Conceptual understanding of Sustainable Health and Linking Nutrition to Sustainable Development Goals

Nutrition is a development indicator. It indicates advancement in health, education, employment, women’s empowerment, poverty, inequality reduction, and it can help in building peaceful, secure, and stable societies.” It is one of the important components which is directly or indirectly related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Multiple factors such as education, economic status, occupation, water, sanitation, hygiene, etc are interlinked with nutrition. In this article, we have emphasized the relationship of various SDGs with nutrition. Global and multi-sectorial involvement is required in the battle with malnutrition. Adequately nourished people are more productive and active. By breaking the cycles of hunger and malnutrition, we can create a path for achieving SDGs

Determinants of Work-Life Balance: A Cross-Cultural Review of Selected Asian Countries

Work-life balance has been recently viewed as one of the critical issues about organisational policies across different cultures and regions. The earlier studies of work-life balance have focused predominantly in the Western and developed nations with slight attention to the experience of work-life balance among Asian countries. Researchers have also paid little attention to examine work-life balance from a cross-cultural perspective, especially in Asian countries. The principal purpose of the present study is to analyse the available literature on the work-life balance among selected Asian countries. The focus of the present study is to identify the determinants of work-life balance and scrutinise the highly significant determinants of work-life balance across different cultures and regions. Based on identified determinants, it will suggest suitable measures to improve the most prevailing determinant of work-life balance among Asian countries. Further, the current study will also identify the current state of work-life balance focusing on theory, logic and methodology. The methods of the study involve secondary data to find out determinants of work-life balance conducted in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore and China; and it will compare the effectiveness of determinants of work-life balance to these regions. The data will help to describe how employees perceive work-life balance and why they engage in paid work, and what approaches are being adopted by these countries to balance work life in the context of varying economic, political, cultural, social and family conditions. The findings of present research and analyses will provide scholars with a complete understanding of the state of cross-cultural work-life balance and offer recommendations for future research that will undoubtedly facilitate theoretical advancement. &nbsp

Alterations in candidate genes PHF2, FANCC, PTCH1 and XPA at chromosomal 9q22.3 region: Pathological significance in early- and late-onset breast carcinoma

Introduction: Younger women with breast carcinoma (BC) exhibits more aggressive pathologic features compared to older women; young age could be an independent predictor of adverse prognosis. To find any existing differences in the molecular pathogenesis of BC in both younger and older women, alterations at chromosomal (chr.) 9q22.32-22.33 region were studied owing to its association in wide variety of tumors. Present work focuses on comparative analysis of alterations of four candidate genes; PHF2, FANCC, PTCH1 and XPA located within 4.4 Mb region of the afore-said locus in two age groups of BC, as well as the interrelation and prognostic significance of alterations of these genes. Methods: Deletion analysis of PHF2, FANCC, PTCH1 and XPA were examined in a subset of 47 early-onset (group-A: ≤ 40 years) and 59 late-onset (group-B: > 40 years) breast carcinomas using both microsatellite and exonic markers. Methylation Sensitive Restriction analysis (MSRA) was done to check for promoter methylation. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) and immunohistochemisty (IHC) was done in some genes to see their relative mRNA and protein expressions respectively. Clinico-pathological correlation of different parameters as well as patient survival was calculated using different statistical softwares like EpiInfo 6.04b, SPSS 10.0 etc. Results: Either age group exhibited high frequency of overall alterations in PHF2, FANCC and PTCH1 compared to XPA. Samples with alteration (deletion/methylation) in these genes showed reduced level of mRNA expression as seen by Q-PCR. Immunohistochemical analysis of FANCC and PTCH1 also supported this observation. Poor patient survival was noted in both age groups having alterations in FANCC. Similar result was also seen with PTCH1 and XPA alterations in group-A and PHF2 alterations in group-B. This reflected their roles as prognostic tools in the respective groups in which they were altered. Conclusion: Overall alterations of PHF2, FANCC and PTCH1 were comparatively higher than XPA. Differential association of alterations in FANCC and PTCH1 with that of PHF2, XPA and two breast cancer susceptibility genes (BRCA1/BRCA2) in the two age groups suggests differences in their molecular pathogenesis and dysregulation of multiple DNA repair pathways as well as hedgehog dependent stem cell renewal pathway

Study of neck shaft angle of femur in population of Bihar

Background: Neck shaft angle is the angle formed between the long axis of shaft and long axis of neck. Neck shaft angle of femur is an important parameter considering the biomechanics of hip joint. Neck shaft angle gives important information regarding race to which they belong. Normal neck shaft angle is in the range of 1200 -1400. Objective of the study was to find out the neck shaft angle of femur and correlate with the previous study.Methods: present study was conducted on 60 dry femur collected from different medical colleges of Bihar. The neck shaft angle was measured by Goniometer.Results: In this study the neck shaft angle of femur was 130.820, in male neck shaft angle of femur was 130.280 and in females it was 131.420.Conclusions: There is no significance difference between the male and female neck shaft angle. Orthopaedists use the normal range and mean of the neck shaft angle in diagnosis and treatment of the disease of hip. The angle is increased in poliomyelitis, congenital subluxation and dislocation of hip and decreased in congenital coxa vara

Time series analysis of reference crop evapotranspiration for Bokaro District, Jharkhand, India

Evapotranspiration is the one of the major role playing element in water cycle. More accurate measurement and forecasting of Evapotranspiration would enable more efficient water resources management. This study, is therefore, particularly focused on evapotranspiration modelling and forecasting, since forecasting would provide better information for optimal water resources management. There are numerous techniques of evapotranspiration forecasting that include autoregressive (AR) and moving average (MA), autoregressive moving average (ARMA), autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), Thomas Feiring, etc. Out of these models ARIMA model has been found to be more suitable for analysis and forecasting of hydrological events. Therefore, in this study ARIMA models have been used for forecasting of mean monthly reference crop evapotranspiration by stochastic analysis. The data series of 102 years i.e. 1224 months of Bokaro District were used for analysis and forecasting. Different order of ARIMA model was selected on the basis of autocorrelation function (ACF) and partial autocorrelation (PACF) of data series. Maximum likelihood method was used for determining the parameters of the models. To see the statistical parameter of model, best fitted model is ARIMA (0, 1, 4) (0, 1, 1)12

A Review on Mining of Coastal Placer Minerals

India is bestowed with a long cosat of more of less 7500 km. This long coastal tract has a vast resource of placer minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, leucoxine, monazite, zircon, etc. But this large reserve base does not make India a global player in the market of placer minerals. The production to Reserve Ratio (PPR) in India is 0.001 while it is 0.030 in USA, 0.010 in Australia, and 0.009 in Canada. In order to make India a global player, the production capacity has to be enhanced this requires supportive government policies, positive mindset of authorities, adequate infrastructure etc. This paper critically reviews the methods of exploration of placer Heavy Minerals lying above water-table as well as below water-table. For the minerals available on shore open cut mining is an often used mining method. Off shore placer Deposits can be exploited using water jet pumps and dredging pumps. The paper identifies the key issues and problems related to grant of mining leases, environmental issues etc. that bottleneck the development of placer Mineral Industry in India. For the capacity building of off-shore mining in India, the off-shore mining laws must be framed keeping in view the feasibility of off-shore placer mining as well as environmental implications thereof. The paper emphasizes the need of a pragmatic approach and coordination of all concerned central and state government agencies for the sustainable development of coastal placer minerals

Barriers to healthcare utilization among married women in Afghanistan: the role of asset ownership and women’s autonomy

Abstract Women face multiple socio-economic, cultural, contextual, and perceived barriers in health service utilization. Moreover, poor autonomy and financial constraints act as crucial factors to their healthcare accessibility. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to study the association between health care utilization barriers and women empowerment, including asset ownership among currently married women in Afghanistan. Data of 28,661 currently married women from Afghanistan demographic health survey (2015) was used to carry out this study. Barriers to access healthcare were computed based on problems related to permission, money, distance, and companionship, whereas women empowerment and asset ownership were computed as potential covariates along with other socio-economic risk factors. Bivariate and logistic analysis was carried out to study the association and odds of explanatory variables. Our results confirm the significant and strong association between the barriers to access healthcare and various explanatory variables. Women having any decision-making autonomy are less likely to face any odds [(AOR = 0.56, p < 0.001), CI: 0.51–0.61] among the currently married women than those who don’t have any decision-making authority. Similarly, women who justify their beating for some specific reasons face the greater difficulty of accessing health care [(AOR = 1.76, p < 0.001), CI: 1.61–1.93]. In terms of asset ownership, women having any asset ownership (land or household) are less likely to face any barriers in health services utilization given the lower odds [(AOR = 0.91, p < 0.001), CI: 0.90–0.98]. Accessing maternal health is a crucial policy challenge in Afghanistan. A substantial proportion of women face barriers related to approval, money, distance, and companionship while accessing the health services utilization in Afghanistan. Similarly, women empowerment and asset ownership are significantly associated with health service accessibility. This paper therefore suggests for some policy interventions to strengthen the healthcare needs of women and ensure healthcare accessibility by scaling down these potential barriers like poor autonomy, asset ownership and domestic violence

Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure a medical student's interest in the subject of community medicine

Background: Lack of interest has been cited by many studies as the predominant cause for students undervaluing the subject of Community Medicine. However, there are few valid and reliable tools that could measure this interest. To develop and validate a questionnaire to measure a medical student's interest in the subject of Community Medicine. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted at MTMC Jamshedpur. The Community Medicine Interest Questionnaire (CMIQ) was developed in two phases: item generation and item reduction. Items were generated through a review of the literature, focused group discussions, and in-depth interviews. In the item reduction phase, the content and construct validity of the questionnaire were ascertained. Content validity was carried out by a group of experts based on three parameters: the interrater agreement on the representativeness of the item, the interrater agreement on the clarity of the items, and the content validity index. The construct validity was ascertained through pilot testing of 480 responses from undergraduate medical students. Exploratory factor analysis through principal axis factoring and Promax rotation. Results: Twenty-five items were generated. Three of these items were removed following expert validation. Furthermore, three items were removed after pilot testing. The resulting CMIQ consisted of 19 items distributed over three dimensions: feeling, value, and predisposition to reengage toward the subject. The internal consistency of each of the subscales was ascertained. Conclusions: CMIQ is a valid and reliable tool that can be used to measure such interest for providing educational interventions

Time series analysis of reference crop evapotranspiration for Bokaro District, Jharkhand, India

Evapotranspiration is the one of the major role playing element in water cycle. More accurate measurement and forecasting of Evapotranspiration would enable more efficient water resources management. This study, is therefore, particularly focused on evapotranspiration modelling and forecasting, since forecasting would provide better information for optimal water resources management. There are numerous techniques of evapotranspiration forecasting that include autoregressive (AR) and moving average (MA), autoregressive moving average (ARMA), autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), Thomas Feiring, etc. Out of these models ARIMA model has been found to be more suitable for analysis and forecasting of hydrological events. Therefore, in this study ARIMA models have been used for forecasting of mean monthly reference crop evapotranspiration by stochastic analysis. The data series of 102 years i.e. 1224 months of Bokaro District were used for analysis and forecasting. Different order of ARIMA model was selected on the basis of autocorrelation function (ACF) and partial autocorrelation (PACF) of data series. Maximum likelihood method was used for determining the parameters of the models. To see the statistical parameter of model, best fitted model is ARIMA (0, 1, 4) (0, 1, 1)12.Ewapotranspiracja jest jednym z głównych elementów obiegu wody. Dokładniejsze pomiary i możliwość prognozowania ewapotranspiracji mogłyby umożliwić wydajniejsze zarządzanie zasobami wodnymi. Dlatego prezentowane w niniejszej pracy badania skoncentrowane były na modelowaniu i prognozowaniu ewapotranspiracji, ponieważ prognozowanie zapewni więcej informacji do optymalnego zarządzania zasobami wodnymi. Istnieje wiele technik prognozowania ewapotranspiracji, takich jak autoregresja (AR), średnia ruchoma (MA), autoregresyjna średnia ruchoma (ARMA), autoregresyjna zintegrowana średnia ruchoma (ARIMA), metoda Thomasa– Feiringa i inne. Stwierdzono, że spośród nich ARIMA jest bardziej odpowiednia do analizy i prognozowania zdarzeń hydrologicznych. Z tego powodu wykorzystano model ARIMA do prognozowania miesięcznych średnich wartości ewapotranspiracji potencjalnej poprzez analizę stochastyczną. Do analiz i prognozowania użyto serii danych ze 102 lat (1224 miesiące) z dystryktu Bokaro. Na podstawie funkcji autokorelacji (ACF) i cząstkowych autokorelacji (PACF) serii danych wybrano różny porządek modelu ARIMA. Do wyznaczenia parametrów modelu wykorzystano metodę maksymalnego prawdopodobieństwa. Najlepiej dostosowanymi parametrami statystycznymi modelu okazały się ARIMA (0, 1, 4) (0, 1, 1)12

A comparative analysis of friction stir and tungsten inert gas dissimilar AA5082-AA7075 butt welds

The aluminium alloys AA5082 and AA7075 were welded using friction stir welding (FSW) and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding. The effect of these two (FSW and TIG) welding processes on the tensile and fatigue properties of dissimilar AA5082-AA7075 butt welded joints were studied. The S-N curve for both, FSW and TIG, joints were established. The results exhibited that the tensile and fatigue properties of dissimilar FSW welded butt joints are better than those of dissimilar TIG welded butt joints. The fatigue strength for FSWed and TIG welded joint is determined as 40 MPa for 106 cycles and 30 MPa for 105 cycles of fatigue life, respectively. The micro-hardness of the joints is also studied for both joints. The hardness for TIG joint is lower than the FSWed joint in the welded zone