Persistence of iodine deficiency in Gangetic flood-prone area, West Bengal, India

In 2000, India revoked the ban on production and sale of non-iodised salt. We conducted a study in the north 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal to assess the prevalence of goitre, status of urinary iodine excretion (UIE) level and to estimate iodine content of salts at the household level. We surveyed 363 school children aged eight to ten years selected using a multistage cluster sampling technique. We estimated goitre prevalence and urinary iodine excretion (UIE) using methods and criteria recommended by the World Health Organization. We estimated the iodine content of salt samples collected from the households of the study subjects using spot iodine testing kit. Of the 363 children, 73 (20%) had goitre. The median UIE was 160 micro g/l (normal: > or =100 micro g/l) and only 6% children had a level below 50 micro g/l. Only 253 of 363 salt samples (70%) were sufficiently iodised. The combination of high goitre prevalence with normal median urinary excretion indicates that the North 24 Parganas district is in transition from iodine deficient to iodine sufficient state. However, the persistence of non-iodised salt consumption indicates that an intensification of universal salt iodisation program is needed. In 2000, India revoked the ban on production and sale of non-iodised salt. We conducted a study in the north 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal to assess the prevalence of goitre, status of urinary iodine excretion (UIE) level and to estimate iodine content of salts at the household level. We surveyed 363 school children aged eight to ten years selected using a multistage cluster sampling technique. We estimated goitre prevalence and urinary iodine excretion (UIE) using methods and criteria recommended by the World Health Organization. We estimated the iodine content of salt samples collected from the households of the study subjects using spot iodine testing kit. Of the 363 children, 73 (20%) had goitre. The median UIE was 160 micro g/l (normal: > or =100 micro g/l) and only 6% children had a level below 50 micro g/l. Only 253 of 363 salt samples (70%) were sufficiently iodised. The combination of high goitre prevalence with normal median urinary excretion indicates that the North 24 Parganas district is in transition from iodine deficient to iodine sufficient state. However, the persistence of non-iodised salt consumption indicates that an intensification of universal salt iodisation program is needed.     

Rhabdoid tumor growth is inhibited by flavopiridol.

PURPOSE: Rhabdoid tumors are aggressive and incurable pediatric malignancies. INI1/hSNF5, a tumor suppressor biallelically deleted/inactivated in rhabdoid tumors, directly represses cyclin D1. Rhabdoid tumors and cells are exquisitely dependent on cyclin D1 for genesis and survival, suggesting that targeting the cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) axis may be an effective therapeutic strategy for these tumors. Because cdk inhibitors have not been used for preclinical or clinical testing on rhabdoid tumors, we investigated the effect of flavopiridol, a pan-cdk inhibitor with promising clinical activity, on rhabdoid tumors. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The effect of flavopiridol on rhabdoid cells was tested in vitro using survival, cell cycle, and apoptosis assays. Its effect was assessed in vivo using xenografted rhabdoid tumor models. Immunoblot and immunohistochemical analysis was used to assess the effect of flavopiridol on cyclin D1 and p21 expression in vitro and in vivo, respectively. RESULTS: Nanomolar concentrations of flavopiridol inhibited rhabdoid cell growth (IC(50) approximately 200 nmol/L), induced G(1) and G(2) arrest, and apoptosis in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner. These effects were correlated with the down-modulation of cyclin D1, up-regulation of p21, and induction of caspase 3/7 activities. Flavopiridol (at 7.5 mg/kg) significantly inhibited the growth of xenografted rhabdoid tumors, and its effect was correlated with the induction of p21 and down-modulation of cyclin D1. CONCLUSIONS: Flavopiridol is effective in inducing cell cycle arrest and cytotoxicity in rhabdoid tumors. Its effects are correlated with the down-regulation of cyclin D1 and the up-regulation of p21. Flavopiridol is potentially a novel chemotherapeutic agent for rhabdoid tumors.     

The diaphragm in chest radiology.

In roentgenograms of the chest, it was observed that there was an increase in the difference between the right and left domes of the diaphragm in the right lateral views when compared with the difference present in the posteroanterior views. A difference of 3-5 cm in posteroanterior views and 5-0 cm in the right lateral views, could be considered normal values. The greater difference in the levels of the domes of the diaphragm in the right lateral views was confirmed in a study using hepatic models. Factors responsible for this radiological distortion have been outlined and the clinical significance of this phenomenon in respect to elevation of the right dome of the diaphragm has been discussed.     

Kinetics of the formation of salts of dibasic acids with hexamethylenediamine in 1-propanol and bifunctional catalysis by the solvent

The kinetics of the reaction between hexamethylenediamine (HMD) and dibasic acids (malonic, succinic, glutaric, and adipic acid) were studied in the temperature range 18–42°C using 1-propanol as solvent. The total order of the reaction is two, first order in HMD and first order in the dibasic acid. The stoichiometry of the reaction is 1:1 and NMR and IR spectral analyses show that the product is an organic salt with and groups present. A mechanism was proposed in which a proton is transferred from the acid molecule to the base through a solvent molecule which acts as a bifunctional catalyst (both as a proton-acceptor and proton donor). Values of the rate constants, Arrhenius activation energies, preexponential factors, and entropies of activation are consistent with the proposed mechanism. There is a very strong evidence to show that the “half-anion” produced in the first ionization of the dicarboxylic acids is the real reactive species.