Biotechnology

In the present cross-sectional study, an attempt has been made to report the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school-going children of the affluent families of Punjab. A total of 1000 children (490 boys and 510 girls) were measured for height and weight. Overweight and obesity were assessed using age and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) cut-off points. In the present study, 12.24% boys and 14.31% girls were overweight, and 5.92% boys and 6.27% girls were obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among the affluent school children of Punjab was as high or higher as in some developed countries.

Currently, a gluten-free diet is the mainstay in the management of celiac disease patients but it leads to malnutrition of the patients due to omission of wheat. Inflammation triggered by gluten is an important hallmark of the disease. With this background, an in-vitro study was planned to develop wheat-based bread by blending wheat flour and sorghum flour in the ratio 60: 40. Using this flour ratio two breads were prepared one supplemented with sorghum leaf extract and another supplemented with sorghum bran extract as anti-inflammatory agents. The extracts were added in the dose of 2.24 g per 300 g of flour. The extracts were prepared using ethanol and water (50:50). In-vitro digestion and absorption of prepared bread samples was done to evaluate bio-accessibility index and bio-efficiency index of anti-inflammatory compounds. Result shows that breads supplemented with sorghum bran and leaf extract has significantly higher bioaccessibility index (p

Background In a nationwide survey in 1991, the proportion of Mycobacteriurn tuberculosis isolates resistant to both isoniazid and rifampin (MDR-TB) in New Jersey (6.6%) was ranked second highest in the United States. The objectives of this study were to describe drug-...

The present study was conducted on 204 individuals of different regions of Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, India, to assess the level of knowledge and awareness of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in targeted population. Population survey based study was carried out in people grouped in three age groups (Group 1: <18 years, Group 2: Between 18-40 years, Group 3: Above 40). Cardiovascular risk assessment questionnaire was used to assess the level of knowledge and awareness of risk factors via goggle forms and manually filling the same forms. Among risk factors 8.8 percent persons from our targeted population encountered with heart attack, angina, abnormal Heart Rhythm with significant hike in CVD cases was observed in group 3 individuals. Incidence of high blood pressure was observed in 32.4%, 4.9% are normal and 62.7% are unaware of their blood pressure status. Similarly, majority of the population 42.6% are not aware of their...