Viewpoints from the National Consultation on Addressing Acute Malnutrition on Mainstreaming Community-Based Program for Management of Acute Malnutrition in India.

High burden of acute malnutrition among children less than 5 years is a major public health problem in India. A "Two-days National Consultation on Addressing Acute Malnutrition" was organized to gather experiences and evidence from 13 states of India on prevention and management of acute malnutrition among children and documenting viewpoints from experts and government counterparts on the same. The consultation centered around five key themes of addressing acute malnutrition; 1) capacity building, 2) strengthening screening, 3) nutritional care of wasting, 4) tracking progress, and 5) scale-up. The paper highlights the experiences and key recommendations around the above key themes. It emerged that there is a need to further accelerate the efforts toward strengthening existing platforms and services to address acute malnutrition among children. Regular trainings of the frontline workers, increased convergence, regular monitoring, and continued service delivery during the pandemic should be undertaken for better outcomes.

Correction: Bacterial recognition by PGRP-SA and downstream signalling by Toll/DIF sustain commensal gut bacteria in Drosophila.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009992.].

Bacterial recognition by PGRP-SA and downstream signalling by Toll/DIF sustain commensal gut bacteria in Drosophila.

The gut sets the immune and metabolic parameters for the survival of commensal bacteria. We report that in Drosophila, deficiency in bacterial recognition upstream of Toll/NF-κB signalling resulted in reduced density and diversity of gut bacteria. Translational regulation factor 4E-BP, a transcriptional target of Toll/NF-κB, mediated this host-bacteriome interaction. In healthy flies, Toll activated 4E-BP, which enabled fat catabolism, which resulted in sustaining of the bacteriome. The presence of gut bacteria kept Toll signalling activity thus ensuring the feedback loop of their own preservation. When Toll activity was absent, TOR-mediated suppression of 4E-BP made fat resources inaccessible and this correlated with loss of intestinal bacterial density. This could be overcome by genetic or pharmacological inhibition of TOR, which restored bacterial density. Our results give insights into how an animal integrates immune sensing and metabolism to maintain indigenous bacteria in a healthy gut.

Effect of iron-fortified rice on the hemoglobin level of the individuals aged more than six months: A meta-analysis of controlled trials.

Fortification of staple food items with iron is a potential strategy to address anemia for a larger population. We reviewed studies to assess the impact of iron-fortified rice (IFR) on hemoglobin levels of individuals more than six months of age. We included studies assessing the effectiveness of IFR (with or without other micronutrients) conducted in any part of the world available in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, clinicaltrials.gov, International database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in health and social care (PROSPERO), unicef.org, and who.int databases and published from January 1, 1990 to April 1, 2019 (PROSPERO registration number: RD42020139895). We extracted the changes in hemoglobin, serum ferritin, and serum transferrin levels among the participants. Finally, data from 15 trials and their 21 subsets were analyzed. Mean difference in hemoglobin was 0.53 g/dl (95% CI: 0.26, 0.80, P < 0.001, I2 = 84%) in the IFR group compared to the control group. In the subgroup analysis after removing studies with small sample size and high risk for bias, a mean difference of 0.44 g/dl (95% CI: 0.20, 0.69, P < 0.001, I2 = 82%) was observed. No significant effect on serum ferritin or transferrin levels was observed. From this review it can be concluded that fortification of rice with iron can be adopted as an intervention to improve hemoglobin levels, especially in countries where rice is the major part food of staple diet. Research is needed on an optimal iron compound for fortification and the acceptance of IFR.

A pilot evaluation of Swasthya Pahal program using SMAART informatics framework to support NCD self-management.

BACKGROUND: Empirical research acknowledges the capability of mHealth and eHealth interventions for ensuring high-quality and tailored healthcare to individuals. People living with various health conditions get access to a wide range of healthcare services through digital interventions. The aim of the study is to examine the usefulness of Swasthya Pahal, a community-based Health for all program, aimed to enhance screening and self-management of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity among police personnel. METHODS: A convenient sample of 64 individuals aged 18 years and above present at the Police Sanchar Training Centre, Dehradun, Uttarakhand were enrolled over 2 days in January 2020. The Swasthya Pahal pilot program was approved by the Uttarakhand State Police authorities. Individuals' health data was recorded using an interactive, bi-lingual, touch screen, computer-based program. Subjective data was collected and self-reported information was gathered about (I) socio-demographics, (II) health behaviors, (III) clinical status, and (IV) Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP). Objective data assessments included measurements such as weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels using a series of physiological sensors. Additional information gathered at 1 month follow up included modifications that individuals made in their self-management of diabetes and hypertension, diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and smoking. Information was gathered related to individuals' interest in receiving SMS based health messages. RESULTS: The average age of study participants was 37 (SD =8) years, 88% were males, and 42% had graduate education. Hypertension (31%) was found to be the most common family history. Thirty-six percent of individuals were presently smokers or consumed alcohol. Sixty-two percent of them self-reported doing some form of exercise. Walking, jogging and yoga were the most common exercise types. Eighty-seven percent of them were not receiving any treatment to self-manage hypertension. Based on the JNC 8 criteria, 37% of the individuals were hypertensive. Fifty of the 64 individuals expressed interest to receive SMS message, 64% of them expressed keenness to receive weekly SMS messages. Messages related to diet, physical activity, sleep, and smoking and alcohol consumption were perceived as important. CONCLUSIONS: The Swasthya Pahal program using the SMAART informatics framework is a useful tool to enhance screening and self-management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among police personnel.

Instabilities in freely expanding sheets of associating viscoelastic fluids.

We use the impact of drops on a small solid target as a tool to investigate the behavior of viscoelastic fluids under extreme deformation rates. We study two classes of transient networks: semidilute solutions of supramolecular polymers and suspensions of spherical oil droplets reversibly linked by polymers. The two types of samples display very similar linear viscoelastic properties, which can be described with a Maxwell fluid model, but contrasting nonlinear properties due to different network structures. Upon impact, the weakly viscoelastic samples exhibit a behavior qualitatively similar to that of Newtonian fluids: a smooth and regular sheet forms, expands, and then retracts. By contrast, for highly viscoelastic fluids, the thickness of the sheet is found to be very irregular, leading to instabilities and eventually to the formation of holes. We find that the rheological properties of the material rule the onset of instabilities. We first provide a simple image analysis of the expanding sheets to determine the onset of instabilities. We then demonstrate that the Deborah number related to the shortest relaxation time associated with the sample structure following a high shear is the relevant parameter that controls the heterogeneities in the thickness of the sheet, eventually leading to the formation of holes. When the sheet tears-up, data suggest by contrast that the opening dynamics depends also on the expansion rate of the sheet.

Food-waste anaerobic digestate as a fertilizer: The agronomic properties of untreated digestate and biochar-filtered digestate residue.

Anaerobic digestion produces large quantities of digestate as a by-product, which can potentially be applied as an organic fertilizer, but untreated anaerobic digestate (AD) may contain phytotoxins and the large volume of AD makes transportation and storage difficult. This study explored two relatively inexpensive processing methods to improve the agronomic performance of AD as a fertilizer via vegetable cultivation experiments. We first investigated the effect of dilution on AD's performance using four leafy vegetables (Chinese spinach, water spinach, Chinese cabbage and lettuce). The optimal concentrations of the AD were 20-40% (v/v in 250 mL applications per single-plant pot) for all four vegetables based on shoot fresh weight and comparable to the control treatment using commercial fertilizer. AD application also introduced Synergistetes bacteria into the growing medium, but the overall bacterial diversity and composition were similar to those of the control treatment. Considering the nutrient separation in the liquid and solid fractions of AD and the need to reduce the volume, we then experimented with the recovery of nutrients from both the liquid and solid fractions by filtering AD using two types of wood-based biochar (100 g biochar: 1 L AD) before applying the AD-biochar residues as side dressing at 1% (w/w). Both types of biochar achieved yields comparable to the treatment using a commercial fertilizer for the three vegetables tested (kale, lettuce and rocket salad). Our results show that dilution and biochar filtration can improve the agronomic performance of AD, making it a sustainable substitute for commercial fertilizer.

Applications of food waste-derived black soldier fly larval frass as incorporated compost, side-dress fertilizer and frass-tea drench for soilless cultivation of leafy vegetables in biochar-based growing media.

Black soldier fly (BSF) larval bioconversion can recycle nutrients in organic wastes into larval biomass and frass. While the frass has been commonly marketed as a soil amendment, its usefulness in soilless cultivation remains largely unexplored. Growth experiments were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of surplus food-derived and okara-derived BSF larval frass as an incorporated compost, side-dress fertilizer and frass-tea drench for the cultivation of pak choi and lettuce in waste-wood derived biochar growing media. Pak choi yields from treatments with surplus food-derived frass and biochar at a 10:90 (v/v) ratio and inorganic fertilizer were comparable to those of the control which consisted of soil, peat-based compost and inorganic fertilizer. However, yields decreased with increasing frass incorporation rates owing to high salinity and potentially low oxygen conditions in the growing media. When used as a fertilizer on biochar-coir growing media, the direct application of frass as a side-dress fertilizer was 1.6-6.8 times more effective in promoting lettuce growth than the application as a frass-tea drench. Frass fertilizers derived from surplus food outperformed those derived from okara by 1.3-5.3 times. Lettuce yields were not significantly different between the treatment with surplus food-derived frass applied as a side-dress fertilizer and the control of liquid inorganic fertilizer. Variations in fertilizing potential were attributed to nutrient availability and the presence of plant growth promoting microbes in the growing media. BSF larval frass derived from food waste shows promise in partially replacing unsustainable agricultural inputs for leafy vegetable cultivation, including soil and inorganic fertilizers.

India's COVID-19 Burdens, 2020.

The purpose of this article is two pronged; first, to identify and report public health implications of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and second, to report challenges uniquely faced by the citizens of India from a population health perspective. We have done both while closely examining epidemiological data that is accessible via SMAART's RAPID Tracker. This policy informatics platform is a live database aimed to track the geospatial spread of the COVID-19 outbreak and policy actions globally and is administered collaboratively by CUNY's Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and a global, non-profit public health incubator. Infectivity, incidence, and recovery rates were computed and graphical representations of epidemiological datasets were studied. We have discussed a plausible conceptual framework based on the principles of population health informatics for countries with similar characteristics to build a stronger public and community health foundation in order to safeguard populations during a health emergency in the future.

Gasification biochar from horticultural waste: An exemplar of the circular economy in Singapore.

Organic waste, the predominant component of global solid waste, has never been higher, resulting in increased landfilling, incineration, and open dumping that releases greenhouse gases and toxins that contribute to global warming and environmental pollution. The need to create and adopt sustainable closed-loop systems for waste reduction and valorization is critical. Using organic waste as a feedstock, gasification and pyrolysis systems can produce biooil, syngas, and thermal energy, while reducing waste mass by as much as 85-95% through conversion into biochar, a valuable byproduct with myriad uses from soil conditioning to bioremediation and carbon sequestration. Here, we present a novel case study detailing the circular economy of gasification biochar in Singapore's Gardens by the Bay. Biochar produced from horticultural waste within the Gardens was tested as a partial peat moss substitute in growing lettuce, pak choi, and pansy, and found to be a viable substitute for peat moss. At low percentages of 20-30% gasification biochar, fresh weight yields for lettuce and pak choi were comparable to or exceeded those of plants grown in pure peat moss. The biochar was also analyzed as a potential additive to concrete, with a 2% biochar mortar compound found to be of suitable strength for non-structural functions, such as sidewalks, ditches, and other civil applications. These results demonstrate the global potential of circular economies based on local biochar creation and on-site use through the valorization of horticultural waste via gasification, generating clean, renewable heat or electricity, and producing a carbon-neutral to -negative byproduct in the form of biochar. They also indicate the potential of scaled-up pyrolysis or gasification systems for a circular economy in waste management.

Evaluating the potential of okara-derived black soldier fly larval frass as a soil amendment.

Bioconversion of organic waste by the black soldier fly (BSF) larva yields a by-product commonly known as 'frass'. Although BSF larval frass has often been marketed as a biofertilizer, few studies have evaluated this claim. In this study, BSF larvae reared on a pure okara diet achieved an 85% waste reduction in the fresh weight of the okara. Subsequently, the frass was mixed with soil at concentrations of 10, 20, and 30% (vol/vol), and used to cultivate lettuce plants. At 10% concentration, the lettuce plants had biomasses comparable to those of the controls. Higher frass concentrations stunted the growth of the lettuce, likely because of the low C:N ratio of larval frass resulting from the rapid mineralization of nutrients. Larval frass was also found to be able to provide sufficient nutrients for lettuce growth as fertilizer application was only necessary after the first growth cycle, suggesting its suitability as a soil amendment. Analyses of the microbial community of all the growing media showed that the growth medium treatments with BSF larval frass tended to have a lower number of microbial species than the controls. Inherently higher micronutrient levels present in the frass resulted in the growth of lettuce plants. More importantly, the microbial analysis revealed that common foodborne pathogens were absent in the BSF larval frass and elemental analysis also indicated no heavy metal pollutants present. Overall, BSF larval frass was found to be a suitable soil amendment and more in-depth studies could facilitate its sensible use in agriculture.

Gel rupture during dynamic swelling.

Hydrogels have had a profound impact in the fields of tissue engineering, drug delivery, and materials science as a whole. Due to the network architecture of these materials, imbibement with water often results in uniform swelling and isotropic expansion which scales with the degree of cross-linking. However, the development of internal stresses during swelling can have dramatic consequences, leading to surface instabilities as well as rupture or bursting events. To better understand hydrogel behavior, macroscopic mechanical characterization techniques (e.g. tensile testing, rheometry) are often used, however most commonly these techniques are employed on samples that are in two distinct states: (1) unswollen and without any solvent, or (2) in an equilibrium swelling state where the maximum amount of water has been imbibed. Rarely is the dynamic process of swelling studied, especially in samples where rupture or failure events are observed. To address this gap, here we focus on rupture events in poly(ethylene glycol)-based networks that occur in response to swelling with water. Rupture events were visualized using high-speed imaging, and the influence of swelling on material properties was characterized using dynamic mechanical analysis. We find that rupture events follow a three-stage process that includes a waiting period, a slow fracture period, and a final stage in which a rapid increase in the velocity of crack propagation is observed. We describe this fracture behavior based on changes in material properties that occur during swelling, and highlight how this rupture behavior can be controlled by straight-forward modifications to the hydrogel network structure.

Beyond Host Defense: Deregulation of Drosophila Immunity and Age-Dependent Neurodegeneration.

Age-dependent neurodegenerative disorders are a set of diseases that affect millions of individuals worldwide. Apart from a small subset that are the result of well-defined inherited autosomal dominant gene mutations (e.g., those encoding the ß-amyloid precursor protein and presenilins), our understanding of the genetic network that underscores their pathology, remains scarce. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) especially in Alzheimer's disease patients and research in Parkinson's disease have implicated inflammation and the innate immune response as risk factors. However, even if GWAS etiology points toward innate immunity, untangling cause, and consequence is a challenging task. Specifically, it is not clear whether predisposition to de-regulated immunity causes an inadequate response to protein aggregation (such as amyloid or α-synuclein) or is the direct cause of this aggregation. Given the evolutionary conservation of the innate immune response in Drosophila and humans, unraveling whether hyperactive immune response in glia have a protective or pathological role in the brain could be a potential strategy in combating age-related neurological diseases.

Biochar for urban agriculture: Impacts on soil chemical characteristics and on Brassica rapa growth, nutrient content and metabolism over multiple growth cycles.

With possible food crises looming in the near future, urban farming, including small-scale community and home gardens for home consumption, presents a promising option to improve food security in cities. These small-scale farms and gardens often use planter boxes and raised beds filled with lightweight soil or potting mixes. While previous studies on biochar focused on its application on large-scale contiguous farmlands, this study aimed to evaluate the suitability of biochar as a partial soil substitute to produce a durable and lightweight soil-biochar mix for small-scale urban farms. The effects of biochar on the chemical properties of the soil-biochar mix, crop yield and, particularly, crop nutrients and metabolic content were assessed. A germination test using pak choi seeds (Brassica rapa L. cultivar group Pak choi, Green-Petioled Form) showed that the biochar contained phytostimulants. Through a nursery pot experiment over four growth cycles, biochar treatments performed better than pure soil at retaining water-soluble NO3- and K+ ions, but were worse at retaining PO43- ions. Nonetheless, despite its positive effect on soil NO3- retention, biochar application did not improve crop yield significantly when the application rate varied from 0% to 60% (v/v). Untargeted metabolomic analyses showed that biochar application may increase the production of carbohydrates and certain flavonoids and glucosinolates. The results of this study showed that biochar can potentially be used to improve pak choi nutritional values and applied in large quantity to obtain a lightweight soil mix for urban farming.

Role of particle orientational order during shear thickening in suspensions of colloidal rods.

Rheology of dense anisotropic colloidal suspensions often exhibits unsteady flow at constant imposed shear stress and/or shear rate. Using simultaneous high-resolution confocal microscopy and rheology, we find that the temporal behavior arises due to a strong coupling between shear flow and particle orientation. At smaller applied stresses, the orientation of rods fluctuates around the flow direction. A transition to an intermittent disordered state is observed at higher stresses when the angle between the flow and the rod orientation reaches a critical value. This disordered state is associated with transient drop in shear rate and an increase in viscosity. Simultaneous visualization of boundary stresses and orientation shows that the disordered regions lead to heterogeneous stresses and positive normal forces at the boundary, indicating the formation of systems spanning disordered particle contact networks.

Role of high resolution ultrasound complementary to digital mammography.

Background: Breast carcinoma is a major cause of mortality among women worldwide. Early detection and cure is the key to reduce the mortality of the disease. This article studied the role of high resolution ultrasound in detection and characterization of lesions to complement mammographic diagnosis and improve patient management. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the role of complementary high resolution ultrasound, BIRADS scoring and to correlate it with histological diagnosis. Results and Observations: HRUS is excellent in detecting microcalcifications, malignant features of solid masses, differentiating focal asymmetry from masses, differentiating between solid and cystic lesions, simple and complex cysts and detecting satellite lesions and mammographically inaccessible areas for which special views can be done. Conclusions: Every case referred for digital mammography should undergo ultrasound irrespective of the age, symptoms and density of the breast parenchyma and a combined final BIRADS grading should be done. Ultrasound is an excellent imaging modality for breast lesions in expert hands.

RésuméContexte: Le cancer du sein est une cause majeure de mortalité chez les femmes du monde entier. La détection précoce et la guérison sont la clé pour réduire la mortalité de la maladie. Cet article a étudié le rôle de l'échographie à haute résolution dans la détection et la caractérisation des lésions pour compléter le diagnostic mammographique et améliorer la prise en charge des patients. Buts et objectifs: Évaluer le rôle de l'échographie à haute résolution complémentaire, notation de BIRADS et la corréler avec le diagnostic histologique. Résultats et observations: Le HRUS est excellent pour détecter les microcalcifications, les malignités des masses solides, différencier l'asymétrie focale des masses, différencier les lésions solides et kystiques, les kystes simples et complexes et détecter les lésions satellites et les zones mammographiquement inaccessibles. Conclusions: Chaque cas référé pour la mammographie numérique devrait subir une échographie indépendamment de l'âge, des symptômes et de la densité du parenchyme mammaire et un classement final combiné de BIRADS devrait être fait. L'échographie est une excellente modalité d'imagerie pour les lésions mammaires chez les mains expertes.