Highlights d Cities possess a consistent ''core'' set of non-human microbes d Urban microbiomes echo important features of cities and city-life d Antimicrobial resistance genes are widespread in cities d Cities contain many novel bacterial and viral species

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INTRODUCTIONGestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) affects up to 15% of pregnant women worldwide and an estimated 4 million women in India.1 Early detection and initiation of treatment reduces adverse maternal and foetal outcomes. Most of the pregnancies that develop GDM is associated with dyslipidemia, the assessment of which in the 2nd trimester could serve as a potential diagnostic tool. Pregnant women destined to develop GDM had higher total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, CRP, and t-PA but ABSTRACTBackground: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus is an emerging problem which affects pregnant women all over the world particularly in India. Early detection reduces adverse maternal and foetal outcome. Elevated central adiposity is a modifiable risk factor for abnormal glucose homeostasis in pregnancy and GDM. The Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) is a gender-specific index of fat distribution and assessment. Methods: It is a hospital based, case control study among the subjects who attended a tertiary care centre. cases were 30 pregnant women newly diagnosed with GDM in their 2nd trimester, and Controls were 30 apparently healthy pregnant women in their 2nd trimester without risk factors for GDM such as obesity and family history for diabetes. Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) was calculated using the formula (Waist circumference (WC)/ {36.58 +(1.89xBMI)}) x(TGL/0.81) x (1.52/HDL) where WC is expressed in cm, BMI in Kg/m2, TG in mmol/L, HDL in mmol/L. Results: The mean age of patients with GDM was higher when compared to controls (28.17 ± 3.34vs 24.40±3.07) and this difference was statistically significant (p value < 0.0001). The average weights were significantly different. The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) was 23.59 ± 4.19 and 88.46 ± 7.10 respectively among controls and 29.85 ±4.52 and 102.12 ± 6.96 respectively among GDM patients and these differences were highly significant (p value<0.0001). The lipid profile of these patients showed a significantly higher value of Triglycerides among patients. Conclusions:This study correlates GDM with Visceral adiposity index and found that the index to be elevated in the GDM group. The increased VAI in GDM patients shows their elevated adipose tissue distribution. VAI is less invasive and cost effective, can be used as a diagnostic index in GDM.

COVID-19 patients have a higher risk of developing inflammatory responses associated with serious and even fatal respiratory diseases. The role of oxidative stress in exacerbating manifestations in COVID-19 pathogenesis is under-reported.This study aimed touseserum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD3) and glutathione-S-transferase (GSTp1) by ELISA, zinc (ErbaChem5), ferritin and free iron (VitrosChemistry, Ortho Clinical Diagnosis, Raritan, NJ, USA) at the first encounter of randomly selected RT-PCR-positive COVID-19 patients, for assessing disease severity. The parameters which helped in identifying the severity, leading to poor prognosis, were neutrophil:lymphocyte higher than 4, high CRP, low SOD3 values and high GSTp1 values, and diabetes mellitus as a co-morbidity. Higher zinc levels correlated with high GSTp1 and low SOD3, indicating the protective effect of zinc on ROS. The increased high GSTp1 shows an anticipated protective biochemical response, to mitigate the low SOD3 values due to ROS consumption. Decreased SOD3 levels indicate a state of high oxidative stress at cellular levels, and an anticipated increase in GSTp1 levels points to the pathophysiological bases of increasing severity with age, sex, and co-morbidities, such asdiabetes. High levels of initial GSTp1 and zinc levels possibly offer protection to redox reactions at the cellular level in severe COVID-19 infection, preventing deterioration.

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The risk factors identified worldwide for development of osteoporosis are female sex, old age, small thin build or ABSTRACT Background: Osteoporosis is a silent, often found late, underdiagnosed disease characterized by low bone mass leading to increased susceptibility to fractures. With an increasingly aging population, the proportion of patients with osteopenia and osteoporosis are increasing in both developed and developing countries. The available data on osteoporosis is scanty from India. Methods: The objective was to measure the bone mineral density (BMD) of the patients using calcaneal Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS) and determine the risk factors along with the FRAX score. This was a hospital based cross sectional study conducted in a tertiary care hospital done on 183 out patients. BMD was measured using calcaneal QUS & T scores were calculated along with the FRAX score. Results: The prevalence of osteoporosis was 29.5% and osteopenia was 42.1%.The age wise analysis of BMD revealed males have the tendency to lose their bone mass after the age of 40 years while in females, the trend begins a decade earlier. The mean BMD of post-menopausal females was significantly lower compared to pre-menopausal females (-2.72 ± 1.33 vs-1.63 ± 1.06, P < 0.0001).Linear regression analysis revealed a complex linear relationship between the FRAX score and the BMD and it was statistically significant. Conclusions: Calcaneal QUS can be used as a screening tool to screen for and detect osteoporosis. It is economical, portable and easily available in many parts of the country. DEXA scan, the gold standard test to diagnose osteoporosis can be used to confirm the diagnosis in selected cases.