564 research outputs found
Engaging Development Partners in Efforts to Reverse Malnutrition Trends in Pakistan
After two decades of failed efforts to launch a national nutrition programme and nutrition action largely limited to low coverage interventions, a promising multisectoral nutrition scenario is unfolding in Pakistan led by provincial and regional officials and a well?coordinated group of development partners. The process has emerged from the confluence of three recent events in the country: the floods of 2010 and 2011; the passing of a constitutional amendment in 2010 which had the effect of dissolving the federal government's Ministry of Health and devolving responsibilities for health and nutrition to the provinces and regions; and a National Nutrition Survey in 2011 with results indicating that chronic malnutrition in the country had actually deteriorated over the previous decade. This article discusses the paths leading from these events to the present opportunities to address malnutrition aggressively and systematically, examines the sensitisation, advocacy and strategy development processes employed, and presents both the potential promise and the risks involved in the new provincial and regional nutrition undertakings
Subsidized food consumption systems in low income countries : the Pakistan experience
"#2063"--handwritten on coverIncludes bibliographical reference
Addressing malnutrition multisectorally : what have we learned from recent international experience? Case studies from Peru, Brazil, Bangladesh
In this report, authors Jim Levinson and Yarlini Balarajan of UNICEF New York and Alessandra Marini of the World Bank present three major case studies from Peru, Brazil and Bangladesh, but also a historical review of multisectoral nutrition activities in several other countries around the world. The report offers conclusions and lessons learned focusing on the value of combining nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions that functions together in targeted areas, the importance of nutrition-related related results-based incentives to generate action on sub-national levels, and the importance of advocacy at the policy level.MDG Achievement Fund Secretariat, Cooperación Español
QuickSNP: an automated web server for selection of tagSNPs
Although large-scale genetic association studies involving hundreds to thousands of SNPs have become feasible, the associated cost is substantial. Even with the increased efficiency introduced by the use of tagSNPs, researchers are often seeking ways to maximize resource utilization given a set of SNP-based gene-mapping goals. We have developed a web server named QuickSNP in order to provide cost-effective selection of SNPs, and to fill in some of the gaps in existing SNP selection tools. One useful feature of QuickSNP is the option to select only gene-centric SNPs from a chromosomal region in an automated fashion. Other useful features include automated selection of coding non-synonymous SNPs, SNP filtering based on inter-SNP distances and information regarding the availability of genotyping assays for SNPs and whether they are present on whole genome chips. The program produces user-friendly summary tables and results, and a link to a UCSC Genome Browser track illustrating the position of the selected tagSNPs in relation to genes and other genomic features. We hope the unique combination of features of this server will be useful for researchers aiming to select markers for their genotyping studies. The server is freely available and can be accessed at the URL http://bioinformoodics.jhmi.edu/quickSNP.pl
A Positive Deviance-based Antenatal Nutrition Project Improves Birth-weight in Upper Egypt
The positive deviance approach identifies and promotes existing uncommon healthy behaviours. A positive deviance-informed antenatal project was pilot-tested in Al-Minia Governorate, Upper Egypt, during 2003–2004, after a positive deviance study in 2000 found that successful pregnancies had increased consumption of meat and vegetables, daytime rest, and antenatal care; less second-hand smoke exposure; and symptoms of no urinary tract infection. Accordingly, health facilities were upgraded in target and comparison areas to provide quality antenatal care, including treatment of urinary tract infection. Additionally, in the target villages, women at-risk of delivering low-birth-weight infants were enrolled in weekly ‘IMPRESS’ (improved pregnancy through education and supplementation) sessions with counselling and supplemental food. In total, 519 women (344 target, 175 comparison) were enrolled in the third or fourth month of pregnancy and were followed through delivery. Birth-weights of the target mothers increased 2.2 times more than birth-weights of the comparison mothers over baseline (mean increase: 0.58 vs 0.26 g respectively, p<0.01). Similarly, the decrease in prevalence of low birth-weight from baseline was greater in the target villages than in the comparison mothers (% of decrease: 26.9 vs 11.9 respectively, p<0.01). The target at-risk women were far more likely than their counterparts to report eating more food (54.9% vs 10.6%), more meat (57.1% vs 4.2%), more vegetables (66.9% vs 5.3%), increasing daytime rest (64.1% vs 11.7%), and avoiding second-hand smoke (91.3% vs 51.6%) during pregnancy. The cost per 100 g of improvement in birth-weight was US$ 3.98. The Government of Egypt and partners are scaling up the elements of the project
A Positive Deviance-based Antenatal Nutrition Project Improves Birth-weight in Upper Egypt
The positive deviance approach identifies and promotes existing
uncommon healthy behaviours. A positive deviance-informed antenatal
project was pilot-tested in Al-Minia Governorate, Upper Egypt, during
2003-2004, after a positive deviance study in 2000 found that
successful pregnancies had in\uadcreased consumption of meat and
vegetables, daytime rest, and antenatal care; less second-hand smoke
exposure; and symptoms of no urinary tract infection. Accordingly,
health facilities were upgraded in target and comparison areas to
provide quality antenatal care, including treatment of urinary tract
in\uadfection. Additionally, in the target villages, women at-risk of
delivering low-birth-weight infants were enrolled in weekly 'IMPRESS'
(improved pregnancy through education and supplementation)
ses\uadsions with counselling and supplemental food. In total, 519
women (344 target, 175 comparison) were enrolled in the third or fourth
month of pregnancy and were followed through delivery. Birth-weights of
the target mothers increased 2.2 times more than birth-weights of the
comparison mothers over baseline (mean increase: 0.58 vs 0.26 g
respectively, p<0.01). Similarly, the decrease in prevalence of low
birth-weight from baseline was greater in the target villages than in
the comparison mothers (% of decrease: 26.9 vs 11.9 respectively,
p<0.01). The target at-risk women were far more likely than their
counterparts to report eating more food (54.9% vs 10.6%), more meat
(57.1% vs 4.2%), more vegeta\uadbles (66.9% vs 5.3%), increasing
daytime rest (64.1% vs 11.7%), and avoiding second-hand smoke (91.3% vs
51.6%) during pregnancy. The cost per 100 g of improvement in
birth-weight was US$ 3.98. The Government of Egypt and partners are
scaling up the elements of the project
Seeking Optimal Means to Address Micronutrient Deficiencies in Food Supplements: A Case Study from the Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project
In seeking to improve the micronutrient contents of a food supplement
used in a major community-based nutrition project in Bangladesh,
operations research was conducted to compare the provision of needed
micronutrients through additional food sources (fresh or dried fruits
or vegetables), a micronutrient multi-mix, and a combination of the
two. Micronutrient gaps (the difference between micronutrient
requirements and actual micronutrient intake) were estimated for four
groups of project beneficiaries, with target intakes defined as
requirements for iron, calcium, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin,
niacin, and vitamin B12 recommended by the Food and Agriculture
Organization/World Health Organization. Primary focus was placed on
iron and vitamin A. Cost and bulk constraint analyses, based on cost of
supplement, feasibility of delivery, and serving volume needed to
achieve micronutrient targets, were used for comparing the supplement
options. In terms of these analyses, the micronutrient multi-mix
proved, by far, to be the most advantageous. Food options, however, are
arguably desirable in that they provide dietary benefits additional to
that of known micronutrients and may increase demand to boost
production of domestic fruits and vegetables for the population as a
whole. The study concludes that it is cost-effective to use powdered
micronutrient mixes for such specific purposes as enrichment of
supplementary food and food fortification, but encourages production
and consumption of micronutrient-rich foods through programme messages
and activities
Spatial Representations Are Specific to Different Domains of Knowledge
There is evidence that many abstract concepts are represented cognitively in a spatial format. However, it is unknown whether similar spatial processes are employed in different knowledge domains, or whether individuals exhibit similar spatial profiles within and across domains. This research investigated similarities in spatial representation in two knowledge domains – mathematics and music. Sixty-one adults completed analogous number magnitude and pitch discrimination tasks: the Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes and Spatial-Musical Association of Response Codes tasks. Subgroups of individuals with different response patterns were identified through cluster analyses. For both the mathematical and musical tasks, approximately half of the participants showed the expected spatial judgment effect when explicitly cued to focus on the spatial properties of the stimuli. Despite this, performances on the two tasks were largely independent. Consistent with previous research, the study provides evidence for the spatial representation of number and pitch in the majority of individuals. However, there was little evidence to support the claim that the same spatial representation processes underpin mathematical and musical judgments
Bose-Einstein Correlations of Three Charged Pions in Hadronic Z^0 Decays
Bose-Einstein Correlations (BEC) of three identical charged pions were
studied in 4 x 10^6 hadronic Z^0 decays recorded with the OPAL detector at LEP.
The genuine three-pion correlations, corrected for the Coulomb effect, were
separated from the known two-pion correlations by a new subtraction procedure.
A significant genuine three-pion BEC enhancement near threshold was observed
having an emitter source radius of r_3 = 0.580 +/- 0.004 (stat.) +/- 0.029
(syst.) fm and a strength of \lambda_3 = 0.504 +/- 0.010 (stat.) +/- 0.041
(syst.). The Coulomb correction was found to increase the \lambda_3 value by
\~9% and to reduce r_3 by ~6%. The measured \lambda_3 corresponds to a value of
0.707 +/- 0.014 (stat.) +/- 0.078 (syst.) when one takes into account the
three-pion sample purity. A relation between the two-pion and the three-pion
source parameters is discussed.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, 5 eps figures included, accepted by Eur. Phys. J.
- …