Adolescent nutrition: what do pediatricians do?

Multiple psychosocial problems and many chronic diseases of adulthood can be influenced by adolescent nutritional problems. In Korea, adolescent obesity and obesity related health risks have been increased and insufficient intakes of nutrients, such as calcium, iron and potassium, and distorted thinking about obesity are also common. However there are no comprehensive countermeasure because of the excessive burden of studies and the lack of community interest. And the nutrition guidelines that is suitable for Korean adolescent leaves something to be desired, and the pediatrician's concern is lacking yet. In the Korean dietary reference intakes 2010 that was revised according to the 2007 Korean National Growth Chart and 2007 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the range for adolescents is changed to the age 12-18 and dietary reference intakes of some nutrients mainly with vitamin D is changed. Recently several researches, about how school nutrition policies and media effect on eating habits and the weight concerns, and influences of public nutrition policies and fast food commercials have been actively studied to improve adolescent nutritive conditions. In this review, I summarize the dietary reference intakes for Korean adolescents that were revised in 2010, and current studies about the adolescent nutrition

Standardizing Operational Vector Sampling Techniques for Measuring Malaria Transmission Intensity: Evaluation of six Mosquito Collection Methods in Western Kenya.

Operational vector sampling methods lack standardization, making quantitative comparisons of malaria transmission across different settings difficult. Human landing catch (HLC) is considered the research gold standard for measuring human-mosquito contact, but is unsuitable for large-scale sampling. This study assessed mosquito catch rates of CDC light trap (CDC-LT), Ifakara tent trap (ITT), window exit trap (WET), pot resting trap (PRT), and box resting trap (BRT) relative to HLC in western Kenya to 1) identify appropriate methods for operational sampling in this region, and 2) contribute to a larger, overarching project comparing standardized evaluations of vector trapping methods across multiple countries. Mosquitoes were collected from June to July 2009 in four districts: Rarieda, Kisumu West, Nyando, and Rachuonyo. In each district, all trapping methods were rotated 10 times through three houses in a 3 × 3 Latin Square design. Anophelines were identified by morphology and females classified as fed or non-fed. Anopheles gambiae s.l. were further identified as Anopheles gambiae s.s. or Anopheles arabiensis by PCR. Relative catch rates were estimated by negative binomial regression. When data were pooled across all four districts, catch rates (relative to HLC indoor) for An. gambiae s.l (95.6% An. arabiensis, 4.4% An. gambiae s.s) were high for HLC outdoor (RR = 1.01), CDC-LT (RR = 1.18), and ITT (RR = 1.39); moderate for WET (RR = 0.52) and PRT outdoor (RR = 0.32); and low for all remaining types of resting traps (PRT indoor, BRT indoor, and BRT outdoor; RR < 0.08 for all). For Anopheles funestus, relative catch rates were high for ITT (RR = 1.21); moderate for HLC outdoor (RR = 0.47), CDC-LT (RR = 0.69), and WET (RR = 0.49); and low for all resting traps (RR < 0.02 for all). At finer geographic scales, however, efficacy of each trap type varied from district to district. ITT, CDC-LT, and WET appear to be effective methods for large-scale vector sampling in western Kenya. Ultimately, choice of collection method for operational surveillance should be driven by trap efficacy and scalability, rather than fine-scale precision with respect to HLC. When compared with recent, similar trap evaluations in Tanzania and Zambia, these data suggest that traps which actively lure host-seeking females will be most useful for surveillance in the face of declining vector densities

HIV prevention, structural change and social values: the need for an explicit normative approach.

BACKGROUND: The fact that HIV prevention often deals with politicised sexual and drug taking behaviour is well known, but structural HIV prevention interventions in particular can involve alteration of social arrangements over which there may be further contested values at stake. As such, normative frameworks are required to inform HIV prevention decisions and avoid conflicts between social goals. METHODS: This paper provides a conceptual review and discussion of the normative issues surrounding structural HIV prevention strategies. It applies political and ethical concepts to explore the contested nature of HIV planning and suggests conceptual frameworks to inform future structural HIV responses. RESULTS: HIV prevention is an activity that cannot be pursued without making value judgements; it is inherently political. Appeals to health outcomes alone are insufficient when intervention strategies have broader social impacts, or when incidence reduction can be achieved at the expense of other social values such as freedom, equality, or economic growth. This is illustrated by the widespread unacceptability of forced isolation which may be efficacious in preventing spread of infectious agents, but conflicts with other social values. CONCLUSIONS: While no universal value system exists, the capability approach provides one potential framework to help overcome seeming contradictions or value trade-offs in structural HIV prevention approaches. However, even within the capability approach, valuations must still be made. Making normative values explicit in decision making processes is required to ensure transparency, accountability, and representativeness of the public interest, while ensuring structural HIV prevention efforts align with broader social development goals as well