slide positivity rate for Plasmodium falciparum (SfR) 5.0%, respectively.

Hepatic osteodystrophy is common in patients with noncholestatic liver disease.

Background: Patients with cirrhosis are more prone to develop metabolic bone disease. Scanty literature data are available on osteodystrophy in patients from India with noncholestatic liver diseases.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with cirrhosis were prospectively evaluated for bone mineral density (BMD) as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the femoral neck, lumbar spine, and left forearm (distal radius).

Comparison of 7 staging systems in north Indian cohort of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aim: Many liver staging systems have been proposed for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however it is still controversial which staging system is best. The aim of this study was to compare the ability of 7 different staging systems in predicting survival in an Indian cohort of patients with HCC.

Methods: In this prospective study, 101 HCC patients were diagnosed and stratified according to 7 different staging systems; along with analysis of independent predictors of survival and their correlation with it (Kaplan-Meier analysis).

Hepatitis C virus infection among patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in northern India.

Background And Aim: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been postulated to be an etiological agent for lymphoid malignancies. Whereas a high prevalence of HCV infection in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients has been shown to exist in many geographical areas of high HCV prevalence, studies from other parts have not established any form of association. In India, there is a scarcity of data to show either a positive or a negative association between NHL and HCV infection.

Programmed death 1 and cytokine inducible SH2-containing protein dependent expansion of regulatory T cells upon stimulation With Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

We previously found that CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) expand in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in individuals who are healthy tuberculin reactors, but not in tuberculin-negative individuals. We also found that the M. tuberculosis mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan and prostaglandin E2 produced by monocytes are involved in Treg expansion.

Extra hepatic portal vein obstruction and pregnancy outcome: largest reported experience.

Aim: Evaluate pregnancy outcome in women with extra hepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO).

Material & Methods: A total of 26 pregnancies in 14 women with EHPVO were evaluated for maternal and perinatal outcomes in a tertiary centre of Northern India. Fourteen pregnancies were evaluated prospectively while the details of 12 previous pregnancies in the same women were studied retrospectively.

Impacts of climate change on public health in India: future research directions.

Background: Climate change and associated increases in climate variability will likely further exacerbate global health disparities. More research is needed, particularly in developing countries, to accurately predict the anticipated impacts and inform effective interventions.

Objectives: Building on the information presented at the 2009 Joint Indo-U.

c-Maf-dependent growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a CD14(hi) subpopulation of monocyte-derived macrophages.

Macrophages are a major component of the innate immune response, comprising the first line of defense against various intracellular pathogens, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this report, we studied the factors that regulate growth of M. tuberculosis H37Rv in subpopulations of human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs).

Clinical utility of prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence in the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in Indian population.

Background: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a well known widely used biomarker for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, it suffers from a low sensitivity and specificity. Protein or prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II) is another tumor marker elevated in HCC but not extensively used.

Aim: Evaluation of PIVKA-II and AFP in diagnosing HCC in India.

DosS responds to a reduced electron transport system to induce the Mycobacterium tuberculosis DosR regulon.

The DosR regulon in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is involved in respiration-limiting conditions, its induction is controlled by two histidine kinases, DosS and DosT, and recent experimental evidence indicates DosS senses either molecular oxygen or a redox change. Under aerobic conditions, induction of the DosR regulon by DosS, but not DosT, was observed after the addition of ascorbate, a powerful cytochrome c reductant, demonstrating that DosS responds to a redox signal even in the presence of high oxygen tension. During hypoxic conditions, regulon induction was attenuated by treatment with compounds that occluded electron flow into the menaquinone pool or decreased the size of the menaquinone pool itself.

Forcing versus feedback: epidemic malaria and monsoon rains in northwest India.

Malaria epidemics in regions with seasonal windows of transmission can vary greatly in size from year to year. A central question has been whether these interannual cycles are driven by climate, are instead generated by the intrinsic dynamics of the disease, or result from the resonance of these two mechanisms. This corresponds to the more general inverse problem of identifying the respective roles of external forcings vs.

Non-hepatic insults are common acute precipitants in patients with acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF).

Introduction: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a newly coined term to describe simultaneous coexistence of two liver conditions, one of them being chronic or long-standing and the other acute or recent. There is limited data on the entity of ACLF. This study was performed to review our experience in ACLF patients from a tertiary care centre.

Role of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and delayed gastrointestinal transit time in cirrhotic patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

Background & Aims: Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is the mildest form in the spectrum of hepatic encephalopathy. This cross-sectional study was carried out to elucidate the role of bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine and delayed intestinal transit among patients with MHE.

Methods: Two-hundred-thirty patients with cirrhosis were screened; 102 patients (44.

Minimal hepatic encephalopathy: consensus statement of a working party of the Indian National Association for Study of the Liver.

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a major complication that develops in some form and at some stage in a majority of patients with liver cirrhosis. Overt HE occurs in approximately 30-45% of cirrhotic patients. Minimal HE (MHE), the mildest form of HE, is characterized by subtle motor and cognitive deficits and impairs health-related quality of life.