Sri Lankan Journal of Anaesthesiology 17(2) : 61 – 64 (2009) IMPROVING THE KNOWLEDGE OF OPERATING THEATRE ASSISTANTS

Operating Theatre Assistants (OTAs) deliver assistance in anaesthesia, surgery and recovery of patients. They require an adequate knowledge and competent clinical skills. In Sri Lanka this category of assistants does not receive any special training. Method: Operating theatre assistants in two Teaching hospitals in Sri Lanka were evaluated using a questionnaire, which were designed to assess the knowledge of anaesthetic machine and safety features, circuits and gases used in anaesthetic practice, electrical devices and safety, knowledge of resuscitation and airway management and knowledge on vital signs and monitoring. Results: 1. < 80 % of required knowledge was evident in 94 % of people with a p value of <0.001 2. The knowledge on circuits and gases used in anaesthetic practice <80 % of knowledge was seen in 98 % with a significant difference of p < 0.001

Nutritional composition and glycemic index analyses of vitamin A‐biofortified maize in healthy subjects

Besides being a veritable tool for easing the problem of vitamin A deficiency (VAD), this study sought to explore another potential health benefit of vitamin A-biofortified maize (VABM). In the present study, the nutritional composition and glycemic index (GI) of tuwo masara (a nonfermented maize-based dumpling), made from VABM and the indigenous white maize (IWM) genotype, were evaluated. VABM showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower fat (4.38 ± 0.46%) and crude protein (6.58 ± 0.13%) but higher crude fiber (5.29 ± 0.0%) contents compared to 5.22 ± 0.25% crude fat, 7.28 ± 0.11% crude protein, and 4.69 ± 0.00% crude fiber in the IWM. The phytic acid content in the IWM (2.77 mg/100 g) was 39% higher than the level (2.0 ± 0.04 mg/100 g) in VABM. The major provitaminAcarotenoid in theVABM were lutein (7.37 ± 0.52 μg/g), zeaxanthin (1.65 ± 0.01 μg/g), cryptoxanthin (1.29 ± 0.02 μg/g), and all-trans-βcarotene (0.83 ± 0.02 μg/g), while the IWM contained only lutein (1.52 ± 0.32 μg/g). The total carotene concentration, 12.74 ± 1.13 μg/g dry weight in the VABM, was over eight times higher than that observed for the IWM, 1.52 ± 0.32 μg/g dry weight. The VABM tuwo masara showed a significantly lower GI value (70.3%) compared to the IWM tuwo masara (87.7%). Data obtained from the study further attest to the positive nutritional and health benefits of VABM. KEYWORDS dietary fibers, glycemic index, healthy subjects, pro-vitamin A carotenoids, vitamin A-biofortified maiz