Household cooking fuel and gallbladder cancer risk: a multi-centre case-control study in India.

PURPOSE: Gallbladder cancers (GBC), unique to certain geographical regions, are lethal digestive tract cancers, disproportionately affecting women, with limited information on risk factors. METHODS: We evaluated the association between household cooking fuel and GBC risk in a hospital-based case-control study conducted in the North-East and East Indian states of Assam and Bihar. We explored the potential mediation by diet, fire-vents, 'daily exposure duration' and parity (among women). We recruited biopsy-confirmed GBC (n = 214) men and women aged 30-69 years between 2019 and 2021, and controls frequency-matched by age, sex and region (n = 166). Information about cooking fuel, lifestyle, personal and family history, female reproductive factors, socio-demographics, and anthropometrics was collected. We tested associations using multivariable logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: All participants (73.4% women) were categorised based on predominant cooking fuel use. Group-1: LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) users in the previous 20 years and above without concurrent biomass use (26.15%); Group-2: LPG users in the previous 20 years and above with concurrent secondary biomass use (15.9%); Group-3: Biomass users for ≥ 20 years (57.95%). Compared to group-1, accounting for confounders, GBC risk was higher in group-2 [OR: 2.02; 95% CI: 1.00-4.07] and group-3 [OR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.08-3.73] (p-trend:0.020). These associations strengthened among women that attenuated with high daily consumption of fruits-vegetables but not with fire-vents, 'daily exposure duration' or parity. CONCLUSION: Biomass burning was associated with a high-risk for GBC and should be considered as a modifiable risk factor for GBC. Clean cooking fuel can potentially mitigate, and a healthy diet can partially reduce the risk among women.

An insight into the interaction between Argulus siamensis and Labeo rohita offers future therapeutic strategy to combat argulosis.

Aquaculture and fisheries are salient flourishing sectors in the world but their sustainability is often afflicted by several pathogenic diseases. Among all the pathogenic diseases of fish, parasitic diseases are found to be a major cause of concern. Argulosis is one of the dominant parasitic problems encountered in Indian aquaculture practices. Argulus siamensis is the most prevalent argulid species harming the Indian major carp species including Labeo rohita. The major carps respond to parasitic infestation by elevating various immune relevant genes. The therapeutic chemicals, synthetic drugs and other plant extracts have made a progress in the fight against argulosis. However, there is no effective vaccine and drugs are available for this disease. Thus, designing efficient, cost-effective and eco-friendly control and treatment strategies for argulosis is presently needed. Keeping the aforementioned facts in mind, the current review elaborated the immunological interaction between A. siamensis and L. rohita, available combat tactics, highlighted the already identified vaccine candidates to design effective control measures and illustrated the use of omics technology in future to combat argulosis.

Rapid removal of lead(II) ions from water using iron oxide-tea waste nanocomposite - a kinetic study.

Lead (Pb) ions are a major concern to the environment and human health as they are contemplated cumulative poisons. In this study, facile synthesis of magnetic iron oxide-tea waste nanocomposite is reported for adsorptive removal of lead ions from aqueous solutions and easy magnetic separation of the adsorbent afterwards. The samples were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Braunner-Emmet-Teller nitrogen adsorption study. Adsorptive removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution was followed by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry. About 95% Pb(II) ion removal is achieved with the magnetic tea waste within 10 min. A coefficient of regression R2 ≃ 0.99 and adsorption density of 18.83 mg g-1 was found when Pb(II) ions were removed from aqueous solution using magnetic tea waste. The removal of Pb(II) ions follows the pseudo-second-order rate kinetics. External mass transfer principally regulates the rate-limiting phenomena of adsorption of Pb(II) ions on iron oxide-tea waste surface. The results strongly imply that magnetic tea waste has promising potential as an economic and excellent adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II) from water.

Akkermansia muciniphila is permissive to arthritis in the K/BxN mouse model of arthritis.

Studies have identified abnormalities in the microbiota of patients with arthritis. To evaluate the pathogenicity of human microbiota, we performed fecal microbial transplantation from children with spondyloarthritis and controls to germ-free KRN/B6xNOD mice. Ankle swelling was equivalent in those that received patient vs. control microbiota. Principal coordinates analysis revealed incomplete uptake of the human microbiota with over-representation of two genera (Bacteroides and Akkermansia) among the transplanted mice. The microbiota predicted the extent of ankle swelling (R2 = 0.185, p = 0.018). The abundances of Bacteroides (r = -0.510, p = 0.010) inversely and Akkermansia (r = 0.367, p = 0.078) directly correlated with ankle swelling. Addition of Akkermansia muciniphila to Altered Schaedler's Flora (ASF) resulted in small but statistically significant increased ankle swelling as compared to mice that received ASF alone (4.0 mm, 3.9-4.1 vs. 3.9 mm, IQR 3.6-4.0, p = 0.041), as did addition of A. muciniphila cultures to transplanted human microbiota as compared to mice that received transplanted human microbiota alone (4.5 mm, IQR 4.3-5.5 vs. 4.1 mm, IQR 3.9-4.3, p = 0.019). This study supports previous findings of an association between A. muciniphila and arthritis.