Mapping the triple burden of smoking, smokeless tobacco and alcohol consumption among adults in 28,521 communities across 640 districts of India: A sex-stratified multilevel cross-sectional study.

National estimates on tobacco and alcohol consumption are insufficient to guide policy at the sub-national level. This study assessed the sex-stratified prevalence of different types of smoking and smokeless tobacco and alcohol consumption among adults aged 15-49 using the National Family Health Survey (2015-16) at sub-national administrative units. Three-level logistic regression models were applied to quantify the variation at district- and community-level in smoking and consumption of smokeless tobacco and alcohol.

Smokeless Tobacco Initiation, Use, and Cessation in South Asia: A Qualitative Assessment.

Introduction: Smokeless tobacco (ST) is a significant South Asian public health problem. This paper reports a qualitative study of a sample of South Asian ST users.

Methods: Interviews, using a piloted topic guide, with 33 consenting, urban dwelling adult ST users explored their ST initiation, continued use, and cessation attempts.

Incidence of cancers of unknown primary origin in India and their trends during 1986-2014: A joinpoint regression analysis.

Background: Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) origin is cancer in which malignant cancer cells are in the body but the site of cancer where it began is unknown. Detailed incidence and time trends of these cancers, specific to various regions in India is needed. This paper aims to summarize and report the incidence of other and unknown (O&U) cancers across India in 27 population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) and to study the trends among these cancers using joinpoint regression analysis.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with substance use in children: A questionnaire-based survey in two cities of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Background: There is a sharp increase of substance use, particularly tobacco and alcohol, among schoolchildren.

Aims: A study was undertaken to assess the prevalence, age of initiation, and determinants for the uptake of tobacco and alcohol habits among ever-user students.

Settings And Design: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among school students.

SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in India, August-September, 2020: findings from the second nationwide household serosurvey.

Background: The first national severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serosurvey in India, done in May-June, 2020, among adults aged 18 years or older from 21 states, found a SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody seroprevalence of 0·73% (95% CI 0·34-1·13). We aimed to assess the more recent nationwide seroprevalence in the general population in India.

Methods: We did a second household serosurvey among individuals aged 10 years or older in the same 700 villages or wards within 70 districts in India that were included in the first serosurvey.

Cancer immunotherapy: a promising dawn in cancer research.

Cancer is a highly proliferative disease, which is caused due to the loss of regulation of cell cycle and apoptosis, DNA damage, faulty repair system etc. The cancer microenvironment plays a pivotal role in disease progression as they contain different types of innate and adaptive immune cells. The most important molecules that establish a correlation between inflammation, innate immunity, adaptive immunity, and cancer are the molecules released by inflammatory cells in cancer microenvironment.

Functional impact of allelic variations/haplotypes of TNF-α on reproductive tract infections in Indian women.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the functional role of TNF-α single-nucleotide polymorphisms/haplotypes in an association with reproductive tract infections (RTIs) in symptomatic and asymptomatic women. A total of 850 consecutive subjects consisting of 400 cases and 450 healthy controls, were screened for RTIs, along with their risk factors and associated symptoms. The propensity score matching was performed to reduce the confounding bias arise owing to covariates and to balance the data between two groups.

Pediatric fine-needle aspiration cytology: An audit of 266 cases of pediatric tumors with cytologic-histologic correlation.

Objectives: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), a well-accepted minimally invasive diagnostic technique utilized in adults, is gradually gaining ground for pediatric patients as well. However, there are very few comprehensive reports in the literature on utility of FNA in pre-operative diagnosis of pediatric tumors.

Material And Methods: An observational study was conducted at a cancer research center and a pediatric tertiary care hospital over a 5-year period.

Tobacco use as a well-recognized cause of severe COVID-19 manifestations.

Introduction: The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection is caused by the novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) primarily affecting the lungs. All tobacco-related illnesses including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and coronary artery disease are known to reduce the lung capacity and impair the immune system of the body and can greatly influence the ability to fight the novel coronavirus. The purpose of this state-of-the-art literature review is to summarize the evidence of the association of tobacco use with the severity of the COVID-19 manifestations.

A systematic review with in silico analysis on transcriptomic profile of gallbladder carcinoma.

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is an aggressive malignancy of the biliary tract. It is asymptomatic in its early stages, and often, characterized by a poor prognosis and worse treatment response. Distribution of GBC shows both geographical as well as ethnic variations.

HPV oral-tongue cancer stem cells: A potential target for relapse-free therapy.

The tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is a highly prevalent head and neck cancer often associated with tobacco and/or alcohol abuse or high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection. HPV positive TSCCs present a unique mechanism of tumorigenesis as compared to tobacco and alcohol-induced TSCCs and show a better prognosis when treated. The poor prognosis and/or recurrence of TSCC is due to presence of a small subpopulation of tumor-initiating tongue cancer stem cells (TCSCs) that are intrinsically resistant to conventional chemoradio-therapies enabling cancer to relapse.

Structural and conformational changes induced by missense variants in the zinc finger domains of GATA3 involved in breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) is the main cancer in women having multiple receptor based tumour subtypes. Large scale genome sequencing studies of BC have identified several genes among which GATA3 is reported as a highly mutated gene followed by TP53 and PIK3CA. GATA3 is a crucial transcription factor, and was initially identified as a DNA-binding protein involved in the regulation of immune cell functions.

Capacity building of primary care physicians of the tea garden hospitals in Dibrugarh, Assam: A demonstration project.

Background: The three most commonly occurring cancers in India are those of the breast, uterine cervix, and lip or oral cavity, together accounting for approximately 34% of all cancers. All the three cancers are amenable to prevention, early detection, and treatment through which the morbidity and mortality due to these cancers can be reduced. This pilot study was conducted to assess the operational feasibility of the national cancer screening guidelines.

TMLRpred: A machine learning classification model to distinguish reversible EGFR double mutant inhibitors.

The EGFR is a clinically important therapeutic drug target in lung cancer. The first-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors used in clinics are effective against L858R-mutated EGFR. However, relapse of the disease due to the presence of resistant mutation (T790M) makes these inhibitors ineffective.

Rising burden of overweight and obesity among Indian adults: empirical insights for public health preparedness.

With simultaneous efforts to address a huge burden of malnutrition, especially among children and younger women, India also encounters a mushrooming prevalence of overweight and obesity among the adult population. This study analysed data from two consecutive rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in 2005-06 and 2015-16, to present the burden of overweight and obesity among adult men and women in India. The findings highlight a rising burden of overweight and obesity, although the level and the extent of change over the study period varied across states.

Synthesis of metronidazole based thiazolidinone analogs as promising antiamoebic agents.

Metronidazole and its derivatives are widely used for the treatment of amoebiasis. However, metronidazole is considered as the standard drug but it has many side effects. The present study describes the synthesis of a series of metronidazole based thiazolidinone analogs via Knoevenagel condensation of 4-[2-(2-methyl-5-nitro-1H-imidazole-1-yl)ethoxy]benzaldehyde 1 with various thiazolidinone derivatives 2-14 to get the new scaffold (15-27) having better activity and lesser toxicity.

Phyto-Mediated Synthesis of Porous Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles From Root Extract: Broad-Spectrum Attenuation of Biofilm and Cytotoxic Properties Against HepG2 Cell Lines.

There is grave necessity to counter the menace of drug-resistant biofilms of pathogens using nanomaterials. Moreover, we need to produce nanoparticles (NPs) using inexpensive clean biological approaches that demonstrate broad-spectrum inhibition of microbial biofilms and cytotoxicity against HepG2 cell lines. In the current research work, titanium dioxide (TiO) NPs were fabricated through an environmentally friendly green process using the root extract of as the stabilizing and reducing agent to examine its antibiofilm and anticancer potential.

Codetection of pulmonary tuberculosis and toxoplasmosis in a pediatric bronchoalveolar lavage specimen: A cytologist's assistance to clinical management.

Background: Toxoplasmosis causes serious and sometimes life-threatening disease in immunocompromised patients like organ transplant recipients, immunodeficiency disorders or HIV-infected individuals. The co-occurrence of toxoplasmosis in a respiratory sample harboring tuberculosis (TB) may be missed especially in an area endemic for the latter infection.

Case Report: A 10-year-old child presented with complaints of fever with loss of appetite and weight.

Perspectives of Healthcare Providers and the General Population on a Cancer Awareness Portal: a Qualitative Study.

This study was aimed at a qualitative assessment of a cancer informational website, "India Against Cancer," developed by the ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research with the dual purpose of promoting cancer awareness among the general population and providing comprehensive information to healthcare providers. We used the narrative qualitative approach (data collection using in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focused group discussions (FGDs)) and content analysis. Purposive sampling was undertaken for both IDIs and FGDs.

White paper on smokeless tobacco & women's health in India.

Smokeless tobacco (SLT) use is widespread across many nations and populations, and India shares more than three-quarters of the global burden of SLT consumption. Tobacco use in India has been largely viewed as a male-dominant behaviour. However, evidence from medical, social and behavioural sciences show significant SLT use among women and young girls.

Economic evaluation of human papillomavirus vaccination in the Global South: a systematic review.

Objectives: Many reviews have been conducted on the economic evaluation of the HPV vaccine in global north countries. But there is a dearth of such reviews in the Global South countries. Hence, this systematic review aims to summarize studies done in these countries.