Socioeconomic Inequalities in Childhood Undernutrition in India: Analyzing Trends between 1992 and 2005

Background

India experienced a rapid economic boom between 1991 and 2007. However, this economic growth has not translated into improved nutritional status among young Indian children. Additionally, no study has assessed the trends in social disparities in childhood undernutrition in the Indian context. We examined the trends in social disparities in underweight and stunting among Indian children aged less than three years using nationally representative data.

Methods

We analyzed data from the three cross-sectional rounds of National Family Health Survey of India from 1992, 1998 and 2005. The social factors of interest were: household wealth, maternal education, caste, and urban residence. Using multilevel modeling to account for the nested structure and clustering of data, we fit multivariable logistic regression models to quantify the association between the social factors and the binary outcome variables. The final models additionally included age, gender, birth order of child, religion, and age of mother. We analyzed the trend by testing for interaction of the social factor and survey year in a dataset pooled from all three surveys.

Results

While the overall prevalence rates of undernutrition among Indian children less than three decreased over the 1992–2005 period, social disparities in undernutrition over these 14 years either widened or stayed the same. The absolute rates of undernutrition decreased for everyone regardless of their social status. The disparities by household wealth were greater than the disparities by maternal education. There were no disparities in undernutrition by caste, gender or rural residence.

Conclusions

There was a steady decrease in the rates of stunting in the 1992–2005 period, while the decline in underweight was greater between 1992 and 1998 than between 1998 and 2005. Social disparities in childhood undernutrition in India either widened or stayed the same during a time of major economic growth. While the advantages of economic growth might be reaching everyone, children from better-off households, with better educated mothers appear to have benefited to a greater extent than less privileged children. The high rates of undernutrition (even among the socially advantaged groups) and the persistent social disparities need to be addressed in an urgent and comprehensive manner.     

Purification of prostate-specific membrane antigen using conformational epitope-specific antibody-affinity chromatography

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a type II membrane protein that has attracted significant attention as a target for immunioscintigraphic and radioimmunotherapeutic applications for prostate cancer. However, definitive studies on its substrate and inhibitor specificity as well as protein-protein interactions have been somewhat limited by difficulties in the purification of native PSMA. In this study, we optimized the purification of native PSMA from LNCaP cells using conformational epitope-specific antibody-affinity chromatography. Western blot analysis and an HPLC-based enzymatic activity assay were used to compare the yield and activity of PSMA purified by different methods. The ratio of purified PSMA in a native and active conformation was determined by quantifying the amount of non-native PSMA not retained in a second antibody-affinity isolation. The addition of both a neutralization step and the inclusion of Zn(2+) to the equilibration buffer in desalting step provides considerable enhancement in the yield of active PSMA from LNCaP cells.     

Osmotic Sensitivity in Staphylococcus aureus Induced by Streptomycin

Differential light-scattering measurements of Staphylococcus aureus cultures were made before and after treatment with streptomycin. Changes were observed in the light-scattering characteristics of streptomycin-treated sensitive cells within 5 min after suspension in a hypotonic solution. No changes were observed with a resistant strain of cells nor with either strain in an isotonic solution. The observed effects occur more slowly when the cells are growing slowly. The physical effects consonant with the changes in the light-scattering curves are a broadening of the cell size distribution, a slight reduction in mean size, and the appearance of clumps or debris. We conclude that streptomycin rapidly alters the selective permeability of the cell membrane and makes the cells susceptible to increased osmotic stresses.     

Resistance is futile: effects of landscape features on gene flow of the northern bobwhite

Habitat for the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) has declined and changed drastically in spatial structure throughout the last century. Undoubtedly such changes have impacted bobwhite and may have altered their ability to access available habitat. We investigated whether landscape resistance, geographic distance, or interstate highway barriers were related to dispersal and gene flow of bobwhite in central and southern Illinois. Landscape resistance was determined from two empirically informed models depicting habitat suitability for bobwhite. During 2007–2008, hunters submitted bobwhite tissue samples from which we amplified 11 microsatellites. The relationship between individual genetic distances and spatial variables was analyzed with Mantel tests and causal modeling was used to verify the spatial variables influencing gene flow. Genetic distance was correlated with geographic distance but showed no relationship with interstate highway barriers. Habitat suitability did not enhance gene flow, and was inversely related in some partial Mantel tests. We suggest that bobwhite dispersal from suitable habitat patches may be less frequent than from suboptimal habitats. Bobwhite may be able to access suitable habitat across gaps of unsuitable habitat but distance limits their dispersal. Because available habitat for bobwhites may have a greater likelihood of being colonized when closer to occupied habitat, we suggest that lands closer to occupied habitat should be targeted for conservation or habitat improvement efforts.     

Genetic Structure and Variation of Van Cats

To determine the genetic structure and variation of Van cats and some other cats, seven enzyme loci were examined using horizontal starch gel electrophoresis. ME bands were observed for the first time in cats. For the enzyme loci CA ( 1 ), SOD, GPI, and GOT, neither the individual Van cats nor the specimens of other cat species exhibited any variation. These enzymes presented identical bands, all of which were homozygous. With respect to the PGD, ME, and ESD loci, however, genetic variation was observed in all of the cats. Hence, three of the seven gene-enzyme systems (43%) were polymorphic with two alleles, contributing to an estimate of average heterozygosity of 0.33-0.49 for the Van cats. PGD was the most discriminatory among the three polymorphic loci. The phylogenetic tree indicated that the Van, Persian, Turkish Angora, and Turkish Tekir cats are distinct from Siamese and Bombay cats.     

Leucine-rich diet supplementation modulates foetal muscle protein metabolism impaired by Walker-256 tumour

Background

Cancer-cachexia induces a variety of metabolic disorders of protein turnover and is more pronounced when associated with pregnancy. Tumour-bearing pregnant rats have impaired protein balance, which decreases protein synthesis and increases muscle breakdown. Because branched-chain amino acids, especially leucine, stimulate protein synthesis, we investigated the effect of a leucine-rich diet on protein metabolism in the foetal gastrocnemius muscles of tumour-bearing pregnant rats.

Methods

Foetuses of pregnant rats with or without Walker 256 tumours were divided into six groups. During the 20 days of the experiment, the pregnant groups were fed with either a control diet (C, control rats; W, tumour-bearing rats; Cp, rats pair-fed the same normoprotein-diet as the W group) or with a leucine-rich diet (L, leucine rats; LW, leucine tumour-bearing rats; and Lp, rats pair-fed the same leucine-rich diet as the LW group). After the mothers were sacrificed, the foetal gastrocnemius muscle samples were resected, and the protein synthesis and degradation and tissue chymotrypsin-like, cathepsin and calpain enzyme activities were assayed. The muscle oxidative enzymes (catalase, glutathione-S-transferase and superoxide dismutase), alkaline phosphatase enzyme activities and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde) were also measured.

Results

Tumour growth led to a reduction in foetal weight associated with decreased serum protein, albumin and glucose levels and low haematocrit in the foetuses of the W group, whereas in the LW foetuses, these changes were less pronounced. Muscle protein synthesis (measured by L-[3H]-phenylalanine incorporation) was reduced in the W foetuses but was restored in the LW group. Protein breakdown (as assessed by tyrosine release) was enhanced in the L and W groups, but chymotrypsin-like activity increased only in group W and tended toward an increase in the LW foetuses. The activity of cathepsin H was significantly higher in the W group foetuses, but the proteolytic calcium-dependent pathway showed similar enzyme activity. In parallel, an intense oxidative stress process was observed only in the group W foetuses.

Conclusions

These data suggested that the proteasomal and lysosomal proteolytic pathways and oxidative stress are likely to participate in the process of foetal muscle catabolism of Walker’s tumour-bearing pregnant rats. The present work shows that foetal muscle can be protected by supplementation with a leucine-rich diet.