Progressive Trends of Childhood Immunization in Rajasthan: A study based on the NFHS database

Any public health program's efficacy may be evaluated solely based on the available statistics. A program's ability to be tracked relies heavily on data. There are several systems in place in India for gathering data on the health of individual states and the country as a whole. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is one of these mechanisms. Children's vaccination status is one of the many data points collected by the National Health Interview Study (NFIS), a representative sample survey. NFHS is commonly used to evaluate and monitor the progress of any health program in the country, therefore, to sum it up: According to Rajasthan's NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 reports, there has been a significant increase in the state's coverage status. Despite the difficulties and the closure of the corona, this research will investigate the data that has demonstrated extraordinary rises and the causes that have made it possible or the huge efforts by the state government

Multicultural, Heritage and Learner Identities in Complementary Schools

In this paper we look at three identity positions salient in research of young people studying in complementary schools in Leicester, a large linguistically and ethnically diverse city in the East Midlands, England. Our discussion of identity focuses on three identity positions: multicultural, heritage and learner. The first two of these are linked to discussions on ethnicity as a social category. We explore the fluidity and stability of ethnicity as a social description in interview transcripts of young people at complementary schools. In addition, the paper explores another, more emergent identity salient in the two schools, that of ‘learner identity’. The research can be characterised as adopting a linguistic ethnographic approach using a team of ethnographers. Data was collected for 20 weeks by four researchers and consists of fieldnotes, interviews and audio recordings of classroom interactions. We consider the importance of ambiguity and certainty in students’ conceptualisation of themselves around ethnicity and linguistic diversity and look at the institutional role complementary schools play in the production of these and successful learner identities. We explore how complementary schools privilege and encourage these particular identity positionings in their endorsement of flexible bilingualism. Overall, we argue that complementary schools allowed the children a safe haven for exploring ethnic and linguistic identities while producing opportunities for performing successful learner identity

Managing Bilingual Interaction in a Gujarati Complementary School in Leicester

This paper focuses on teacher–student interaction in two Gujarati complementary school classrooms in one school in the East Midlands city of Leicester, UK. To date, little work has been published on interaction in complementary schools, and little is therefore known about the cultures of learning and teaching in such contexts. Our study of complementary schools in Leicester has shown how the classroom participants manage bilingualism and bilingual learning and teaching. One of the most noticeable features of the discourses of the two classrooms is the way two languages are juxtaposed to create learning opportunities. This uncontested use of two languages through the pedagogic strategy of code-switching goes against the perceived notion of bilingual learning/teaching as being a deficient strategy. Classrooms in complementary schools offer a highly significant, though under-researched, context in which to study language choice, and specifically the multilingual experiences of classroom participants. By exploring the educational pedagogies and classroom discourses, it is the aim of the paper to extend theoretical insights into the way complementary schools might help to transform, negotiate and manage the linguistic, social and learning identities of the participants in the classroom

Complimentary and mainstream schooling: a case for reciprocity?

Supplementary or Complementary schooling, organised by minority ethnic and linguistic groups to support their own communities, has a long history in supporting learning beyond the mainstream sector. Indeed, successive governments have encouraged minority communities themselves to be responsible for maintaining their own community, cultural and linguistic heritages separate from the mainstream. The main purpose of this paper is to look at how complementary schooling, which is focused on the maintenance of community languages and cultures, can be included in the wider educational agenda. We will show how educational experiences around language learning, bilingualism and curriculum issues in complementary schools add value to the teaching and learning objectives of mainstream education. In doing so, we explore the potential links between voluntary and statutory education sectors, and the possibilities for synergy and distinction

Comparing the effects of sun exposure and vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D insufficiency, and immune and cardio-metabolic function: the Sun Exposure and Vitamin D Supplementation (SEDS) Study

BACKGROUND Adults living in the sunny Australian climate are at high risk of skin cancer, but vitamin D deficiency (defined here as a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration of less than 50 nmol/L) is also common. Vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor for a range of diseases. However, the optimal strategies to achieve and maintain vitamin D adequacy (sun exposure, vitamin D supplementation or both), and whether sun exposure itself has benefits over and above initiating synthesis of vitamin D, remain unclear. The Sun Exposure and Vitamin D Supplementation (SEDS) Study aims to compare the effectiveness of sun exposure and vitamin D supplementation for the management of vitamin D insufficiency, and to test whether these management strategies differentially affect markers of immune and cardio-metabolic function. METHODS/DESIGN The SEDS Study is a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial of two different daily doses of vitamin D supplementation, and placebo, in conjunction with guidance on two different patterns of sun exposure. Participants recruited from across Australia are aged 18-64 years and have a recent vitamin D test result showing a serum 25(OH)D level of 40-60 nmol/L. DISCUSSION This paper discusses the rationale behind the study design, and considers the challenges but necessity of data collection within a non-institutionalised adult population, in order to address the study aims. We also discuss the challenges of participant recruitment and retention, ongoing engagement of referring medical practitioners and address issues of compliance and participant retention. TRIAL REGISTRATION Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12613000290796 Registered 14 March 2013

Postmortem Brain Imaging in Alzheimer\u27s Disease and Related Dementias: The South Texas Alzheimer\u27s Disease Research Center Repository

Background: Neuroimaging bears the promise of providing new biomarkers that could refine the diagnosis of dementia. Still, obtaining the pathology data required to validate the relationship between neuroimaging markers and neurological changes is challenging. Existing data repositories are focused on a single pathology, are too small, or do not precisely match neuroimaging and pathology findings. Objective: The new data repository introduced in this work, the South Texas Alzheimer’s Disease research center repository, was designed to address these limitations. Our repository covers a broad diversity of dementias, spans a wide age range, and was specifically designed to draw exact correspondences between neuroimaging and pathology data. Methods: Using four different MRI sequences, we are reaching a sample size that allows for validating multimodal neuroimaging biomarkers and studying comorbid conditions. Our imaging protocol was designed to capture markers of cerebrovascular disease and related lesions. Quantification of these lesions is currently underway with MRI-guided histopathological examination. Results: A total of 139 postmortem brains (70 females) with mean age of 77.9 years were collected, with 71 brains fully analyzed. Of these, only 3% showed evidence of AD-only pathology and 76% had high prevalence of multiple pathologies contributing to clinical diagnosis. Conclusion: This repository has a significant (and increasing) sample size consisting of a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders and employs advanced imaging protocols and MRI-guided histopathological analysis to help disentangle the effects of comorbid disorders to refine diagnosis, prognosis and better understand neurodegenerative disorders

Dynamic Spin Fluctuations in the Frustrated A-site Spinel CuAl2O4

We performed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and muon spin relaxation ({\mu}SR) experiments to identify the magnetic ground state of the frustrated quantum A-site spinel, CuAl2O4. Our results verify that the ground state does not exhibit a long-range magnetic ordering, but a glass-like transition manifests at T*=2.3 K. However, the Gaussian shape and the weak longitudinal field dependence of {\mu}SR spectra below T* show that the ground state has dynamic spin fluctuations, distinct from those of conventional spin-glasses.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure

Evaluation of Esophageal Motility Utilizing the Functional Lumen Imaging Probe

© 2016 by the American College of Gastroenterology. Objectives:Esophagogastric junction (EGJ) distensibility and distension-mediated peristalsis can be assessed with the functional lumen imaging probe (FLIP) during a sedated upper endoscopy. We aimed to describe esophageal motility assessment using FLIP topography in patients presenting with dysphagia.Methods:In all, 145 patients (aged 18-85 years, 54% female) with dysphagia that completed up per endoscopy with a 16-cm FLIP assembly and high-resolution manometry (HRM) were included. HRM was analyzed according to the Chicago Classification of esophageal motility disorders; major esophageal motility disorders were considered "abnormal". FLIP studies were analyzed using a customized program to calculate the EGJ-distensibility index (DI) and generate FLIP topography plots to identify esophageal contractility patterns. FLIP topography was considered "abnormal" if EGJ-DI was < 2.8 mm 2 /mm Hg or contractility pattern demonstrated absent contractility or repetitive, retrograde contractions.Results:HRM was abnormal in 111 (77%) patients: 70 achalasia (19 type I, 39 type II, and 12 type III), 38 EGJ outflow obstruction, and three jackhammer esophagus. FLIP topography was abnormal in 106 (95%) of these patients, including all 70 achalasia patients. HRM was "normal" in 34 (23%) patients: five ineffective esophageal motility and 29 normal motility. In all, 17 (50%) had abnormal FLIP topography including 13 (37%) with abnormal EGJ-DI.Conclusions:FLIP topography provides a well-tolerated method for esophageal motility assessment (especially to identify achalasia) at the time of upper endoscopy. FLIP topography findings that are discordant with HRM may indicate otherwise undetected abnormalities of esophageal function, thus FLIP provides an alternative and complementary method to HRM for evaluation of non-obstructive dysphagia.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

BMP-7 inhibits TGF-β-induced invasion of breast cancer cells through inhibition of integrin β3 expression

BACKGROUND The transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily comprises cytokines such as TGF-β and Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs), which have a critical role in a multitude of biological processes. In breast cancer, high levels of TGF-β are associated with poor outcome, whereas inhibition of TGF-β-signaling reduces metastasis. In contrast, BMP-7 inhibits bone metastasis of breast cancer cells. METHODS In this study, we investigated the effect of BMP-7 on TGF-β-induced invasion in a 3 dimensional invasion assay. RESULTS BMP-7 inhibited TGF-β-induced invasion of the metastatic breast cancer cell line MCF10CA1a, but not of its premalignant precursor MCF10AT in a spheroid invasion model. The inhibitory effect appears to be specific for BMP-7, as its closest homolog, BMP-6, did not alter the invasion of MCF10CA1a spheroids. To elucidate the mechanism by which BMP-7 inhibits TGF-β-induced invasion, we analyzed invasion-related genes. BMP-7 inhibited TGF-β-induced expression of integrin α(v)β(3) in the spheroids. Moreover, targeting of integrins by a chemical inhibitor or knockdown of integrin β(3) negatively affected TGF-β-induced invasion. On the other hand, overexpression of integrin β(3) counteracted the inhibitory effect of BMP7 on TGF-β-induced invasion. CONCLUSION Thus, BMP-7 may exert anti-invasive actions by inhibiting TGF-β-induced expression of integrin β(3).Prostatic carcinom