Prevalence and serverity of Iodine deficiency disorder among children 6-12 years of age in Shebe Senbo District, Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Iodine deficiency disorder is a major problem worldwide, especially during pregnancy and childhood. The magnitude of the problem is quite big in Ethiopia. The main aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and severity of iodine deficiency disorders. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Shebe Senbo District on January 2011. Three elementary schools were selected by lottery method from 20 schools. From each school, students were selected by simple random sampling. Spot urine sample (5 ml) was taken to measure urine iodine level; physical exam was made to palpate goiter and salt samples were collected to estimate iodine content. RESULTS: Out of 389 participants, 179 (46%) were males. The total goiter rate was 59.1% (Grade 1: 35.2%; Grade 2:23.9%). The median urinary iodine level was 56 4g/L that indicates iodine deficiency. Out of 389 households in the study area, 277 (71.2%) were using non-iodinated salt, 102 (26.2%) of the households were using iodinated salt. Cabbage usage was significantly associated with goiter. CONCLUSION: Endemic goiter is quite prevalent in the study area. Median urinary iodine value of the study samples was found to be far lower than standards. Quality of the salt used by the study population was found to be poor in its iodine content. The use of cabbage (goitrogen) has shown remarkable influence on the development of goiter. Therefore, awareness creation and distribution of iodized salt are highly recommended.Keywords: Iodine deficiency disorders, goiter, median urinary iodine, severity, prevalenceEthiopian Journal of Health Sciences vol 22 (3) 201

The effect of surveillance and appreciative inquiry on puerperal infections : a longitudinal cohort study in India

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Identification of factor XI deficiency in Holstein cattle in Turkey

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Infection control in delivery care units, Gujarat state, India: A needs assessment

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Optimal functional outcome measures for assessing treatment for Dupuytren's disease: A systematic review and recommendations for future practice

This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright © 2013 Ball et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Background: Dupuytren's disease of the hand is a common condition affecting the palmar fascia, resulting in progressive flexion deformities of the digits and hence limitation of hand function. The optimal treatment remains unclear as outcomes studies have used a variety of measures for assessment. Methods: A literature search was performed for all publications describing surgical treatment, percutaneous needle aponeurotomy or collagenase injection for primary or recurrent Dupuytren’s disease where outcomes had been monitored using functional measures. Results: Ninety-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-two studies reported outcomes using patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) ranging from validated questionnaires to self-reported measures for return to work and self-rated disability. The Disability of Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score was the most utilised patient-reported function measure (n=11). Patient satisfaction was reported by eighteen studies but no single method was used consistently. Range of movement was the most frequent physical measure and was reported in all 91 studies. However, the methods of measurement and reporting varied, with seventeen different techniques being used. Other physical measures included grip and pinch strength and sensibility, again with variations in measurement protocols. The mean follow-up time ranged from 2 weeks to 17 years. Conclusions: There is little consistency in the reporting of outcomes for interventions in patients with Dupuytren’s disease, making it impossible to compare the efficacy of different treatment modalities. Although there are limitations to the existing generic patient reported outcomes measures, a combination of these together with a disease-specific questionnaire, and physical measures of active and passive individual joint Range of movement (ROM), grip and sensibility using standardised protocols should be used for future outcomes studies. As Dupuytren’s disease tends to recur following treatment as well as extend to involve other areas of the hand, follow-up times should be standardised and designed to capture both short and long term outcomes

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation systems of Primula vulgaris

Background: Genetic transformation is a valuable tool and an important procedure in plant functional genomics contributing to gene discovery, allowing powerful insights into gene function and genetically controlled characteristics. Primulaceae species provide one of the best-known examples of heteromorphic flower development, a breeding system which has attracted considerable attention, including that of Charles Darwin. Molecular approaches, including plant transformation give the best opportunity to define and understand the role of genes involved in floral heteromorphy in the common primrose, Primula vulgaris, along with other Primula species. Results: Two transformation systems have been developed in P. vulgaris. The first system, Agrobacterium-mediated vacuum infiltration of seedlings, enables the rapid testing of transgenes, transiently in planta. GUS expression was observed in the cotyledons, true leaves, and roots of Primula seedlings. The second system is based on Agrobacterium tumefaciens infection of pedicel explants with an average transformation efficiency of 4.6%. This transformation system, based on regeneration and selection of transformants within in vitro culture, demonstrates stable transgene integration and transmission to the next generation. Conclusion: The two transformation systems reported here will aid fundamental research into important traits in Primula. Although, stable integration of transgenes is the ultimate goal for such analyses, transient gene expression via Agrobacterium-mediated DNA transfer, offers a simple and fast method to analyse transgene functions. The second system describes, for the first time, stable Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Primula vulgaris, which will be key to characterising the genes responsible for the control of floral heteromorphy

Development and use of genic molecular markers (GMMs) for construction of a transcript map of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

A transcript map has been constructed by the development and integration of genic molecular markers (GMMs) including single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), genic microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) and intron spanning region (ISR)-based markers, on an inter-specific mapping population of chickpea, the third food legume crop of the world and the first food legume crop of India. For SNP discovery through allele re-sequencing, primer pairs were designed for 688 genes/expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of chickpea and 657 genes/ESTs of closely related species of chickpea. High-quality sequence data obtained for 220 candidate genic regions on 2–20 genotypes representing 9 Cicer species provided 1,893 SNPs with an average frequency of 1/35.83 bp and 0.34 PIC (polymorphism information content) value. On an average 2.9 haplotypes were present in 220 candidate genic regions with an average haplotype diversity of 0.6326. SNP2CAPS analysis of 220 sequence alignments, as mentioned above, provided a total of 192 CAPS candidates. Experimental analysis of these 192 CAPS candidates together with 87 CAPS candidates identified earlier through in silico mining of ESTs provided scorable amplification in 173 (62.01%) cases of which predicted assays were validated in 143 (82.66%) cases (CGMM). Alignments of chickpea unigenes with Medicago truncatula genome were used to develop 121 intron spanning region (CISR) markers of which 87 yielded scorable products. In addition, optimization of 77 EST-derived SSR (ICCeM) markers provided 51 scorable markers. Screening of easily assayable 281 markers including 143 CGMMs, 87 CISRs and 51 ICCeMs on 5 parental genotypes of three mapping populations identified 104 polymorphic markers including 90 markers on the inter-specific mapping population. Sixty-two of these GMMs together with 218 earlier published markers (including 64 GMM loci) and 20 other unpublished markers could be integrated into this genetic map. A genetic map developed here, therefore, has a total of 300 loci including 126 GMM loci and spans 766.56 cM, with an average inter-marker distance of 2.55 cM. In summary, this is the first report on the development of large-scale genic markers including development of easily assayable markers and a transcript map of chickpea. These resources should be useful not only for genome analysis and genetics and breeding applications of chickpea, but also for comparative legume genomics

Small and sick newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic: global survey and thematic analysis of healthcare providers' voices and experiences.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting health systems globally. Maternity care disruptions have been surveyed, but not those related to vulnerable small newborns. We aimed to survey reported disruptions to small and sick newborn care worldwide and undertake thematic analysis of healthcare providers' experiences and proposed mitigation strategies. METHODS: Using a widely disseminated online survey in three languages, we reached out to neonatal healthcare providers. We collected data on COVID-19 preparedness, effects on health personnel and on newborn care services, including kangaroo mother care (KMC), as well as disruptors and solutions. RESULTS: We analysed 1120 responses from 62 countries, mainly low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Preparedness for COVID-19 was suboptimal in terms of guidelines and availability of personal protective equipment. One-third reported routine testing of all pregnant women, but 13% had no testing capacity at all. More than 85% of health personnel feared for their own health and 89% had increased stress. Newborn care practices were disrupted both due to reduced care-seeking and a compromised workforce. More than half reported that evidence-based interventions such as KMC were discontinued or discouraged. Separation of the mother-baby dyad was reported for both COVID-positive mothers (50%) and those with unknown status (16%). Follow-up care was disrupted primarily due to families' fear of visiting hospitals (~73%). CONCLUSION: Newborn care providers are stressed and there is lack clarity and guidelines regarding care of small newborns during the pandemic. There is an urgent need to protect life-saving interventions, such as KMC, threatened by the pandemic, and to be ready to recover and build back better

Mapping disparities in education across low- and middle-income countries

Analyses of the proportions of individuals who have completed key levels of schooling across all low- and middle-income countries from 2000 to 2017 reveal inequalities across countries as well as within populations. Educational attainment is an important social determinant of maternal, newborn, and child health(1-3). As a tool for promoting gender equity, it has gained increasing traction in popular media, international aid strategies, and global agenda-setting(4-6). The global health agenda is increasingly focused on evidence of precision public health, which illustrates the subnational distribution of disease and illness(7,8); however, an agenda focused on future equity must integrate comparable evidence on the distribution of social determinants of health(9-11). Here we expand on the available precision SDG evidence by estimating the subnational distribution of educational attainment, including the proportions of individuals who have completed key levels of schooling, across all low- and middle-income countries from 2000 to 2017. Previous analyses have focused on geographical disparities in average attainment across Africa or for specific countries, but-to our knowledge-no analysis has examined the subnational proportions of individuals who completed specific levels of education across all low- and middle-income countries(12-14). By geolocating subnational data for more than 184 million person-years across 528 data sources, we precisely identify inequalities across geography as well as within populations.Peer reviewe