Prevalence of hypertension among reproductive age group tribal women in Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, India

Background: Globalization brought the lifestyle & behavioural modifications and in turn increased the prevalence of life style disorders such as hypertension. According to ICMR report 2007-08, the prevalence of hypertension was varying from 17-21 % in all states with marginal rural-urban differences. At the same time, tribal communities were little affected with globalization & had low socio economic development when compared to other areas. Based on this back ground the present study was conducted with an aim to estimate the prevalence of hypertension in reproductive age group tribal women. The current study was conducted in ITDA Paderu division of Visakhapatnam district, India.Methods: It was a cross sectional observational study conducted among 214 randomly selected consented tribal women. A structured questionnaire was applied and blood pressures were measured with standardized electronic blood pressure apparatus. Joint national committee-7 classification was used to estimate the prevalence of hypertension. Data was analyzed with SPSS-21 trial version and Chi-square & correlation tests were used to test significance of results.Results: Among the study women, 40.6% belonged to prime tribe groups (PTG) & 36% of women had debts. Two fifths (40.7%) of tribal women were normotensive & another two fifths (42.1%) were in pre-hypertensive stage. Stage-1 hypertension was observed in 16.3% of study women. Non- PTGs & women with debts had significantly high prevalence of hypertension when compared to other groups.Conclusions: Prevalence of HTN was more in tribal women when compared to national prevalence indicating the need of screening of blood pressures in tribal communities.

Prevalence of pregnancy induced thyroid disorders, diabetes and hypertension in a tertiary care teaching hospital: an observational study

Background: Pregnancy induced thyroid disorders, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and gestational hypertension are common problems in women with gestational period. Published literate shows wide range of prevalence in pregnancy induced disorders in other states of India, and as of now the exact prevalence in our study population is not studied. Hence, there present study was aimed to know the prevalence of pregnancy induced disorders in pregnant women in South Indian population.Methods: A total of 120 subjects were followed-up at the time of recruitment to entire gestational period. Standard guidelines were followed for the assessment of thyroid hormone levels, glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and blood pressure values at different intervals and positions. Apart from detailed clinical history has been taken and routine basic and obstetrical investigations were done.Results: Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction (15.0%), gestational diabetes mellitus (11.7%) and gestational hypertension (9.2%) was reported in the present study population. Subclinical hypothyroidism was highest prevalence amount thyroid disorders. Gestational diabetes subjects have mean blood glucose levels of 230.68±17.48 mg/dL with OGTT test. Gestational hypertensive patients had SBP of 152.4±10.8 and DBP of 96.6±6.4; pre-hypertensive subjects had SBP of 134.2±5.48 and DBP of 6.8±4.6 respectively.Conclusions: Our study findings were slightly higher than normal prevalence’s which are reported earlier by various authors. We suggested that early screening, diagnosis and treatment are warranted for the prevention of maternal and fetal complications in Indian population.

Xenorhodopsins, an enigmatic new class of microbial rhodopsins horizontally transferred between archaea and bacteria

Based on unique, coherent properties of phylogenetic analysis, key amino acid substitutions and structural modeling, we have identified a new class of unusual microbial rhodopsins related to the Anabaena sensory rhodopsin (ASR) protein, including multiple homologs not previously recognized. We propose the name xenorhodopsin for this class, reflecting a taxonomically diverse membership spanning five different Bacterial phyla as well as the Euryarchaeotal class Nanohaloarchaea. The patchy phylogenetic distribution of xenorhodopsin homologs is consistent with historical dissemination through horizontal gene transfer. Shared characteristics of xenorhodopsin-containing microbes include the absence of flagellar motility and isolation from high light habitats

Impact of medication and psychological behaviour assessment by community pharmacists in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients after hospital stay

Drug related problem (DRPs) is a key factor which will affect the outcome of therapy and safety. The aim of the present study is to assess the DRPs in T2DM patients and psychological aspects of patients by community pharmacists to observe the rate of DRP. Prospective randomized controlled intervention study involved T2DM patients and conducted in two community pharmacies at Kanpur from January 2012 to December 2012. The assessment of DRPs was based on the PCNE. Changes in HBA1C, LDL, BP, foot examinations, changes medical and medication utilization were studied. Using as control group, received usual care, and interventional group provided, intervened with use of the STG. Researcher provided the knowledge to community pharmacists and patients. Baseline and interventional data were collected at 0,3,6,9 and 12 months. Over 12 month study, participants’ average HBA1C reduced from 8.9% at initial visit to 7.5%. During this time, the eye examination rate was raised from 31% to 48%, and the foot examination rate was raised from 35% to 50%. It may be concluded that the intervention of pharmacists showed very less significant influence on any of the intermediate health outcomes in T2DM.Keywords: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Drug related problems , PCNE classification, Medication review, Psychological behavior

From community approaches to single-cell genomics: the discovery of ubiquitous hyperhalophilic Bacteroidetes generalists

The microbiota of multi-pond solar salterns around the world has been analyzed using a variety of culture-dependent and molecular techniques. However, studies addressing the dynamic nature of these systems are very scarce. Here we have characterized the temporal variation during 1 year of the microbiota of five ponds with increasing salinity (from 18% to >40%), by means of CARD-FISH and DGGE. Microbial community structure was statistically correlated with several environmental parameters, including ionic composition and meteorological factors, indicating that the microbial community was dynamic as specific phylotypes appeared only at certain times of the year. In addition to total salinity, microbial composition was strongly influenced by temperature and specific ionic composition. Remarkably, DGGE analyses unveiled the presence of most phylotypes previously detected in hypersaline systems using metagenomics and other molecular techniques, such as the very abundant Haloquadratum and Salinibacter representatives or the recently described low GC Actinobacteria and Nanohaloarchaeota. In addition, an uncultured group of Bacteroidetes was present along the whole range of salinity. Database searches indicated a previously unrecognized widespread distribution of this phylotype. Single-cell genome analysis of five members of this group suggested a set of metabolic characteristics that could provide competitive advantages in hypersaline environments, such as polymer degradation capabilities, the presence of retinal-binding light-activated proton pumps and arsenate reduction potential. In addition, the fairly high metagenomic fragment recruitment obtained for these single cells in both the intermediate and hypersaline ponds further confirm the DGGE data and point to the generalist lifestyle of this new Bacteroidetes group.This work was supported by the projects CGL2012-39627-C03-01 and 02 of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, which were also co-financed with FEDER support from the European Union. TG group research is funded in part by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BIO2012-37161), a grant from the Qatar National Research Fund grant (NPRP 5-298-3-086) and a grant from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC (grant agreement no. ERC-2012-StG-310325)

Bioinformatics for the human microbiome project

Microbes inhabit virtually all sites of the human body, yet we know very little about the role they play in our health. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in studying human-associated microbial communities, particularly since microbial dysbioses have now been implicated in a number of human diseases [1]–[3]. Dysbiosis, the disruption of the normal microbial community structure, however, is impossible to define without first establishing what “normal microbial community structure” means within the healthy human microbiome. Recent advances in sequencing technologies have made it feasible to perform large-scale studies of microbial communities, providing the tools necessary to begin to address this question [4], [5]. This led to the implementation of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) in 2007, an initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Biomedical Research and constructed as a large, genome-scale community research project [6]. Any such project must plan for data analysis, computational methods development, and the public availability of tools and data; here, we provide an overview of the corresponding bioinformatics organization, history, and results from the HMP (Figure 1).National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH U54HG004969)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant R01HG004885)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant R01HG005975)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant R01HG005969

Microbial redox processes in deep subsurface environments and the potential application of (per)chlorate in oil reservoirs

The ability of microorganisms to thrive under oxygen-free conditions in subsurface environments relies on the enzymatic reduction of oxidized elements, such as sulfate, ferric iron, or CO2, coupled to the oxidation of inorganic or organic compounds. A broad phylogenetic and functional diversity of microorganisms from subsurface environments has been described using isolation-based and advanced molecular ecological techniques. The physiological groups reviewed here comprise iron-, manganese-, and nitrate-reducing microorganisms. In the context of recent findings also the potential of chlorate and perchlorate [jointly termed (per)chlorate] reduction in oil reservoirs will be discussed. Special attention is given to elevated temperatures that are predominant in the deep subsurface. Microbial reduction of (per)chlorate is a thermodynamically favorable redox process, also at high temperature. However, knowledge about (per)chlorate reduction at elevated temperatures is still scarce and restricted to members of the Firmicutes and the archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus. By analyzing the diversity and phylogenetic distribution of functional genes in (meta)genome databases and combining this knowledge with extrapolations to earlier-made physiological observations we speculate on the potential of (per)chlorate reduction in the subsurface and more precisely oil fields. In addition, the application of (per)chlorate for bioremediation, souring control, and microbial enhanced oil recovery are addressed.This research was funded by Shell Global Solutions International BV. Research of Alfons J. M. Stams is funded by ERC (project 323009) and Gravitation grant (project 024.002.002) of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Netherlands Science Foundation

Complete genome sequence of Desulfurispirillum indicum strain S5T

Desulfurispirillum indicum strain S5T is a strictly anaerobic bacterium isolated from river sediment in Chennai, India. D. indicum belongs to the deep branching phylum of Chrysiogenetes, which currently only includes three other cultured species. Strain S5T is the type strain of the species and it is capable of growth using selenate, selenite, arsenate, nitrate or nitrite as terminal electron acceptors. The 2,928,377 bp genome encodes 2,619 proteins and 49 RNA genes, and the information gained from its sequence will be relevant to the elucidation of microbially-mediated transformations of arsenic and selenium, in addition to deepening our knowledge of the underrepresented phylum of Chrysiogenetes

Desulfurispira natronophila gen. nov. sp. nov.: an obligately anaerobic dissimilatory sulfur-reducing bacterium from soda lakes

Anaerobic enrichment cultures with elemental sulfur as electron acceptor and either acetate or propionate as electron donor and carbon source at pH 10 and moderate salinity inoculated with sediments from soda lakes in Kulunda Steppe (Altai, Russia) resulted in the isolation of two novel members of the bacterial phylum Chrysiogenetes. The isolates, AHT11 and AHT19, represent the first specialized obligate anaerobic dissimilatory sulfur respirers from soda lakes. They use either elemental sulfur/polysulfide or arsenate as electron acceptor and a few simple organic compounds as electron donor and carbon source. Elemental sulfur is reduced to sulfide through intermediate polysulfide, while arsenate is reduced to arsenite. The bacteria belong to the obligate haloalkaliphiles, with a pH growth optimum from 10 to 10.2 and a salt range from 0.2 to 3.0 M Na+ (optimum 0.4–0.6 M). According to the phylogenetic analysis, the two strains were close to each other, but distinct from the nearest relative, the haloalkaliphilic sulfur-reducing bacterium Desulfurispirillum alkaliphilum, which was isolated from a bioreactor. On the basis of distinct phenotype and phylogeny, the soda lake isolates are proposed as a new genus and species, Desulfurispira natronophila (type strain AHT11T = DSM22071T = UNIQEM U758T)