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Biomedical subjects

H Joshi

Publications and source records attributed to H Joshi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Higher mortality in deprived areas: community or personal disadvantage?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between level of social deprivation in electoral wards and premature mortality among residents, before and after allowing for levels of personal deprivation. DESIGN: Longitudinal study of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. SETTING: England. SUBJECTS: Random sample of nearly 300,000 people aged between 16 and 65 at the 1981 census and followed up for nearly nine years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Death from all causes between ages of 16 and 70. RESULTS: Without allowance for personal disadvantage, both sexes showed a clear, significant, and roughly linear positive relation between degree of deprivation of the ward of residence in 1981 and premature death before 1990. For men, this association was effectively explained away once allowance was made for individual socioeconomic circumstances. For women living in wards of above average deprivation, the association was also effectively removed, but the situation for other women was less clear. CONCLUSION: The excess mortality associated with residence in areas designated as deprived by census based indicators is wholly explained by the concentration in those areas of people with adverse personal or household socioeconomic factors. Health policy needs to target people as well as places.

Adolescent↗

Double burden or double blessing? Employment, motherhood and mortality in the Longitudinal Study of England and Wales.

The OPCS Longitudinal Study has been used to follow up women who were married at the time of the 1971 census, to see if their employment status and responsibility for children at that time had any detectable consequence for their mortality up to 1985. Of particular interest was whether the combination of employment and child rearing produced any signs of role overload, or its opposite hypothesized effect, role enhancement. The results show poorer health among those with neither employment nor children, but these effects did not appear to interact. We suspect the data reveal health selection as much as health effects of the roles taken separately. Whatever the stresses and strains of combining jobs and child rearing, they do not appear drastic enough to result in early death.

Adolescent↗

Correlation of malaria endemicity with An. culicifacies sibling species composition and malaria antibody profile in district Allahabad (U.P.).

Entomological, parasitological and serological surveys were conducted between October 1989 and November 1990 in 27 villages (population 33,250) belonging to three topographically different areas of district Allahabad, viz. Gangapar, Doaba and Yamunapar. A good correlation existed in all the three areas between malaria incidence vis-a-vis An. culicifacies sibling species composition and malaria antibodies titre in the populations. In Gangapar and Doaba villages, An. culicifacies densities were low and the proportions of vector species A and C were much less than that of species B, the non-vector species. Low endemicity of malaria was supported by low antibody titres observed in the population. In contrast, in Yamunapar villages An. culicifacies densities were high, species A and C together were almost equal to species B, and malaria incidence as well as antibody titre were high. Based on these observations, district Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, could be divided into two zones, low malaria transmission zone--Gangapar and Doaba areas and high malaria transmission zone--Yamunapar area.

Adolescent↗

Two-site immunoradiometric assay (IRMA): detection, efficiency, and procedural modifications.

A 2-site immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) has been done using Anopheles stephensi fed on Plasmodium vivax blood through parafilm to ascertain at what time in the sporogonic cycle circumsporozoite (CS) antigen can be detected, and to detect CS antigen in mosquitoes squashed on filter paper (FP) and cellulose acetate membrane (CAM). The CS antigen was detectable only in mature oocysts, a day prior to sporozoite liberation, and in salivary gland sporozoites. Dissected sporozoites adsorbed on FP/CAM also can be analyzed by IRMA for Plasmodium species identification.

Animals↗

Employment after childbearing in post-war Britain: cohort-study evidence on contrasts within and across generations.

"In post-war Britain, mothers have been returning to the labour-market after diminishing breaks around childbearing. Longitudinal data, mainly from two generations in the National Survey of the 1946 cohort, are used to describe and help explain the trend. Class and regional differences diminish over time, both in simple two-way analyses and in multiple (hazard) regression. Women's education and occupational attainments retain a positive effect on their chances of entering employment over the two generations. The weakening of class differentials is taken to signal a reduction in the income effect of a shifting labour-supply function."

Demography↗

Feeding preferences of Anopheles sundaicus in Car Nicobar Island.

Host feeding behaviour of An. sundaicus population in Car Nicobar Island was studied by bloodmeal analysis and bait collection. Results indicated the zoophagic nature of the species in different resting sites. However, a human blood index of 0.18 was observed in specimens collected from human dwellings. The highest proportion of females was found positive for porcine antigen. Bait collections also indicated a similar feeding pattern.

Animals↗

Genetic markers in refractory and susceptible malaria patients in village Bhanera, Distt. Ghaziabad, U.P.

Malaria 'susceptible' and 'refractory' subjects from village Bhanera in District Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) were examined for various genetic markers, viz., ABO, haptoglobin, haemoglobin and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase polymorphism. One hundred and nine susceptible and 36 refractory subjects were studied. No significant differences with respect to distribution patterns of the genetic markers were observed in the two groups except for AB blood group. In general, a high incidence of ahaptoglobinaemia was observed in this population and incidence increased with the increase in malaria attacks, suggesting that repeated malaria attacks cause ahaptoglobinaemia.

ABO Blood-Group System↗

The uses and users of population projections in Australia.

"It is widely recognized that population projections are increasingly used in formulating policy in many public and private sectors. However, little information exists on the nature of the projections or their users. This paper reports the results of a survey conducted to rectify this situation. The results confirm that the applications of projections are very broad and that the prime area of increase has been in small-area projections. At this level many users make their own projections rather than use official projections and the paper reviews the methodology used to make these projections. A number of suggestions are made for improving communication between national and subnational producers and local users." The geographical focus is on Australia.

Australia↗

Susceptibility of Anopheles culicifacies species A and B to Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum as determined by immunoradiometric assay.

We have used a two-site immunoradiometric assay and species-specific antisporozoite monoclonal antibodies to determine the relative roles that sibling species A and B of the Anopheles culicifacies complex play in malaria transmission in western Uttar Pradesh, India. The results unequivocally establish species A as the primary vector of both Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum in this area. Our results indicate active transmission of P. vivax from May to October and of P. falciparum from August to December. The identification of species A as the primary malaria vector in northern India will now allow suitable malaria control strategies to be designed.

Animals↗

Host feeding patterns of Anopheles culicifacies species A and B.

Countercurrent immunoelectrophoresis was used to assay bloodmeals to determine the host specificity of Anopheles culicifacies species A and B, collected from areas in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Results indicated the predominantly zoophagic nature of species A and B with a relatively higher degree of anthropophagy for species A. Further, the human blood index was found to be related to the proportion of human and cattle population in an area. This study is significant because, of the two species only species A was incriminated as the vector of malaria in these areas.

Animals↗

Spectrophotometric determination of cation concentrations in olfactory mucus.

Spectrophotometric techniques were used to determine the concentrations of Na+, K+ and Ca2+ in the olfactory mucus of frogs. The mean concentrations in mEq/l were: [Na+], 52.7 +/- 4.1; [K+], 10.6 +/- 1.9 and [Ca2+], 10.7 +/- 1.7. Topical application of the odorant cineole was associated with statistically significant increases in [Na+] and [Ca2+]; the secretagogues methacholine and isoproterenol induced transient increases in [Na+]. Cineole and methacholine caused sustained increases in [Na+]/[K+] from the control value of 5:1, while isoproterenol caused a transient increase followed by a decline. The results indicate that the cation concentrations in olfactory mucus samples are more similar to those derived from secretory tissue than to those found in the extracellular fluids surrounding typical neural tissue.

Animals↗