360 research outputs found
Coherent States in Double Quantum Well Systems
No full textCopyright (C) 2011 Yogesh Joglekar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Physic
Efficacy of a virtual assistance-based lifestyle intervention in reducing risk factors for Type 2 diabetes in young employees in the information technology industry in India: LIMIT, a randomized controlled trial
No full textAims: To investigate a virtual assistance-based lifestyle intervention to reduce risk factors for Type 2 diabetes in young employees in the information technology industry in India.Methods: LIMIT (Lifestyle Modification in Information Technology) was a parallel-group, partially blinded, randomized controlled trial. Employees in the information technology industry with ?3 risk factors (family history of cardiometabolic disease, overweight/obesity, high blood pressure, impaired fasting glucose, hypertriglyceridaemia, high LDL cholesterol and low HDL cholesterol) from two industries were randomized to a control or an intervention (1:1) group. After initial lifestyle advice, the intervention group additionally received reinforcement through mobile phone messages (three per week) and e-mails (two per week) for 1 year. The primary outcome was change in prevalence of overweight/obesity, analysed by intention to treat.Results: Of 437 employees screened (mean age 36.2 ± 9.3 years; 74.8% men), 265 (61.0%) were eligible and randomized into control (n=132) or intervention (n=133) group. After 1 year, the prevalence of overweight/obesity reduced by 6.0% in the intervention group and increased by 6.8% in the control group (risk difference 11.2%; 95% CI 1.2–21.1; P=0.042). There were also significant improvements in lifestyle measurements, waist circumference, and total and LDL cholesterol in the intervention group.The number-needed-to-treat to prevent one case of overweight/obesity in 1 year was 9 (95% CI 5–82), with an incremental cost of INR10665 (£112.30) per case treated/prevented. A total of 98% of participants found the intervention acceptable.Conclusions: A virtual assistance-based lifestyle intervention was effective, cost-effective and acceptable in reducing risk factors for diabetes in young employees in the information technology industry, and is potentially scalabl
Differences in body composition and metabolic status between white UK and Asian Indian children (EarlyBird 24 and the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study)
No full textBackground/Aims: The concept of the ‘thin–fat’ Indian baby is well established, but there is little comparative data in older children, and none that examines the metabolic correlates. Accordingly, we investigated the impact of body composition on the metabolic profiles of Asian Indian and white UK children.Methods: Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, sum of four skin-folds, % body fat (by dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry), glucose, insulin, insulin resistance (Homeostasis Model Assessment), trigylcerides,cholesterol [total, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein {HDL}, total/HDL ratio] and blood pressure (systolic, diastolic and mean arterial) were measured in 262 white Caucasian children from Plymouth, UK (aged 6.9 ± 0.2 years, 57% male), and 626 Indian children from rural villages around Pune, India (aged 6.2 ± 0.1 years, 53% male).Results: Indian children had a significantly lower BMI (boys: -2.1 kg m-2, girls: -3.2 kg m-2, both P < 0.001), waist circumference (P < 0.001) and skin-fold thickness (P < 0.001) than white UK children, yet their % body fat was higher (boys +4.5%, P < 0.001, girls: +0.5%, P = 0.61). Independently of the differences in age and % body fat, the Indian children had higher fasting glucose (boys +0.52 mmol L-1, girls +0.39 mmol L-1, both P < 0.001), higher insulin (boys +1.69, girls +1.87 mU L-1, both P < 0.01) and were more insulin resistant (boys +0.25, girls +0.28 HOMA-IR units, both P < 0.001).Conclusions: The ‘thin–fat’ phenotype observed in Indian babies is also apparent in pre-pubertal Indian children who have greater adiposity than white UK children despite significantly lower BMIs. Indian children are more insulin resistant than white UK children, even after adjustment for adiposity
Numerical Study of Reaction-Diffusion Systems using Front Tracking
No full textAbstract of the Dissertation Numerical Study of Reaction-Diffusion Systems using Front Tracking By Saurabh Gajanan Joglekar Doctor of Philosophy In Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Concentration - Computational Applied Mathematics) Stony Brook University 2017 We study the three component Reaction-Diffusion systems with and without precipitation and crystal growth. Focus is on the generic chemical reaction represented by nA + mB --\u3e C, where n,m are the stoichiometric coefficients. In case of the reaction-diffusion system without precipitation, we investigate the movement of the center of reaction zone in for equal and unequal diffusivities. We compare the analytical and numerical solutions for equal diffusivities to establish the accuracy of the numerical method. Then we apply the numerical method to provide numerical evidence in support of a conjecture in the case of unequal diffusivities. Next, we apply the Front Tracking method to study the reaction-diffusion systems with crystal growth in higher spatial dimensions. The effects of different parameters on the crystal growth are investigated. Key words: Reaction-Diffusion System, Reaction-Diffusion Equations, Reaction zone/front, Center of reaction front, front tracking, crystal growth. | 107 page
Maternal homocysteine in pregnancy and offspring birthweight: epidemiological associations and Mendelian randomization analysis
No full textBackground: disturbed one-carbon (1-C) metabolism in the mother is associated with poor fetal growth but causality of this relationship has not been established.Methods: we studied the association between maternal total homocysteine and offspring birthweight in the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study (PMNS, Pune, India) and Parthenon Cohort Study (Mysore, India). We tested for evidence of causality within a Mendelian randomization framework, using a methylenetetrahydrofolatereductase (MTHFR) gene variant rs1801133 (earlier known as 677C→T) by instrumental variable and triangulation analysis, separately and using meta-analysis.Results: median (IQR) homocysteine concentration and mean (SD) birthweight were 8.6 µmol/l (6.7,10.8) and 2642g (379) in the PMNS and 6.0 µmol/l (5.1,7.1) and 2871g (443) in the Parthenon study. Offspring birthweight was inversely related to maternal homocysteine concentration—PMNS: –22g/SD [95% confidence interval (CI): (–50, 5), adjusted for gestational age and offspring gender]; Parthenon: –57?g (–92, –21); meta-analysis: –40g (–62, –17)]. Maternal risk genotype at rs1801133 predicted higher homocysteine concentration [PMNS: 0.30 SD/allele (0.14, 0.46); Parthenon: 0.21 SD (0.02, 0.40); meta-analysis: 0.26 SD (0.14, 0.39)]; and lower birthweight [PMNS: –46g (–102, 11, adjusted for gestational age, offspring gender and rs1801133 genotype); Parthenon: –78g (–170, 15); meta-analysis: –61g (–111, –10)]. Instrumental variable and triangulation analysis supported a causal association between maternal homocysteine concentration and offspring birthweight.Conclusions: our findings suggest a causal role for maternal homocysteine (1-C metabolism) in fetal growth. Reducing maternal homocysteine concentrations may improve fetal growth
Bone mass in Indian children--relationships to maternal nutritional status and diet during pregnancy: the Pune maternal nutrition study
No full textContext/Objective: Bone mass is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Recent studies have highlighted associations between maternal nutritional status during pregnancy and bone mass in the offspring. We hypothesized that maternal calcium intakes and circulating micronutrients during pregnancy are related to bone mass in Indian children. Design/Setting/Participants/Main Outcome Measures: Nutritional status was measured at 18 and 28 wk gestation in 797 pregnant rural Indian women. Measurements included anthropometry, dietary intakes (24-h recall and food frequency questionnaire), physical workload (questionnaire), and circulating micronutrients (red cell folate and plasma ferritin, vitamin B12, and vitamin C). Six years postnatally, total body and total spine bone mineral content and bone mineral density (BMD) were measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in the children (n = 698 of 762 live births) and both parents. Results: Both parents' DXA measurements were positively correlated with the equivalent measurements in the children (P < 0.001 for all). The strength of these correlations was similar for fathers and mothers. Children of mothers who had a higher frequency of intake of calcium-rich foods during pregnancy (milk, milk products, pulses, nonvegetarian foods, green leafy vegetables, fruit) had higher total and spine bone mineral content and BMD, and children of mothers with higher folate status at 28 wk gestation had higher total and spine BMD, independent of parental size and DXA measurements. Conclusions: Modifiable maternal nutritional factors may influence bone health in the offspring. Fathers play a role in determining their child's bone mass, possibly through genetic mechanisms or through shared environmen
Body size and body composition: a comparison of children in India and the UK through infancy and childhood
No full textBackgroundIndian babies are characterised by the ‘thin-fat phenotype’ which comprises a ‘muscle-thin but adipose’ body composition compared with European babies. This body phenotype is of concern because it is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We examined whether the ‘thin-fat phenotype’ persists through early childhood, comparing Indian children with white Caucasians in the UK at birth, infancy and childhood, using comparable measurement protocols.MethodsWe used data from two cohorts, the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study (N=631) and the Southampton Women's Survey (N=2643). Measurements of weight, head circumference, mid-upper arm circumference, height, triceps and subscapular skinfold thickness were compared at birth, 1, 2, 3 and 6?years of age. SD scores were generated for the Pune children, using the Southampton children as a reference. Generalised estimating equations were used to examine the changes in SD scores across the children's ages.ResultsThe Indian children were smaller at birth in all body measurements than the Southampton children and became relatively even smaller from birth to 2?years, before ‘catching up’ to some extent at 3?years, and more so by 6?years. The deficit for both skinfolds was markedly less than for other measurements at all ages; triceps skinfold showed the least difference between the two cohorts at birth, and subscapular skinfold at all ages after birth.ConclusionsThe ‘thin-fat phenotype’ previously found in Indian newborns, remains through infancy and early childhood. Despite being shorter and lighter than UK children, Indian children are relatively adipose
Structural Characterization of CENP-C Cupin Domains at Regional Centromeres Reveals Unique Patterns of Dimerization and Functions for the Inner Pocket
No full textCell division is vital to the development and well-being of all living organisms. This process must occur without error and depends on the equal and accurate division of genetic material to daughter cells. If chromosomes fail to segregate properly, the consequences are often severe and can include cell death, birth defects, and cancer.
The centromere and kinetochore are two factors that are required for the successful completion of cell division. The centromere is a unique chromosomal region that is required for specifying the location of kinetochore assembly. In turn, the kinetochore, a multi-protein complex, assembles onto the centromere during cell division and facilitates the formation of functional microtubule attachments.
Interestingly, while the functions of both the centromere and kinetochore are highly conserved throughout evolution, their underlying organization and composition vary greatly between organisms. Saccharomyces cerevisiae possess unique point centromeres that are genetically defined by a 125 bp DNA sequence. On the other hand, the majority of other eukaryotes possess much larger regional centromeres whose locations are epigenetically specified by the histone H3 variant, CENP-A. As each organism has its own unique centromere and kinetochore composition, their kinetochore proteins likely possess differing mechanisms of recruitment and function. Consequently, their respective kinetochore proteins may possess variations in structure to accommodate these differences.
CENP-C is a particularly interesting inner kinetochore component to study due to its evolutionary conservation and scaffolding roles that connect the inner and outer kinetochores. At its C-terminus, CENP-C harbors a conserved cupin domain that has an established role in CENP-C homodimerization. Although the crystal structure of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mif2 cupin domain has been determined, it is not yet known whether this domain is structurally conserved within organisms with regional centromeres. Therefore, whether the structural and functional role of the cupin domain is conserved throughout evolution, requires investigation.
This dissertation focuses on the structural conservation of the CENP-C cupin domain and elucidating its functional significance beyond dimerization. Here, I report the crystal structures of two CENP-C cupin domains from organisms with regional centromeres, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Drosophila melanogaster. While the central jelly roll architecture is conserved among the three determined CENP-C cupin domain structures, the cupin domains from organisms with regional centromeres contain additional structural features to facilitate dimerization. In addition, analysis of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe Cnp3 cupin domain in vitro and in vivo shows the inner pocket formed by its jelly roll fold functions as a binding surface for the meiosis-specific protein, Moa1. Thus, these results unveil the evolutionarily conserved and novel features of the CENP-C cupin domain, as well as its additional role as a recruitment factor.PhDCellular & Molecular BiologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151525/1/jchik_1.pd
Neonatal anthropometry: the thin-fat Indian baby. The Pune Maternal Nutrition Study
No full textOBJECTIVE: To examine body size and fat measurements of babies born in rural India and compare them with white Caucasian babies born in an industrialised country.DESIGN: Community-based observational study in rural India, and comparison with data from an earlier study in the UK, measured using similar methods.SUBJECTS: A total of 631 term babies born in six rural villages, near the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India, and 338 term babies born in the Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton, UK.MEASUREMENTS: Maternal weight and height, and neonatal weight, length, head, mid-upper-arm and abdominal circumferences, subscapular and triceps skinfold thicknesses, and placental weight.RESULTS: The Indian mothers were younger, lighter, shorter and had a lower mean body mass index (BMI) (mean age, weight, height and BMI: 21.4 y, 44.6 kg, 1.52 m, and 18.2 kg/m2) than Southampton mothers (26.8 y, 63.6 kg, 1.63 m and 23.4 kg/m2). They gave birth to lighter babies (mean birthweight: 2.7 kg compared with 3.5 kg). Compared to Southampton babies, the Indian babies were small in all body measurements, the smallest being abdominal circumference (s.d. score: -2.38; 95% CI: -2.48 to -2.29) and mid-arm circumference (s.d. score: -1.82; 95% CI: -1.89 to -1.75), while the most preserved measurement was the subscapular skinfold thickness (s.d. score: -0.53; 95% CI: -0.61 to -0.46). Skinfolds were relatively preserved in the lightest babies (below the 10th percentile of birthweight) in both populations.CONCLUSIONS: Small Indian babies have small abdominal viscera and low muscle mass, but preserve body fat during their intrauterine development. This body composition may persist postnatally and predispose to an insulin-resistant state
Widerborst Interacts With Bitesize To Regulate Wing Hair Morphogenesis
No full textThe work presented in the thesis was carried with the aim to understand how Widerborst (Wdb) regulate planar cell polarity in Drosophila wing. In search of proteins interacting with Wdb I carried a Yeast Two Hybrid screen and identified a protein, bitesize, with tandem C2 domains in its C terminus interacting with Wdb. Wdb also interacts with btsz genetically and removal of one copy each of Wdb and btsz enhances the truncated hair phenotype observed in Wdb EMS mutants and btsz P element insertion mutants. There are at least three predicted isoforms of bitesize and loss of the btsz-II isoform is lethal. Clonal analysis of a btsz mutant, btszJ5-2, which removes the btsz II isoform resulted in truncated wing hair outgrowth. On the other hand over expression of a myc-btsz-II construct resulted in hair duplication phenotype. However, over expression of the GFP-CT is sufficient to give wing hair duplication phenotype and this hair duplication phenotype is stronger than that caused by myc-btsz-II over expression. The Myc tagged btsz-II protein shows apical localization. Though most of the protein is confined to cytoplasm, btsz-II also marks the plasma membrane. The GFP-CT construct marks the plasma membrane strongly and is enriched in the apical region. The over expression of CT domain is sufficient to give hair duplication phenotype and the strong difference observed in the localization pattern of full length btsz-II protein and GFP-CT together suggest that regulation of membrane localization of btsz through its CT region is important to regulate hair morphogenesis. As the loss of function (truncated wing hair) and gain of function (hair duplication) both affect the process of hair morphogenesis, it can be said that btsz is a positive regulator of hair morphogenesis. Since no defect in cortical polarization of Fmi was observed in cells lacking btsz-II, btsz is required for establishment of cortical domains. However with the present study it remains unknown how exactly the C2 domains might regulate hair morphogenesis and whether Wdb targets btsz for dephophorylation to PP2A catalytic subunit
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