Alkaline phosphatase (ALP; E.C.3.I.3.1.) is an ubiquitous membrane-bound glycoprotein that catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters at basic pH values. Alkaline phosphatase is divided into four isozymes depending upon the site of tissue expression that are Intestinal ALP, Placental ALP, Germ cell ALP and tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase or liver/bone/kidney (L/B/K) ALP. The intestinal and placental ALP loci are located near the end of long arm of chromosome 2 and L/B/K ALP is located near the end of the short arm of chromosome 1. Although ALPs are present in many mammalian tissues and have been studied for the last several years still little is known about them. The bone isoenzyme may be involved in mammalian bone calcification and the intestinal isoenzyme is thought to play a role in the transport of phosphate into epithelial cells of the intestine. In this review, we tried to provide an overview about the various forms, structure and functions of alkaline phosphatase with special focus on liver/bone/kidney alkaline phosphatase.

BackgroundEfforts to assess the burden of non-communicable diseases risk factors has improved in low and middle-income countries after political declaration of UN High Level Meeting on NCDs. However, lack of reliable estimates of risk factors distribution are leading to delay in implementation of evidence based interventions in states of India.MethodsA STEPS Survey, comprising all the three steps for assessment of risk factors of NCDs, was conducted in Punjab state during 2014–15. A statewide multistage sample of 5,127 residents, aged 18–69 years, was taken. STEPS questionnaire version 3.1 was used to collect information on behavioral risk factors, followed by physical measurements and blood and urine sampling for biochemical profile.ResultsTobacco and alcohol consumption were observed in 11.3% (20% men and 0.9% women) and 15% (27% men and 0.3% women) of the population, respectively. Low levels of physical activity were recorded among 31% (95% CI: 26.7–35.5) of the participants. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 28.6% (95% CI: 26.3–30.9) and 12.8% (95% CI: 11.2–14.4) respectively. Central obesity was higher among women (69.3%, 95% CI: 66.5–72.0) than men (49.5%, 95% CI: 45.3–53.7). Prevalence of hypertension in population was 40.1% (95% CI: 37.3–43.0). The mean sodium intake in grams per day for the population was 7.4 gms (95% CI: 7.2–7.7). The prevalence of diabetes (hyperglycemia), hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia was 14.3% (95% CI: 11.7–16.8), 21.6% (95% CI: 18.5–25.1) and 16.1% (95% CI: 13.1–19.2), respectively. In addition, 7% of the population aged 40–69 years had a cardiovascular risk of ≥ 30% over a period of next 10 years.ConclusionWe report high prevalence of risk factors of chronic non-communicable diseases among adults in Punjab. There is an urgent need to implement population, individual and programme wide prevention and control interventions to lower the serious consequences of NCDs.

BackgroundThe rising morbidity and mortality due to non-communicable diseases can be partly attributed to the urbanized lifestyle leading to unhealthy dietary practices and increasing physical levels of inactivity. The demographic and nutrition transition in India has also contributed to the emerging epidemic of non-communicable diseases in this country. In this context, there is limited information in India on dietary patterns, levels of physical activity and obesity. The aim of the present study was thus to assess the urban rural differences in dietary habits, physical activity and obesity in India.MethodsA household survey was done in the state of Punjab, India in a multistage stratified sample of 5127 individuals using the WHO STEPS questionnaire.ResultsNo rural urban difference was found in dietary practices and prevalence of overweight and obesity except the fact that a significantly higher proportion of respondents belonging to rural area (15.6 %) always/often add salt before/when eating as compared to urban area (9.1 %). Overall 95.8 % (94.6–97.0) of participants took less than 5 servings of fruits and/or vegetables on average per day. No significant urban rural difference was noted in both sexes in all three domains of physical activity such as work, transport and recreation. However, rural females (19.1 %) were found to be engaged in vigorous activity more than the urban females (6.3 %). Males reported high levels of physical activity in both the settings. Absence of recreational activity was reported by more than 95 % of the subjects. Higher prevalence of obesity (asian cut offs used) was seen among urban females (34.3 %) as compared to their rural counterparts (23.2 %). Abdominal obesity was found to be significantly higher among females in both the settings compared to males (p < 0.001).ConclusionsPoor dietary practices and physical inactivity seems to fuel the non-communicable disease epidemic in India. Non communicable disease control strategy need to address these issues with a gender equity lens. Rapid urbanization of rural India might be responsible for the absence of a significant urban rural difference.

Indoor air pollution is potentially a very serious environmental and public health problem in India. In poor communities, with the continuing trend in biofuel combustion coupled with deteriorating housing conditions, the problem will remain for some time to come. While to some extent the problem has been studied in rural areas, there is a dearth of reliable data and knowledge about the situation in urban slum areas. The microenvironmental model was used for assessing daily-integrated exposure of infants and women to respirable suspended particulates (RSP) in two slums of Delhi F one in an area of high outdoor pollution and the other in a less polluted area. The study confirmed that indoor concentrations of RSP during cooking in kerosene-using houses are lesser than that in wood-using houses. However, the exposure due to cooking was not significantly different across the two groups. This was because, perhaps due to socioeconomic reasons, kerosene-using women were found to cook for longer durations, cook inside more often, and that infants in such houses stayed in the kitchen for longer durations. It was observed that indoor background levels during the day and at nighttime can be exceedingly high. We speculate that this may have been due to resuspension of dust, infiltration, unknown sources, or a combination of these factors. The outdoor RSP levels measured just outside the houses (near ambient) were not correlated with indoor background levels and were higher than those reported by the ambient air quality monitoring network at the corresponding stations. More importantly, the outdoor levels measured in this study not only underestimated the daily-integrated exposure, but were also poorly correlated with it.

Abstract. We introduce semi-slant submersions from almost Hermitian manifolds onto Riemannian manifolds as a generalization of slant submersions, semi-invariant submersions, anti-invariant submersions, etc. We obtain characterizations, investigate the integrability of distributions and the geometry of foliations, etc. We also find a condition for such submersions to be harmonic. Moreover, we give lots of examples.

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Using controlled in vivo and in vitro pharmacological methods, we evaluated the safety of papaya (Carica papaya) consumption in pregnancy with reference to its common avoidance during pregnancy in some parts of Asia. Ripe papaya (Carica papaya L. (Caricaecae) blend (500 ml/l water) was freely given to four groups of Sprague-Dawley rats at different stages of gestation (days 1–5, 6–11, 12–17 and 1–20). The control group received water. The effect of ripe papaya juice and crude papaya latex on pregnant and non-pregnant rats' uteri was also evaluated using standard isolated-organ-bath methods. The daily volumes (ml) of ripe papaya blend consumed by the treated group were significantly (P<0·05) more than water consumed by the control (control 40·3 (<FONT SIZE="-2">SD</FONT> 11·6) v. treated 64 (SD 19·0)). There was no significant difference in the number of implantation sites and viable fetuses in the rats given ripe papaya relative to the control. No sign of fetal or maternal toxicity was observed in all the groups. In the in vitro study, ripe papaya juice (0·1–0·8 ml) did not show any significant contractile effect on uterine smooth muscles isolated from pregnant and non-pregnant rats; conversely, crude papaya latex (0·1–3·2 mg/ml) induced spasmodic contraction of the uterine muscles similar to oxytocin (1–64 mU/ml) and prostaglandin F2α (0·028–1·81 μM). The response of the isolated rat uterine smooth muscles to 0·2 mg crude papaya latex/ml was comparable to 0·23 μM prostaglandin F2α and 32 mU oxytocin/ml. In the 18–19 d pregnant rat uterus, the contractile effect of crude papaya latex was characterized by tetanic spasms. The results of the present study suggest that normal consumption of ripe papaya during pregnancy may not pose any significant danger. However, the unripe or semi-ripe papaya (which contains high concentration of the latex that produces marked uterine contractions) could be unsafe in pregnancy. Though evaluation of potentially toxic agents often relies on animal experimental results to predict risk in man, further studies will be necessary to ascertain the ultimate risk of unripe papaya–semi-ripe papaya consumption during pregnancy in man.

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