The examination of Indian secondary school food and nutrition landscape

The empirical evidence emerging from this study provide a platform for public health professionals to design skills-focussed secondary school curricula supported by effective school food policies aimed at promoting healthy dietary behaviours among Indian adolescents.<br /

Diprosopus tetraophthalmos: a rare congenital anomaly

Diprosopus is an extremely rare form of conjoined twins which is found in newborns where there is partial or complete duplication of face. The etiology and pathophysiology remain unknown and no genetic mutations have definitively associated with the condition so far. This article described a case of an infant born at 33.4 weeks gestation with multiple congenital anomalies including diprosopus tetraophthalmos and discussed the possible hypothesis and implications of prenatal diagnosis

Preoperative ultrasonography in the evaluation of abdominal wall adhesions

Background: To detect and document preoperatively the presence of bowel and omental adhesions in the periumbilical region and along the previous abdominal scar using visceral slide scale by ultrasonography, and to compare the ultrasonic findings with intraoperative laparotomy or laparoscopy.Methods: It was a cross-sectional observational study conducted between for 18 months at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi. Patients who had previously undergone abdominal surgery and were subsequently admitted for either laparotomy or laparoscopy (N=100) were selected. All patients underwent ultrasonography for visceral slide evaluation both along the scar and in a radius of 4 cm around the umbilicus. Later, peroperative findings were compared with ultrasonic findings.Results: Mean visceral slide without and with adhesions was 2.39 (±1.21) versus 1.74 (±1.26) cm, correlation being significant (p=0.017) along the scar. While, the mean slide along the scar without and with adhesions in periumbilical region was 2.33 (±1.24) versus 1.07 (±1.07) cm, (p=0.007) on un-paired t-test showing sensitivity=51.6%, specificity=81.15%, positive predictive value=55.2%, and negative predictive value=78.9%. Patients with bowel adhesions (N=3) had restricted visceral slide both in periumblical region and along the scar (1.07 and 0.5 cm respectively).Conclusions: Preoperative ultrasonography using visceral slide is a valuable technique in the detection of abdominal wall adhesions. A slide of ≤1 cm in the periumbilical region strongly suggests bowel adhesions.

Food consumption patterns of adolescents aged 14-16 years in Kolkata, India

BACKGROUND: The nutrition transition has brought about rapid changes in the structure of the Indian diet. The replacement of traditional home-cooked meals with ready-to-eat, processed foods has contributed to an increased risk of chronic diseases in urban Indians. Improving the nutrition of Indians by promoting healthy food consumption in early life and in adolescence would help to reduce these health risks. However, little is known about the quality and quantity of foods and beverages consumed by urban Indian adolescents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the food consumption patterns in a sample of urban Indian adolescents. METHODS: A self-administered, semi-quantitative, 59-item meal-based food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed to assess the dietary intake of adolescents over the previous day. A total of 1026 students (aged 14-16&nbsp;years) attending private, English-speaking schools in Kolkata, India completed the survey. RESULTS: Overall, the adolescents reported poor dietary intakes; over one quarter (30%) reported no consumption of vegetables and 70% reported eating three or more servings of energy-dense snacks, on the previous day. Nearly half of the respondents (45%) did not consume any servings of fruits and 47% reported drinking three or more servings of energy-dense beverages. The mean consumption of food groups in serves/day varied from 0.88 (SD&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.36) for pulses and legumes to 6.25 (SD&nbsp;=&nbsp;7.22) for energy-dense snacks. In general, girls had more nutritious dietary intakes than boys. CONCLUSIONS: The Indian adolescents reported poor food consumption patterns, and these findings highlight the need to design effective nutrition promotion strategies to encourage healthy eating in adolescence and targeting food supply and availability

Barriers to nutrition promotion in private secondary schools in Kolkata, India: perspectives of parents and teachers

School-based nutrition promotion is critical to the development of healthy eating habits in adolescents. Unfortunately, most Indian secondary schools do not support healthy eating among adolescents. Therefore, this study was designed to understand the perspectives of teachers and parents regarding the potential barriers to nutrition promotion in Indian secondary schools. Thirty-two teachers and 280 parents from five private English-speaking secondary schools in Kolkata, India took part in a cross-sectional survey. The paper-based survey instrument included both quantitative and qualitative items which were derived from previously published evidence. Descriptive and chi-square analyses were conducted on the quantitative data. Qualitative data were evaluated by thematic data analysis underpinned by the template analysis technique. Five main barriers to nutrition promotion emerged from the study. These included the perceived strong preference for energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods among students; lack of government canteen guidelines; limited engagement of parents, teachers, and adolescents in canteen operations; the widespread display of eye-catching food advertisements; and poor knowledge among canteen personnel with regards to healthy food preparation. These findings about the potential barriers to nutrition promotion provide useful directions for healthy school food policy implementation. Successful implementation of healthy school food policies can inculcate lifelong healthy eating habits among adolescents

Can peripheral blood smear examination be totally replaced by automated hematology analyser - with special reference to anemia?

Background: The aims and objectives of present study was to correlate typing of anemia based on RBC indices obtained from an automated analyzer with peripheral blood smear (PBS) examination and also to find out whether the number of PBS examination can be reduced with the help of automated hematology analyzer.Methods: A total of 2500 blood samples showing anemia as per WHO reference range were collected in central pathology lab of SVBP Hospital attached to L.L.R.M. Medical College, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India over a period of one year. Samples were reported by auto-analyzer and PBS examination simultaneously.Results: Out of total 2500 cases, there were 1623 females (64.9%) and 877 males (35.1%) with male: female ratio 0.54:1. By auto-analyzer and PBS examination, MCHC anemia (49.8%) was the commonest anemia followed by NCNC anemia (36.5%) and Macrocytic anemia (4.2%). Discordant typing of anemia between two methods was found in 284 (11.4%) cases only. These cases were diagnosed as normocytic normochromic (NCNC) anemia with raised RDW by autoanalyzer while as Dimorphic Anemia (DA) on PBS examination. Also morphological changes such as RBC inclusions, spherocytes, RBC fragments, schistocytes, nucleated RBCs were seen only on PBS examination.Conclusions: The Study concluded that even today PBS examination is very important and cannot be totally replaced by automated analyzer and both methods are complementary to each other

In vitro rapid and mass multiplication of highly valuable medicinal plant Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst.

A protocol has been developed for micropropagation of Bacopa monnieri (L) Wettst, a medicinal plant of high commercial potential with legendary reputation as a memory vitalizer. Nodal segments containing axillary buds were surface sterilized with 0.1% solution of mercuric chloride for 5 min and were inoculated aseptically on culture medium, axillary bud break was achieved in 100% of cultures in semisolid MS medium supplemented with 0.2 mg/l BAP. These proliferated in vitro axillary shoots were excised and cut into groups of shoot clusters and subcultured on MS medium supplemented with 0.2 mg/l BAP for shoot multiplication. 100% in vitro rooting was obtained when shoot clusters were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 0.15 mg/l IBA. The rooted plantlets were hardened, acclimatized and successfully established in field.Key words: Bacopa monnieri, nodal segments, micropropagation, plant growth regulators

A Review on Current Status of Blood Disorder: Thalassemia and its Treatment

The most prevalent hereditary monogenic disorders that claim millions of lives globally are thalassemic syndromes. A thalassemia is an inherited condition, at least one parent must carry the disease's gene. Perhaps a genetic mutation/ defective globin chain or the loss of specific important gene segments is the main cause. Thalassemic illnesses started to strain the healthcare systems of several nations worldwide. Management of thalassemia is now seen as a lifelong treatment that requires continuous monitoring. In this review, we seek to compile and analyze recent research on thalassemia diagnosis and treatment, including papers, studies, and clinical trials. We also intend to present a concise yet comprehensive study. A thalassemia is an inherited condition, at least one parent must carry the disease's gene. Perhaps a genetic mutation/ defective globin chain or the loss of specific important gene segments is the main cause