Food Security and Nutritional Status among Rural Poor: Evaluating the Impact of Rural Livelihood Mission in Odisha, India

This paper empirically examines the effect of participation in National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) on the food security of rural poor. In parallel, it also introspects the nutritional profiles of the respondents. Data were collected from 220 respondents (including both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries) through a structured questionnaire from Sonepur district of Odisha (India). For assessing the nutritional profile, the study uses 24 hour recall and food frequency questionnaire methods to collect the information on food consumption. Then food items were converted into their equivalent calories. A food security index (FSI) was constructed to capture the food security taking the average calories of food consumed by the respondents. The study finds a better food consumption pattern among beneficiaries than the non-beneficiaries. Further, the impact of NRLM is examined using randomised control trial method and finds a positive impact of the programme on the food security. That means, participation in the programme helps the beneficiaries to attain food security. Therefore, participation should be encouraged to mitigate the food insecurity problem

Metabolic and infectious pathologies in Brazilian medical literature: a review

OBJECTIVE: This review of original reports on metabolic and infectious diseases that were recently published in Brazilian journals is designed to inform the readership of CLINICS about their content. METHODS: I conducted a search in PubMed for original research articles (clinical or basic research) recently published (2008-2009) by Brazilian medical and biological periodicals. Papers on metabolic pathologies were retrieved by searching for appropriate keywords such as metabolic syndrome and obesity. Papers on infectious disease were obtained by entering 15 different keywords for the most commonly occurring pathologies. Review articles, editorials, letters to the editor, and case reports were manually excluded. Selected titles were then categorized into appropriate sub-categories. RESULTS: This search produced a total of 123 articles, which filtered down to 72 articles after eliminating editorials, review articles, letters to the Editor and case reports. Reviewed periodicals were Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia, Arquivos Brasileiros de Endocrinologia e Metabologia, Brazilian Journal of Biological and Medical Research, Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases, Jornal de Pediatria, Jornal de Pneumologia, Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira, Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da Universidade de São Paulo, and São Paulo Medical Journal. The articles were then briefly summarized

Biofunctional Attributes and Storage Study of Soy Milk Fermented by Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus helveticus

Različiti proizvodi od soje smatraju se tradicionalnom funkcionalnom hranom za mongolsku populaciju na sjeveroistoku Indije. U ovom je radu ispitan utjecaj dodatka različitih aroma (mango, naranča, vanilija i bijela ruža), stupnja inokulacije bakterijama mliječno-kiselog vrenja Lactobacillus rham¬nosus K4E (KX950834) i Lactobacillus helveticus K14 (KU644578) i masenih udjela obranog mlijeka i šećera na senzorne značajke sojinog jogurta. Tijekom deset dana skladištenja u hladnjaku pri 6-8 °C ispitivana su fizikalno-kemijska (pH-vrijednost, titracijska kiselost), mikrobiološka (ukupni broj bakterija te broj koliformnih bakterija, kvasaca i plijesni), organoleptička (aroma, okus, boja, punoća, tekstura i ukupna prihvatljivost) i biofunkcionalna (inhibicija proizvodnje angiotenzin konvertirajućeg enzima, antioksidacijski i antimikrobni učinak, biotransformacija izoflavona) svojstva jogurta. Najbolje je ocijenjen jogurt s aromom bijele ruže, čija je pH-vrijednost tijekom skladištenja bila od 5,65 do 4,20, titracijska kiselost (izražena kao maseni udjel mliječne kiseline) od 0,33 do 0,51 % i ukupni broj bakterija vrsta Lactobacillus od 6.81 do 8,69 log CFU/mL. Inhibicija se angiotenzin konvertirajućeg enzima povećavala tijekom skladištenja s početnih 21,17 % na 81,03 % izmjerenih tijekom petog dana skladištenja, a zatim smanjivala sve do 38,85 % nakon desetog dana. Najveća je antioksidacijska aktivnost zabilježena tijekom petog dana skladištenja (87 %). Sojin jogurt s aromom bijele ruže imao je najizraženiji antimikrobni učinak na bakteriju Listeria monocytogenes, a zatim na bakterije Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi i Escherichia coli. Analiza RP-HPLC pokazala je da je u jogurtu nakon 18 sati fermentacije dobiveno 87,3 % aglikona sojinog izoflavona genisteina i 58,4 % daidzeina.Different soybean products are considered as traditional functional food among the Mongolian population in Northeast India. In the present study, the effect of different flavours (mango, orange, vanilla and white rose), inoculation rates of Lactobacillus rhamnosus K4E (KX950834) and Lactobacillus helveticus K14 (KU644578), and mass fractions of skimmed milk and sugar on the acceptability of soy yoghurts was studied. Physicochemical (pH, titratable acidity) and microbial analyses (total bacterial, total coliform, yeast and mould count) were conducted, and organoleptic (aroma, taste, colour, mouthfeel, texture and overall acceptability) and biofunctional properties (angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and biotransformation of isoflavones) were evaluated during storage up to 10 days under refrigeration conditions (6–8 °C). Panellists preferred white rose soy yoghurt more than other flavours. The pH was from 5.65 to 4.20, the titratable acidity (expressed as mass fraction of lactic acid) was from 0.33 to 0.51 % and total Lactobacillus count ranged from 6.81 to 8.69 log CFU/mL during storage. The ACE inhibitory activity increased from 21.17 % on day 0 to 81.03 % on day 5, followed by a decrease of the activity after 10 days (38.85 %). The antioxidant activity was the highest on day 5 (87 %). White rose soy yoghurt had the highest antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, followed by Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli. RP-HPLC analysis showed that after 18 h, the production of soy isoflavone aglycones genistein and daidzein in yoghurt was 87.3 and 58.4 %, respectivel

Significance of fermented rice beverage on management of antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD) on Wistar rats

Antibiotic associated diarrhoea (AAD) is caused mostly by disruption of the physiological gut microflora. One potential strategy to prevent this is the concurrent use of probiotic bacteria or yeast. Tribal populations of West Garo Hill region of Meghalaya use locally available unique microflora to prepare fermented food products whichserve as a potential source of novel probiotic organisms and bioactive compounds.  In this context, here, we have evaluated the potentiality of laboratory made functional fermented rice beverage in mitigating AAD on animal models viz. Wistar rats. The animal models were administered with fermented rice beverage (test group A1), combination of indigenous Lactobacillus isolates (test group A2), a yeast isolate (test group A3), loperamide (test group STD), normal control (test group NC) and disease control (test group DC). Furthermore, various diarrhea assessment parameters were checked from each group followed by analysis of fecal microbiome, haematological parameters, histopathology of colon, liver and cecal short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) determination. NC and A1 was least affected by AAD induction with a faecal consistency score of 1 on the final day of the study. After day 10, a significant reduction (P <0.05) in the faecal water content was observed in A1, A2 and STD till day 15. Compared to the NC, a slight decrease in body weight was found in the rest of five test groups at day 5, 10 and 15. Except NC, the remaining five test groups showed a significant decrease of lactobacilli and yeast counts in faecal microbiota at 5th day. An increase in the enterococci and coliform counts indicated severe diarrheal condition but A1 reported with significant increase (P <0.05) in the population of Lactobacillus at day 15. An increase in red blood corpuscles, haemoglobin, packed cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration was observed. During the histopathology analysis of colon and liver, normal layers of mucosa, submucosa, muscularis and serous with absence of any abnormal changes or lesions was seen in A1. The cecal concentrations of lactate, acetate and propionate were significantly higher in A1 as compared to the other test groups. Therefore, fermented rice beverage possesses potential to be used in inhibition of antibiotic associated diarrhea with further clinical investigations

TNF-α promoter polymorphism: a factor contributing to the different immunological and clinical phenotypes in Japanese encephalitis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>More than three billion populations are living under the threat of Japanese encephalitis in South East Asian (SEA) countries including India. The pathogenesis of this disease is not clearly understood and is probably attributed to genomic variations in viral strains as well as the host genetic makeup. The present study is to determine the role of polymorphism of TNF-alpha promoter regions at positions -238G/A, -308G/A, -857C/T and -863C/A in the severity of Japanese encephalitis patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Total of 142 patients including 66 encephalitis case (IgM/RT-PCR positive), 16 fever cases (IgM positive) without encephalitis and 60 apparently healthy individuals (IgG positive) were included in the study. Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) using site specific restriction enzymes were implemented for polymorphism study of TNF alpha promoter.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Following the analysis of the digestion patterns of four polymorphic sites of the TNF- alpha promoter region, a significant association was observed between the allele -308A and -863C with the patients of Japanese encephalitis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>TNF- alpha 308 G/A has been shown to be associated with elevated TNF- alpha transcriptional activity. On the other hand, polymorphism at position -863C/A in the promoter region has been reported to be associated with reduced TNF- alpha promoter activity and lower plasma TNF levels. As per the literature search, this is the first study to identify the role of TNF- alpha promoter in JE infection. Our results show that subjects with - 308A and -863C alleles are more vulnerable to the severe form of JE infection.</p

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

HOSPITAL DEPENDENCY: AN EXISTING CONCEPT

Chronically institutionalized patients demonstrate a behavioral pattern characterized by unwillingness to get discharged from the hospital and severe anxiety during such attempts leading to continued hospitalization. These patients usually have poor selfconcept and low evaluation in getting employment, which requires vocational rehabilitation. To prevent this, mental health professionals should make active efforts to develop a favorable attitude of the chronic mentally ill patients towards their home

Estimation of Trophic State Index of Chilika Lake using Landsat-8 OLI and LISS-III satellite data

Trophic State Index (TSI) of the Chilika Lake has been estimated using secchi disk transparency (SDT) as well as satellite data. An algorithm was developed to estimate TSI using in-situ observed SDT and band ratio of Landsat-8 OLI in exponential mode (R2 = 0.72). Different interpolation methods have been applied and the best one was considered to prepare two dimensional water quality images of the lake. The in-situ and satellite observed, TSI value shows the northern sector is always in eutrophic to hypereutrophic condition. During pre-monsoon season of 2015 the southern sector shows lake water is eutrophic condition. The analysis of satellite image indicate the lake water is in eutrophic condition from the year 2006 to 2015. However, the average TSI values were comparatively less during post-monsoon season of 2013 and 2015

Wireless paging system for underground mines

Underground working in different horizons with intricate haulage and traveling roadways is very complex in nature. Wired communication is presently the most adopted technology in Indian underground mines. Also, the cellular network cannot be used for communication due to the non- availability of the coverage link. So, addressing of key-personnel to pass on the information and assign task becomes a challenge for mine management. Implementation of wireless paging systems with routers and/or repeaters at strategic locations can instruct manpower for the jobs as well as obviate the impending mishap, if any, at remote locations of the mine. This paper presents a design of a wireless paging system for underground mines which consists of a two-way alphanumeric paging system operating on a ZigBee based wireless network and a paging terminal software. This paging system can be used to unicast or broadcast messages to all the pagers working in the RF network. A successful field trial of the same is also conducted to devise a node placement strategy for the routing units with prototype pagers in the shaft and traveling roadways at 400 and 500 m horizon of a deep underground coal min